Star Trek: 9 Times Mr. Spock Got A Power-Up
2. Spock's Super Hearing
Spock’s iconic ears also fell victim to being powered-up. So in addition to them being pointy shaped their shape was given a point— Spock could hear better than normal humans.
McCoy, in the first season’s ”The Galileo Seven” asks, “What do those super-sensitive ears make of that, Mister Spock?” This power-up is also mentioned at the end of the season’s “Operation: Annihilate”, when Spock overhears a sotto voce compliment by McCoy from across the bridge, Kirk says:
KIRK: You've been so concerned about his Vulcan eyes, Doctor, you forgot about his Vulcan ears.
In second season’s “Return to Tomorrow” the life force of the evil Henoch, occupying Spock’s body, says of it, “This is an excellent body, Doctor. I seem to have received the best of the three. Strength, hearing, eyesight, all far above your human norms. I'm surprised the Vulcans never conquered your race.”
Two back-to-back season three episodes touch on this aural power-up.
”Only Vulcan ears would find the noise discernible,” Spock says to Droxine In “The Cloud Minders”. She later comments, “Did you know that he has the most incredibly sensitive hearing? Why, I almost believe that if I stood here and called out to him, he would hear my invitation to come and visit with us for a little while longer.”
When nutcake Dr. Servrin unleashes ultrasonics in the hippy-dippy “The Way to Eden”, it’s Spock who first reacts in pain to the briefly heard sound, which then goes beyond audibility just before its effect hits Kirk/Shatner right in his overacting button. For an instant, we get punked into thinking that this will be the rare case of a Spock power-up having a downside, but no, because both Kirk and Scotty succumb before Mr. extra-sensitive-hearing Spock does. And before you think this wasn’t intentional, it’s right there in the script:
Kirk stiffens suddenly; his hands to his head, similarly reacts, then pitches forward, unconscious. Then Spock, conscious longer than the others.