Making Your Ears Rumble Is A Unique Talent
When you are suddenly hit with a loud or large noise or yawn for that matter, your ears will produce a special kind of tone that acts as a counter to protect your hearing. There are some people, not many, who have managed to tap into the ability to activate this tone on command. When I first heard about this I was surprised. I thought I was the only one who could do this and didn't think there was a way to prove it or discuss it. Luckily, this has been researched and delved into so we now know what this is called. A Tweet from user Massimo was what spurred the sudden interest.
The muscle responsible for the rumble feature in your ears is called the tensor tympani. Its role is to lessen the blow of loud noises from both outside forces and noises you make yourself (like chewing). For the most part, the tensor tympani acts more like an involuntary muscle reaction in almost all situations when you actually notice that you are producing the rumbling noise. There is even a Reddit group made for those who have hacked the skill to manipulate this at will. All in all, supposedly only about 70,000 people are capable of making their ears rumble at will. So, can you? For more information on this special little trick, check out the article written by Jessica Stewart of My Modern Met by clicking here.
If you would like a more in-depth explanation of the tensor tympani and how it works, then check out the video below.