Turn Down the Noise for Your Pets
Everybody knows a common fact: dogs hear better than humans do. But how many of you can actually say how ‘better’ it actually is?
Dogs are able to hear nearly TWICE as well, they hear noises that reach more than 45,000 Hertz, while humans can only hear sounds up to about 23,000 Hertz [1] (Hertz is a measure of the frequency of a sound, and the higher the frequency, the higher-pitched the sound ). Dogs can hear higher-pitched sounds, ones that we are not even aware of, they actually shine in that matter. In addition, at high frequencies dogs can detect much softer sounds than we can. The loudness or intensity of a sound is measured in decibels. According to Stanley Coren, a psychology professor known worldwide, dogs can hear sounds that are not loud enough for our ears (negative decibels) [2].
Furthermore, scientists also discovered that there is no significant relationship between the distance from ears to noise and the high-frequency hearing ability of individual dogs[3].
Having all this amazing background knowledge in this topic, we should start wondering how such an amazing sense of hearing can affect our dogs? Fortunately, there could be some answers found in studies.
Scientists from the UK in 2015 linked seizures in some cats with a phenomenon called feline audiogenic reflex seizures, typically caused by high-frequency sounds [4]. Sharp high-pitched sounds have been found to cause seizures in older cats. The average age of seizure onset was 15 years, with cats ranging in age from 10 to 19 years. The most commonly reported triggers were the sound of crinkling tin foil, a metal spoon clanging in a ceramic feeding bowl, chinking or tapping of glass, crinkling of paper or plastic bags, tapping on a computer keyboard or clicking of a mouse, clinking of coins or keys, hammering of a nail and even the clicking of an owner’s tongue.
Avoiding the sounds could reduce the seizures, although owners reported that it was sometimes difficult to avoid certain sounds, and the loudness of the sound also seemed to increase the severity of seizures.
Although it is worth mentioning cat’s hearing range is up to 64,000 Hertz, this problem may be also occurring in dogs (but I have not found any information about this particular issue causing seizures). Anyway, the truth is dogs and cats hear much more than we do, and their sense of hearing is much more sensitive than the one that we – humans own.
Few of us would put up with a TV that emits an annoying whine or a light bulb that flickers, but for our pets, that may be way too much. ‘Many dogs are afraid of smoke alarms’ says Dr. Katherine Houpt, an environmental factors expert at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In a 2005 study on the effects of noise on lab animals, results were irrefutable, noise can alter the heart, sleep and endocrine cycles in animals and make them more susceptible to seizure[5].
Completely cutting yourself out of those sounds in your home would be very difficult, and it’s hard to judge the severity of the problem, since we don’t know the rate of ultrasonic emissions on the electronic device that wee bought, and our pets can’t tell us what’s bugging them.
Sometimes your dog may be going crazy over the little smoke alarm detectors beeping (You can fix a beeping smoke detector quickly by changing the battery, but it might also be emitting a constant high-pitched noise that only your dog can perceive) or LED lights flicker (choose low flicker rated LED lights) and even an LCD TV (emits ultrasound – sound that is beyond humans hearing). If you don’t use certain devices, just turn them off.
Turn down the noise for your pets!
References:
- akc.org
- Book: “How Dogs Think,” Stanley Coren.
- Heffner, H. E. (1983). Hearing in large and small dogs: Absolute thresholds and size of the tympanic membrane. Behavioral Neuroscience, 97(2), 310-318.
- Lowrie et. al., Audiogenic reflex seizures in cats, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2015.
- Turner et. al., Hearing in Laboratory Animals: Strain Differences and Nonauditory Effects of Noise, Comp Med. 2005.
Dog Behavior Specialist
Ewa Hemmy is behaviorist and dog trainer who is also a writer on top of that. She has College Degree in Animal Behavior earned in Poland, where she comes from. She still consistently study, participate in online courses, webinars and reads through most recent research. Ewa has been writing articles for few years now and loves to educate dog owners on providing better care and understanding of their pet. She believes you can solve unwanted behavior, because your DOG is ABLE to be TRAINED! She can be contacted at ewa.hemmy@gmail.com or call at (785) 822 7409.
