People only just realising not everyone can ‘tense their eardrums’

There are two types of people in the world - those who can make their ears roar, and those who have no idea what that even means.

And it's all down to whether you can voluntarily contract a muscle called the tensor tympani.

The tensor tympani is a tiny muscle located above the auditory tube in your inner ear that plays an important role in your ability to hear.

The muscle tenses in response to loud noises, stiffening the eardrum and reducing sound vibrations. This is part of a reflex that protects the inner ear from damage.

It can also cover low-frequency sounds, allowing to hear high-frequency sounds like speech more clearly, and contracts in response to sounds we generate ourselves like chewing, coughing, speaking and yawning.

While the tensor tympani works involuntarily to protect our hearing, some of us can contract the muscle on demand, creating a a low, thunder-like rumbling sound, similar to when you put your hands over your ears.

When you contract a muscle in your ear called the tensor tympani, it creates a low thunder-like sound (Getty Stock Image)

Essentially, what we are hearing when we do this is the sound of the muscle contracting, which is actually quite creepy when you really think about it.

But, this rather pointless skill is not a universal trait as those who can do it were shocked to find out.

In an Instagram reel by @drjoe_md, he explained: "If you can tense your eardrum to hear thunder, you're one of a small percentage of people that had control over their tensor tympani muscle."

He then went on to talk about other physical abilities that not everyone has, saying: "Others can control their eye movements to produce voluntary nystagmus, while some have an extra Palmaris longus tendon in their wrist.

"From wiggling ears to sneezing at sunlight, these little quirks make us unique!"

And people were shocked to find out that being able to 'tense their eardrums' means they're in the minority.

One person wrote in the comments: "I thought everyone could do it! I never knew what it was until just now."

Another said: "I cant make it sound like thunder but I can make a high pitched ring."

And a third shared: "I can do this and I’m a scuba diver. I couldn’t figure out for the longest time why my dive instructors kept asking me if my ears were okay during our descent on all of my training dives.

"Now I tell dive partners ahead of time that I can clear the pressure in my ears without pinching my nose so they don’t worry."

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