saritaadam:

Star Trek has a few aliens with “better” hearing than humans. It’s an easy trick to make your aliens more alien. But they don’t seem to put a lot of thought into the implication of it.

Well, I have them!

Vulcan must be so quiet. People in public space are talking with a low tone, making a comfortable and non-overwhelming buzz. There is no music blasting in the stores or the restaurants. Their electronic devices are making less noise than Terran’s. It must be unnerving for a human to be on Vulcan. They would be working on a computer and feel the urge to make more noise than usual, not understanding it is because they can barely hear the circuits working. They would walk into a Vulcan house, thinking they are alone, but then they push a door, and suddenly they hear music playing and a Vulcan faintly humming the melody.

On the other hand, it must be tiresome for Vulcan to be around human. Spock must think they are loud just by living. He goes to the rec room, and there is loud laughter, and exciting cry of people playing a game, and people speaking loudly just to be heard over the noise. He brings his lute, giving his ears something more concrete to focus on in this cacophony. During a long shift on the bridge, he hears only the beeping of the console and doesn’t realize someone is talking to him immediately. He is in his quarter, and he hears Jim in the other side of the wall, mumbling to himself and moving around. He sleeps more since he is on a starship, tired to hear that much.

Do Ferengi with their four hemispheres are able to proceed sounds in a way that is less exhausting for their acute hearing? Or does Quark stay by himself in his bar after it’s close to enjoy the peace and quiet? Does Rom go nonverbal after his shift, Nog knowing better than to bother him at that time?

Do Caitan similarities with terran cat extend to their hearing? Does Dr T'Ana able to navigate the medical equipment only by their sound? Is she able to have a full night of sleep, or does she wake up every time someone walked loudly in front of her door?

And what about the Cardassian and their less acute hearing? Cardassia must be loud to human, with the video of propaganda blasting in the street. O'Brien received a lot of complaint about the computer volume when Starfleet first arrive at Deep Space 9. Garak is always making an effort to understand what humans and bajoran are saying to him, and still often ask them to repeat. Sometimes, he leans to whisper something to Julian, and doesn’t realize he is still talking loud enough for the surrounding table to hear him. He always has noise in the background, because nothing is loud enough on this station anymore and his brain is understimulated.

Just… alien characteristic having some influence on the characters and how they interact with their surrounding!