Vestigial Ear Muscles Reactivate During Intense Listening Tasks

A study finds that auricular muscles, thought to be largely unused in humans, engage during challenging auditory environments, offering insights into listening effort.

Auricular muscles, which once helped our ancestors funnel sound, are now largely vestigial but activate during focused listening tasks.
Researchers observed increased activity in the superior auricular muscle when participants faced more difficult auditory conditions.
The study used electromyography to measure muscle activity as participants listened to an audiobook with varying levels of distracting background noise.
Findings suggest these muscles may serve as an objective measure of listening effort, though their role in improving hearing remains unclear.
Further research with larger, more diverse participant groups is needed to confirm findings and explore potential applications, including for individuals with hearing impairments.