Sound Localization

Modified: 2020-03-18

The two ears, working together, can detect the direction of a sound. Many animals can move their outer ears and their heads in order to detect sound direction. Humans can only move their heads. Notice that the sounds most difficult to detect are those that come from directly in front or directly in back of you. Why? Because the sound reaches your ears at the same time. Have you ever looked for an ambulance in your rearview mirror, only to have it appear in front of you? So, when we have trouble detecting sound direction, we cock our heads. That moves our ears relative to the sound we are trying to detect, making it easier to determine where it is coming from.

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