Week 5 - Frogs Hear Through Mouth: A Possible Impact on Human Hearing?

When learning about reptiles and specifically dissecting a frog, we learned that, unlike humans, frogs have no middle ear.  Well, without a middle ear, how does sound get transported to the inner ear so the frog can hear?

In order to figure that question out, several scientists created an experiment.  "To establish whether these frogs actually use sound for communicating with each other, the scientists set up loudspeakers in their natural habitat and broadcasted pre-recorded frog songs. This caused males present in the rainforest to answer, proving that they were able to hear the sound from the loudspeakers" (ScienceDaily).

After establishing that frogs could actually hear, many other tests confirmed that frogs hear sounds through their head with the mouth acting as the transporter.  Scientists currently believe this is possible due to adaptations of the frogs' tissue between its mouth and head.  Throughout history, they believe that the frogs' tissue eventually got thinner and thinner which has allowed them to hear through it.

After hearing about this discovery and the facts supporting it, do you think this will happen to other animals over time?  Explain your answer.  Also, if so, give examples of which animals you think this type of adaptation can occur in. 

Finally, there is no doubt that humans are always trying to invent new technology, improve health in many ways, etc.  Do you think that this discovery in frogs will impact human hearing in the future?  For example, do you believe that humans that can't hear may have surgery done to thin the tissue in their head?  Would this work?  Conduct some research to support your opinions and be sure to include these researched facts in your post.


Frogs Hear With Their Mouth: Click Here to Read