Exploring Snake Hearing Abilities
Author: Vejay Anand
In the past, it was commonly believed that snakes had limited or no hearing capacity, primarily because of their lack of external ears and seemingly unresponsive behavior towards noise. However, scientific research has shed new light on this misconception.
Snake Ear Anatomy
Unbeknownst to many, snakes do possess ears. These ears are located directly behind their eyes, much like other reptiles. Although snakes lack external ears, they have small ear openings on the sides of their heads. Inside these ear openings is a fully functional inner ear structure, although they lack the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and middle ear found in mammals.
How Snakes Hear
While snakes do not possess pinnae (external ear flaps) or eardrums, their inner ear structures are well-developed. Additionally, they have a quadrate bone in their jaws, which slightly moves in response to vibrations while they move across the ground. For many years, it remained uncertain whether snakes could hear sounds other than ground vibrations. Recent research has revealed that the quadrate bone responds to airborne oscillations and ground vibrations. This sensitivity to airborne vibrations is attributed to spinal nerves that transmit skin-conducted vibrations to the quadrate bone, a phenomenon known as somatic hearing. This movement in the quadrate bone is then transferred, via bones, to the inner ear, where signals are sent to the brain and interpreted as sound.
What Snakes Can Hear
Pitch, denoting high or low sounds, is measured in Hertz (Hz), while the loudness of sounds is measured in decibels (dB). Research has primarily focused on Hertz to determine snakes' hearing abilities. Some studies suggest that snakes can detect low-frequency airborne and ground vibrations within the 50 to 1,000 Hz range. However, there is still limited understanding of the precise range of sounds snakes can hear. Peak sensitivity varies among studies, with some indicating the 200 to 300 Hz range and others the 80 to 160 Hz range.
In comparison, humans with excellent hearing can perceive sounds within the 20 to 20,000 Hz range. This information underscores that snakes are limited to hearing lower-pitched sounds.
Since snakes share similar ear anatomy, we might assume all snakes possess comparable hearing abilities. However, the diverse environments snakes inhabit may result in variations in the range of sounds they can perceive.
Considering that a snake's hearing sensitivity peaks in the 200 to 300 Hz range and the average human voice operates at around 250 Hz, it is reasonable to conclude that pet snakes can indeed hear and potentially recognize their names when called. This finding aligns with the claims of many snake owners regarding their pets' responsiveness to their voices.
