Which Animal Has the Best Hearing?

That really depends on how “best” is defined. Most animals have far superior hearing capabilities than mere humans. But ranking who has the “best” hearing is really a relative question. Which can hear the highest frequency? Can they hear on land and underwater? Which animals use echolocation and is that the best hearing?

Barn owls win when it comes to using their hearing to find their prey. Nocturnal hunting for generations has created a dish shape of feathers around their faces—funneling in sound to their ears. Their right and left ears are at slightly different levels, so sound waves reach their ears at slightly different times (can you say head shadow effect?). They use this advantage to locate their prey, even under ground or snow.

Bats and dolphins have a lot in common when it comes to hearing—both use echolocation. Echolocation essentially maps out the space around them, so they depend much less on vision. Bats have large ears, and the structures in their brains for auditory information are huge (relatively speaking). Dolphins don’t use their outer “ears”, which are tiny little holes, as much as they use fat around their jaws to detect sound around them, which is then sent to their internal auditory structures.

Finally, pinnipeds deserve a second look in this contest. Seals, walruses, and sea lions can hear very well on land and under water. Researchers believe some pinnipeds can hear almost as well as owls on land, and as well as dolphins underwater. They accomplish this by filling their middle ears with blood while swimming. They use this liquid to transmit sounds in an underwater environment. When they return to land, their middle ear spaces fill up with air again.

Reference

Perkins, M. (2025, August 31). Which animal has the best hearing? Live Science.