Which Animal Has the Best Hearing?

Dolphins have the best sense of hearing among animals. We will take a look at dolphins and other animals that have well developed hearing abilities and how they use them.

Dolphins can hear 14 times better than humans. They belong to the order Cetacea, which includes whales and porpoises, and there are 36 species of dolphins. The color of dolphins can be white, pink, gray, brown, black, and blue. Whales are actually dolphins, with the largest dolphin being the Orca, or killer whale. 

Being aquatic, their bodies are smooth and streamlined with dorsal fins and flippers.  They have around 100 teeth and a blowhole on top of their body for breathing.  Dolphins are very buoyant, so when they sleep, they float several inches below the water and push up occasionally to the surface to get air. 

How Dolphins Hear

To explain further the answer to the question, “Which animal has the best hearing?” we’ll look at how dolphins hear and use their sense of hearing to help them "see." Dolphins receive sounds through their jawbone and their head. The vibrations travel to the little bones in their inner ear. 

Dolphins have good sight with their eyes that are located on either side of their head.  In order to fish and avoid predators, especially in dark or murky water, they have what is called "echolocation." They make clicking sounds and these sounds will bounce off objects and return to the dolphin. A dolphin, with his echolocation, can detect something as small as 2.5 cm (size of a coin) from over 70 meters away.

How Do Dolphins Communicate?

Dolphins have a complex communication system, which is one sign of their high intelligence. They make a variety of sounds, like: clicks, whistles, cries, trills, screams, squeaks, moans, and grunts. Researchers think that the higher pitched sounds and slower clicks show contentment while lower, harsher sounds show they are annoyed.    

Dolphins live in schools and fish as a group. They cooperate within their school and will even attack as a group. Dolphins eat mostly fish, squid, octopus, and shrimp. Large dolphins, like whales, eat seals, penguins, smaller whales, birds, and walrus.  

Animals and Hearing

Hearing is used for different things in the animal kingdom such as location of prey, navigating, and defense. Some animals have wide ranges of frequencies, some are better at distinguishing what they hear, some can hear from a longest distance, and some are better at locating objects with their hearing.

Here are some interesting facts about how animals use their hearing for various things:

• The owl has very sharp hearing. They have larger ear holes that can pinpoint a mouse or other small prey and they can quickly, within .01 of a second, access its distance.
• Since bats hunt at night, they have echolocation like dolphins. They can locate insects from 20 feet away. An interesting fact is they prevent their ears from getting damaged by closing them every time they flap their wings.
• Elephants hear frequencies that are 20 times lower than we can hear. Their trunk and feet have special receptors to pick up on low frequency vibrations. They make a low, rumbling call that can be heard by another elephant up to 6 kilometers away. This is important to the females, because they only mate for a few days every two to four years.  

If you compare the hearing ability of cats and dogs, the cats would win. They can hear higher frequencies than humans or dogs, and can identify the sound and locate it better. A cat’s ear has 30 muscles so it can rotate 180 degrees. This allows it to pinpoint a sound and funnel it into their middle ear.