Video: Strange boy looked with ears

Ben Underwood is the only person in the world who can navigate by practicing echolocation, similar to the method of using ultrasound to communicate dolphins.

Ben Underwood was born on January 26, 1992, in Riverside, California, USA. At the age of two, the boy was diagnosed with retinal cancer and had surgery to remove his eyes a year later, becoming a completely invisible person ever since.

Like other blinds, Ben learns Braille and uses sticks to move. But a little bigger, the boy used the fake eye and began to learn to recognize, locate the object by creating sound streams by the tongue, then listen to the echo echoed from the pulse surface. around.

With sounds like finger beats, Ben's actions can help him detect a soft echo, a dense feeling or a sharp sound, thereby identifying whether it is metal, wood or glass. Based on the sound level, Ben can know the position or distance of the subject.

Ben Underwood, the boy "looked" with his ears, died at age 17.(Photo: Earth Heal)

For those around him, Ben does not seem to be a blind person. Thanks to this special "eyes" , Ben can play skis or soccer with friends every day, even riding or dancing in school activities.

Once, a 5th grader used to punch Ben in the face and run away, enjoying the joke because he thought that Ben could not see. But only after he turned away, did Ben chase after catching up."He didn't think I was going to chase it. But I could hear the sound of parked cars or walls , " said Ben, 14, then.

"People ask if they are lonely or not. I'm not lonely, because someone is still around or they can pick up the phone and talk to friends. Not seeing it doesn't mean anything else. different from other people, " Ben said.

According to the researchers, this ability of Ben is called echolocation , which is known in many animals that are commonly known as bats or dolphins. Blind people can still listen to echoes to some extent. However, Ben's ability to locate in a special world is completely special.

Dan Kish, a psychologist and teacher of the visually impaired, once remarked that this is a very rare case, surpassing human cognitive limits. Kish taught method of echolocation to people with visual impairments, such as walking with sticks or guide dogs, but few can apply this method alone.

Some experts who have come into contact with Ben say that a complete dependence on echoes can hurt him when he is in an unfamiliar environment. They thought that with the use of sticks, Ben could identify or evaluate many objects around, such as the depth of a hole. Meanwhile, others believe that a special ability can help him easily overcome many new challenges and adapt to the new surroundings.

During a tour of San Diego's SeaWorld marine park, Ben used to swim with dolphins and listen to how they used echolocation. Bob McMains, who oversees SeaWorld's dolphin program, said during his 23 years there, he met a few people who could listen attentively to the sounds of dolphins. The boy may have a job here, when he is 18 years old.

However, the boy once stated that "I am not blind, I just can't see" died in January 2009 at the age of 17.