Is there a difference between human hearing and dolphin hearing?

Yes, there is a difference between human hearing and dolphin hearing. Dolphins have much better hearing than humans, both in terms of frequency range and sensitivity.

Frequency range

Humans can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Dolphins, on the other hand, can hear sounds between 0.2 and 160,000 Hz. This means that dolphins can hear sounds that are much higher-pitched than humans can. In fact, the upper limit of dolphin hearing is beyond the range of human hearing by five octaves.

Sensitivity

Dolphins are also more sensitive to sounds than humans. This means that they can hear sounds that are much quieter than humans can. In fact, dolphins can hear sounds that are up to 100 decibels quieter than humans can.

Echolocation

Dolphins use their hearing for echolocation, which is a way of navigating and finding food by emitting sounds and listening for the echoes that bounce back. Dolphins can use echolocation to create a mental map of their surroundings and to track prey. They can even use echolocation to distinguish between different objects and to determine the size and shape of objects.

Human hearing is also used for echolocation, but not to the same extent as dolphin hearing. Humans can use echolocation to determine the distance of objects, but not to the same degree of accuracy as dolphins.