If you enter my office, you will see a variety of “spiral-looking” objects, snail shells, and nautical shell fossils. I occasionally am asked, “Why do you like snail shells?, and I explain the resemblance of the cochlea, the inner ear “house” made of bone. I was recently asked, “Does the shape of the shell help the snail to hear better?” I didn’t know the true answer to that so I looked it up. I found it interesting after further research that it is just a protective housing that the snail is born with and grows larger as the snail grow larger, compared to the human cochlea which is already full grown by the time a baby is full term and stays the same size our whole life!
I also found out that snails do not have ears and do not “hear” but rather feel vibration through their tentacles below their eyes. I love learning new things everyday!
Dr. Welman, thank you for the interesting read!! Loved it.
Rich
Dr. Richard Reikowski, Au.D
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