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Scientists test marine mammal hearing in three main ways: they measure an animal’s trained response to sounds, record electrical responses from its auditory system, or estimate hearing from anatomy and other evidence. Those approaches answer different questions. A behavioral audiogram measures what an animal detects; an auditory evoked potential (AEP) measures a neural response; and an anatomical model predicts likely sensitivity. A hydrophone recording of calls is acoustic monitoring, not a hearing test.
What a marine mammal hearing test measures
Hearing sensitivity is commonly summarized in an audiogram: a chart of the quietest sound level an animal detects at different frequencies. The threshold is the point at which a sound becomes detectable under the conditions of a particular test. A set of thresholds across frequencies shows where hearing is more or less sensitive; it is not a complete description of how an animal hears in every situation.
Researchers may use “hearing test” to mean a direct measurement of perception, a measurement of auditory-system activity, or an estimate based on other evidence. The distinction matters when interpreting a graph or comparing findings: a response recorded from the nervous system is not the same observation as an animal demonstrating that it heard a sound.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallNOAA Fisheries’ 2024 technical guidance ranks behavioral audiograms as the most representative measure of hearing sensitivity in its evidence hierarchy. The guidance also makes clear that direct measurements are unavailable for many marine mammal species, so modeled audiograms and other indirect evidence are still used. Read NOAA Fisheries’ 2024 technical guidance.
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Behavioral audiometry: does the animal perceive the sound?
Behavioral audiometry is a psychophysical method: it measures perception through an animal’s behavior. A researcher presents tones at different frequencies and sound levels, then trains the animal to signal whether it detected a tone. The test varies the sounds to find the threshold at each frequency, and those thresholds are assembled into an audiogram.
What makes this method useful
Because the result depends on the animal indicating detection, behavioral audiometry addresses the practical question “What can this animal hear?” NOAA’s 2024 guidance treats this as the most representative sensitivity measure among the evidence types it discusses. It can provide a direct picture of the tested animal’s perceptual thresholds across the frequencies studied.
What the method requires
The animal must be trained to perform the detection task, and the test needs a controlled setup in which researchers can present sounds and interpret the animal’s response. This requirement limits where and for which animals the method can be used. A behavioral audiogram is direct evidence for the animal tested, not proof that every member of its species has the same thresholds.
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Auditory evoked potentials: what response does sound produce?
Auditory evoked potentials, or AEPs, are electrical responses generated by the auditory system after a sound is presented. Instead of asking an animal to signal that it heard a tone, researchers present a tone and record the resulting neural activity. NOAA’s Alaska research page describes placing skin electrodes in soft silicone suction cups on a beluga, presenting a tone, and measuring the brain response. NOAA summarizes the procedure this way: “We expose the whale to a subtle tone and measure its brain response with skin electrodes embedded in soft silicone suction cups.” NOAA Fisheries describes the beluga AEP procedure.
Why researchers use AEPs
AEP testing can be used with animals that have not had the extensive training required for behavioral audiometry. That makes it a way to obtain direct physiological measurements when a trained behavioral response is not available. It is still a specialist protocol: the animal must be accessible, and researchers need the equipment and expertise to present tones and record the response.
Why AEP thresholds are not behavioral thresholds
An AEP threshold marks a sound level associated with a measurable neural response under the test conditions. A behavioral threshold marks the level at which the animal demonstrates detection. NOAA says behavioral thresholds are consistently lower than AEP thresholds, and that there is no established correction that makes AEP results directly comparable to behavioral results. In other words, one should not treat an AEP audiogram as if it were a behavioral audiogram shifted by a known, fixed amount.
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This distinction is important when comparing studies. If two audiograms appear to differ, the difference may reflect the animal, the method, or both. Any claim about a hearing threshold should identify the species and method used rather than presenting the number as a method-independent fact.
How the main methods differ
| Approach | What it measures | Direct test or inference? | What it requires | Can its thresholds be treated as behavioral thresholds? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behavioral audiometry | The animal’s perceptual response to tones at different frequencies and levels. | Direct test of the animal’s detection behavior. | A trained animal and a controlled sound-presentation and response setup. | It is the behavioral measure itself. |
| Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) | Electrical activity generated by the auditory system in response to sound. | Direct physiological measurement, not a direct report of perception. | An accessible animal, electrodes, sound-presentation equipment, and specialist protocol. | No. NOAA says AEP thresholds are consistently higher, and no established correction makes them directly comparable. |
| Anatomical or mathematical estimate | Predicted hearing sensitivity based on ear anatomy and other physical information. | Indirect estimate rather than a direct test of hearing. | Anatomical or other relevant evidence and a model or analysis. | Not a measured behavioral threshold. |
| Inference from vocalizations or playback | Evidence used to infer likely hearing characteristics from sounds an animal makes or responses to playback. | Indirect inference; it does not by itself provide a direct hearing test. | Relevant vocalization or playback evidence and interpretation. | Not established as directly interchangeable with behavioral thresholds. |
The methods do not form a simple scale from “best” to “worst.” Behavioral tests measure perception but require training; AEPs measure neural responses and can be used without the same behavioral training; models help fill gaps where direct data are missing. NOAA’s sources do not provide a standardized, species-wide ranking of handling burden, so practical difficulty depends on the animal and protocol rather than a universal ordering.
When direct measurements are missing
For many species, researchers cannot readily obtain behavioral or physiological audiograms. In those cases, scientists may estimate likely hearing from ear anatomy and other physical information. NOAA’s technical review also describes using vocalizations and playback experiments as evidence for inference. These approaches can help build a picture where direct tests are unavailable, but their results should be labeled as estimates or predictions, not as measurements of an individual animal’s threshold.
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NOAA’s 2003 technical review noted that most marine mammal species lacked direct behavioral or physiological audiometric data at the time. NOAA’s 2024 synthesis continues to describe modeled audiograms for groups with sparse direct evidence. That establishes an ongoing role for estimates, but it is not a current, exhaustive inventory of which species have or lack measurements. The review is available as NOAA’s summary of marine mammal auditory and anatomical data.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A wild-population example: belugas in Bristol Bay
A 2018 study by T. Aran Mooney and colleagues used AEP methods during capture-release events to obtain audiograms from 26 wild beluga whales in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Their reported audiogram covered 5.6–150 kHz. In that study population, the researchers reported thresholds below 80 dB from 16 to 100 kHz, and 76% of the individuals responded to at least 120 kHz. They also reported substantial variation among individuals: 30–70 dB, with variation increasing at higher frequencies.
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Why a hydrophone recording is not a hearing test
Hydrophones, sonobuoys, long-term recorders, and acoustic tags collect information about sound. They can help researchers determine where marine mammals are present, what sounds they make, and what ambient noise they experience. NOAA describes passive acoustic monitoring as useful for large-scale and year-round assessment of marine mammal locations and ambient noise in Alaska. NOAA’s overview of passive acoustic monitoring concerns this kind of listening and monitoring.
Monitoring a call does not reveal the quietest sound that the animal can hear. A recorder detecting a whale’s vocalization establishes that sound reached the recorder; it does not establish the whale’s perceptual threshold. In an AEP test, by contrast, researchers deliberately present a tone to an accessible animal and measure an auditory response. The equipment may involve sound recording in both contexts, but the question and method are different.
How hearing measurements inform noise-impact decisions
Hearing data also inform assessments of how human-made sound may affect marine mammals. NOAA Fisheries’ Updated Technical Guidance provides thresholds for predicted onset of auditory injury and temporary threshold shifts for underwater and airborne sound sources. NOAA finalized the updated guidance on October 24, 2024, based on its synthesis of available information. These exposure criteria help assess sound-related risk for management and impact work; they are not audiograms for individual animals and do not report what a particular whale or seal can hear.
That distinction separates two related but different questions. A hearing test asks about an animal’s sensitivity to sound. Exposure guidance estimates the risk associated with sound exposure. The first can help inform the second, but the criteria in an exposure framework should not be mistaken for direct measurements of an animal’s hearing threshold. NOAA Fisheries’ acoustic technical guidance page provides the current context for these exposure tools.
How to read a claim about marine mammal hearing
When a paper, chart, or report gives a hearing threshold, check what kind of evidence produced it. A useful description names the species, the method, and whether the figure is measured or estimated. If it is a direct test, note whether researchers measured behavior or neural activity. If it is a model, look for the anatomical or other evidence behind the estimate.
- Behavioral audiogram: thresholds come from a trained animal’s response to sound and represent perceptual detection.
- AEP audiogram: thresholds are based on neural responses; they are not directly interchangeable with behavioral thresholds.
- Modeled or inferred hearing: the result is an estimate, not a direct threshold measurement.
- Acoustic monitoring: recordings show sounds, presence, or noise conditions, not the quietest sound an animal can hear.
- Population claim: a result from tested individuals should not automatically be treated as a fixed profile for every member of the species.
These labels make the strength and limits of a hearing claim clearer. A threshold only has meaning alongside the animal or population tested and the method used to obtain it.
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