The Sound Frequency that Drives Dogs Nuts
Because dogs are so sensitive to sound, loud noises, in general, can cause dogs to become uncomfortable. However, frequencies that are about 25,000 hertz are when dogs become annoyed by the sound.
The louder that these sounds become, the more uncomfortable your dog will be. The sound waves at this frequency are more difficult for dogs to hear than their human companions.
These high pitch noises are often associated with appliances that often will make your dog wine, shake, or just leave the room.
Furthermore, many dogs arent just sensitive to these types of noise. They often have a phobia of these sounds. Because puppies are very imprintable, sometimes a loud noise from their first few weeks will be enough to give them a fear of the thing forever.
For instance, a family dog might panic when you use the blender because one fell near them when they were young.
If your dog is sensitive to certain noises, its important for you to make sure they are never exposed to these sounds without having a positive outcome. For example, if your dog panics at the sound of the doorbell, then one day have a friend come over, ring the bell and then offer your pup a treat.
Pro Tip: If you will be getting a young pup, its best to expose them to everything possible when they are between twelve and fourteen weeks old. Puppies are the most impressional during this time.
Do High-Frequency Sounds Hurt Dogs’ Ears?
It is pretty well-established in dog owner communities that loud noises add stress to your dog’s life. Thunderstorms, fireworks, and even the vacuum cleaner may send your pup into a frenzy. Other than stress, will loud or high-frequency sounds actually hurt your dogs?
Just like humans, high-frequency sounds will hurt your dog’s ears. While anxiety is the more likely issue with loud sounds, hearing damage can occur either with a loud enough sound or a high enough frequency sound. Anything above 25,000 Hz can do permanent damage to your dog’s hearing.
What frequency will hurt a dog’s ears?
Typically, frequencies that hurt your dog’s ears will range from 20,000 Hz and on, with 25,000 typically being the mark that begins really to irritate your pup. That being said, sounds that range from 23,000 to about 25,000 will likely be tolerable to your pup.
Sound Experiment – Dog Whistle
It’s pretty obvious that dogs have more powerful noses than humans, but how well can they hear? You might have read that dogs have far better hearing than humans, but it’s not quite that simple. In his book, “How Dogs Think,” Stanley Coren, Ph.D, says, “The truth of the matter is that, for some sounds, a dog’s hearing is really hundreds of times better than ours, whereas for other sounds, dogs and humans have sound sensitivities that are very much the same.”
Where dogs really shine is with higher-pitched sounds. The average adult human cannot hear sounds above 20,000 Hertz (Hz), although young children can hear higher. (Hertz is a measure of the frequency of a sound, and the higher the frequency, the higher pitched the sound.) Dogs, on the other hand, can hear sounds as high as 47,000 to 65,000 Hz. These are sounds far too high-pitched for us.
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 (dB) with 0 dB being the average intensity of a sound that can just barely be heard by a young human. So, sounds too quiet for humans to hear are given a negative decibel rating.
According to Coren, when sounds are between 3,000 and 12,000 Hz in frequency, dogs’ ears are far more sensitive than ours. They can hear those sounds when they are between -5 dB and -15 dB on average. That means dogs can hear sounds that are not loud enough for our ears. For sounds above 12,000 Hz, dogs’ ears have sensitivity so much higher than humans that a comparison would be pointless.
It’s thanks to their predatory heritage that dogs can hear high-pitched sounds so well. Wolves, dogs’ ancestors, prey on small rodents such as mice, so the ability to hear the tiny animals’ squeaks is important for survival. Humans, who evolved to cooperate with other humans, have ears that are tuned to the pitch of the human voice.
This sensitivity to higher-pitched sounds likely explains several phenomena involving dogs. Rather than having ESP, dogs may predict earthquakes using their highly sensitive ears. And their ability to predict somebody’s arrival at your door is likely due to their ability to detect the sound of a car before you can hear it, rather than any sixth sense. Finally, dogs can be so distressed by everyday noises, like a vacuum cleaner or power drill, because they sound louder to dogs than to humans. And dogs can hear high-pitched noises from these devices that we can’t detect.
When it comes to the remaining detectable frequency range, dogs and humans can both hear these sounds, and the sensitivity of our ears is about the same. However, human ears have a maximum sensitivity of 2,000 Hz. Not coincidentally, that frequency is right in the middle of the range of human speech. On the other hand, dogs have a maximum sensitivity of 8,000 Hz, much better suited to hearing their prey.
Dogs also have an amazing ability to detect tiny differences between frequencies. Coren explains that they can hear “the difference between the musical note C and another note that differs by one-eighth of the distance between that C note and C sharp.” That puts tone-deaf humans to shame. On the other hand, we can locate sounds better than dogs. Humans can tell the difference between two sounds that differ in location by an angle of only one degree, whereas dogs need eight degrees of separation.
Researchers know what humans can hear because they can ask their test subjects, but how do they know what dogs can hear? Early studies involved training dogs to press a lever under a speaker when they heard a sound. Today, a dog’s hearing capabilities can be tested without the dog having to do a thing. The Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) hearing test is as simple as placing electrodes on a dog’s head and earphones in his ears. Sounds are played through the earphones, and if the brain shows electrical activity, the dog is considered to have heard the sound. The test doesn’t hurt the dog and only takes a short amount of time.
Just like humans, dogs can lose their hearing with age or from other factors, such as a severe ear infection. The BAER test is a great way to determine the level of hearing loss. Most dogs adapt well when their ears fail, and you can continue to communicate using body language and hand signals. Also, the ability to detect high-pitched sounds is usually the last to go, so louder, high-frequency sounds, like a whistle, may work even when your dog can no longer hear your voice. https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC eBook