Ears
Ears are specialised organs found in vertebrates for detecting sounds. In mammals, the inner ears are also involved in sensing and maintaining balance, while the outer and middle ears collect and amplify sound. Around one in six British people suffer hearing loss, which can occur for a variety of reasons and commonly develops as people age, with around 40 per cent of people over 50 years old experiencing some hearing loss.

Wearing headphones might be helping bacteria grow in your ears

Sealing off the entrance to your ears can increase the population of bugs.
more

Tinnitus: Everything you need to know

What is it? What causes it? How is it treated? Will it go away on its own? All your questions, answered.
more

Why is there a left and right on headphones?

It's worth paying attention to the way they're labelled.
more

New device could allow you to control a computer with your inner ear muscle

The Earswitch device is being designed to help people with neurological conditions communicate using a computer keyboard.
more

Which of our senses evolved first?

Asked by: Adam King, Huddersfield
more

New hearing aid that costs less than £1 to make could help millions

The low-cost device, designed by a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology, hangs around the user’s neck in a 3D-printed case.
more

Alzheimer's could be triggered by hearing loss

The brain's memory centre, the temporal lobe, is also responsible for the manipulation of auditory information.
more

More than 1 in 10 report post-COVID-19 hearing deterioration

Researchers of a small scale study say there is an urgent need for more research into how the disease impacts the audiovestibular system.
more

Loud music puts young people at risk of undetected hearing damage

A part of the inner ear which helps in sound detection functioned less efficiently in people exposed to the highest levels of noise in clubs and concerts.
more

Why can’t we close our ears like we can close our eyes?

Asked by: Emre Yorgancıgil, Istanbul, Turkey
more

Why have dogs evolved to hear higher pitches than us?

Dogs have high-frequency hearing, which means that they can hear sounds that humans cannot.
more

Why do we feel dizzy when we spin?

Overcompensation from your brain can make it hard to keep your balance.
more

Why do earplugs amplify internal noises?

The bigger a drum’s body, the deeper is its sound – it’s all about the sound box.
more

Why does the inside of a shell sound like the sea?

Giving you some good vibrations at the seaside!
more

Through the Ears of the Bats

We speak to Antoine Bertin at Bluedot Festival 2016 about an audio installation that enables us to hear the world of bats and experience their incredible powers of echolocation.
more

Which evolved first: eyes or ears?

It's up in the air whether early lifeforms developed seeing or hearing first.
more

Five famous earworms

People have been struggling to cope with catchy tunes for decades – it’s not just a modern phenomenon.
more

How do we know where sounds are coming from?

We have only two ears, so why are we so good at pinpointing exactly where a sound has come from?
more

Why do some people feel sick if they read in a moving vehicle?

Motion sickness in general is caused when your inner ear and your eyes disagree about whether you’re moving. When you read in a car, your visual field stays still but your inner ear detects the twists and turns.
more

Why do old men have big ears?

All the better to hear you with, my dear...
more

When you hold a shell to your ear, what makes the sea sound?

Shells act like a resonating chamber that amplifies and suppresses different background sounds that our brain usually filters out.
more

Does the smell of your earwax have any diagnostic potential?

You earwax is known to change with your health but is it a reliable method for diagnosing illness?
more