Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Elephants Seal Ear Canals, Boost Low-Freq Hearing 30-Fold

7/18/2026

44 8 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. researchers led by Sunil Puria found that elephants can close ear canals to improve bone-conduction hearing.
Tests on sealed elephant and human temporal bones revealed an elephant middle-ear resonance around 400 Hz and a stapes motion three to four times larger than in humans.
Canal closure may increase detection of 10–20 Hz calls up to thirty-fold, according to the Frontiers in Audiology and Otology paper.

1 of 1

Story summary

U.S. researchers led by Sunil Puria found that elephants can close ear canals to improve bone-conduction hearing.
Tests on sealed elephant and human temporal bones revealed an elephant middle-ear resonance around 400 Hz and a stapes motion three to four times larger than in humans.
Canal closure may increase detection of 10–20 Hz calls up to thirty-fold, according to the Frontiers in Audiology and Otology paper.