Snakes can hear, but not in the same way mammals do. They lack external ears and eardrums, yet they still have an inner ear and a middle-ear bone connected to the jaw. Ground vibrations can travel through the lower jaw and skull to the inner ear, which is why many snakes are especially sensitive to movement through the ground (bone-conduction research).
Snakes are not completely deaf to airborne sound either. Recent studies show that some species respond to low-frequency airborne sounds, although their hearing range is limited compared with many mammals and birds (snake hearing study). Learn more about snake sensory biology.
