Do Blind People Have Better Hearing?

Do Blind People Have Better Hearing?
Some blind people develop surprising abilities when their brain reuses the visual cortex. Africa Studio/Shutterstock
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The sensation of sound occurs when the vibrations from sounds enter our ear and cause little hairlike structures—called hair cells—within our inner ear to move back and forth. The hair cells transform this movement into an electrical signal that the brain can use.

How well a person can hear largely depends on how intact these hair cells are. Once lost, they don’t grow back—and this is no different for blind people. So blind people can’t physically hear better than others.

Loes van Dam
Loes van Dam
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