About one in five people can wiggle their ears—while the rest watch in non-wiggly envy. But what makes this skill possible for some and impossible for others? Ear movement is controlled by the ...

This ear wiggling research is comforting to some people with exceptional ear control, Schröer says. ... But a new book says that’s OK By Laura Sanders March 21, 2025.

Many animals can move their ears in response to sound, but humans have lost all or most of this function during evolution. Some people can move their ears intentionally, but this ratio is said to ...

Though Mostly Useless, Wiggling Ear Muscles Work Hard to Hear Learn more about the auricular muscles, which activate when we wiggle our ears, and apparently, when we listen to several sounds at once.

They are still used by roughly 10 to 20 percent of people with the fun ability to wiggle their ears. However, these vestigial muscles might be used more than scientists once believed.

Thought to be pretty redundant in modern humans outside of wiggling our ears for a giggle, new research has revealed that certain ear muscles that let animals and our ancient ancestors move their ...

The little muscles that enable people to wiggle their ears unconsciously flex when we're trying to pick one sound out of a din of noise, a new study finds. Think about how cats, dogs and certain ...

Are you born with the ability, or can you learn it? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Wiggling your ears is a neat party ...

If you can wiggle your ears, you can use muscles that helped our distant ancestors listen closely. These auricular muscles helped change the shape of the pinna, or the shell of the ear, funneling ...

A “useless” muscle that allows some people to wiggle their ears actually activates when we strain to hear something. Our ape ...

Some people can still wiggle their ears voluntarily, but nonetheless, these muscles are considered "vestigial" — evolutionary remnants with little practical use today.