- Although you may think your ears serve the purpose of hearing and nothing more, here’s another amazing thing they do for you. Ears actually play a big part in taste as well! To be precise, they have a function in transmitting taste signals to the brain, as there is a division of nerves that runs through the middle ear which connects the undergo buds on the face and tongue to the brain. Being so tightly connected to our sense of taste, if any important damage happens to our ears, chances are that our ability to recognize flavor is jeopardized as well. So be careful next time you plan on cranking up that music on your way to work!
- Our ears’ structure is so complicated and yet so tiny. So tiny, that the three bones composing the internal ear can fit jointly on a penny!
- That car alarm that went off in the middle of the night and others in the house heard it but you didn’t because you are a sound sleeper? You actually did hear it, but your brain simply shut the sound off. Ears never stop functioning, not even during sleep time, but, in order for the sleep cycle to perform normally, our brains play their part in shutting down the sound transmitters. Of course, in case of really loud noise (or if you’re not exactly the deep sleeper kind of person), there’s only so much your brain can do.
- Ears clean themselves. The tiny hairs called cilia that are sheltered by our ears actually push forward the excess cerumen and ear wax, so that our sense of hearing is not affected.
- Not all living creatures have ears, so have you ever wondered how they hear? Well, snakes use their jawbones, fish react to pressure changes, while male mosquitoes use their antennae!
