March 3 is World Hearing Day. Our ears and our sense of hearing can do amazing things and because we find that area so fascinating, we have done a little research for you and provide you with a few interesting facts and stories about our ears.
Probably known to many from the animal world: Echolocation.
Some animals, most notably the bat, emit sound waves that are reflected by objects in the environment. This reflection is picked up by the ear and evaluated by the brain.
Far fewer people are aware, however, that we humans are also able to do this. Human echolocation, also called Flashsonar, gives blind people the ability to move freely and independently and to perceive their environment in three dimensions. This even enables them to master hikes or ride a bicycle independently.
Blind people produce the necessary sounds with their tongue, so-called mouth clicks. With these, it is even possible for them to detect objects and people 360 degrees around them. An inspiring personality is Daniel Kish. He has perfected the technique of mouth clicks and has helped many people to learn the echolocation in recent years.
Are you interested in this topic and want to delve deeper into it? We highly recommend you to watch Daniel Kish’s presentation at Ted. You can also find interesting information about the topic at his non-profit organization World Access for the Blind or at Anderes sehen e.V. for people in German-speaking areas.