Sorry for my english, I use translator for some words.
I don’t mean the entire auditory system, as much as the pinna and lobe. Many animals have mobile auricles, to determine the origin of a sound and to amplify it, human no, we have this cartillaginous and fixed thing, flat on the side of the head, plus a flap of fat that hangs uselessly. It’s just a vestige?
In: Biology
The cartilage lets you detect where a sound comes from, in terms of up down front back.
You have two ears, and that lets you detect whether a sound is coming from the left or from the right. But if the sound is straight ahead, and both ears hear it the exact same, you can’t tell whether it’s up a little bit, down, or even behind you. Cause both ears hear it the same.
But the cartilage *absorbs* sounds of certain frequencies, and they also reflect and echo sounds from the front *into* the ear canal. Sounds in front of you are louder than sounds behind you, and sounds up and down can be higher / lower pitch because the cartilage absorbs certain frequencies.
So that’s the purpose. You can detect WHERE a sound is coming from (up down front back) with fixed ears. Instantly. No need to move the auricles first to catch where it’s coming from.
[Video explains this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnDrAG8FZok) (relevant part about the ear lobes starts at 2:36).
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