Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

81%
+7 −0
Q&A Why would a race constantly deafened by ambient noises still hear?

In a story that I'm writing, there is a giant waterfall which flows down a cliff face. The waterfall is extraordinarily large, and the torrents of water which flow over the side are deafening. Beh...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by DonielF‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by ajekb78‭

#1: Initial revision by user avatar DonielF‭ · 2020-12-18T00:24:35Z (about 4 years ago)
Why would a race constantly deafened by ambient noises still hear?
In a story that I'm writing, there is a giant waterfall which flows down a cliff face. The waterfall is extraordinarily large, and the torrents of water which flow over the side are deafening.

Behind this waterfall, within the rocky face, is a cave system in which a race of humanoid fae lives. While the caves allow protection from the elements and many predators, the echoing caverns provide no relief from the noise of the water.

Instead of relying on audio, they instead have evolved a strong sense of smell. Like some real-world species, the fae can detect direction and distance of their prey and predators based on stereo input into their sensitive nostrils. Additionally, they have developed a complex language involving a combination of pheromones and visual sign.

With all this said: I can justify their continuing to have ears to aid with balance and intracranial air pressure. But why would such a species have retained their ability to _hear_ with these ears, in an environment where they are unable to hear anything besides the waterfall anyway?