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U.S. Army To Provide Military Dogs With Ear Protection To Prevent Hearing Loss

Just like their human counterparts, military dogs are often exposed to incredibly loud noises while in combat which can often cause significant hearing damage.

Everything from helicopters to gunfire can pose a serious risk to a dog's ears, but thankfully the U.S. Army is now offering their hardworking pups some much-needed protection.

According to Popular Mechanics, the military has developed an innovative and advanced new piece of combat armor for working dogs in an effort to protect their ears and prevent hearing loss.

The Canine Auditory Protection System (CAPS) is a head covering designed to shield a dog's ears from potentially damaging noises.

U.S. Army

The gear is made from lightweight acoustic absorption materials, about an inch thick, that filters out loud noises and fits snugly around a dog's head, much like a hoodie.

CAPS was developed by ZeteoTech, a bio-defense and medical technology company, in partnership with retired Navy lieutenant commander Pete "Skip " Scheifele MD, PhD.

U.S. Army

The fitted hood is compatible with military dog goggles (as shown above) and also won't restrict a working pup's ability to maneuver inside tight spaces.

While designing the headgear, researchers were focused particularly on protecting dogs' hearing while traveling via military helicopter.

Unsplash | Curioso Photography

"Even a short helicopter flight can affect a dog's hearing, resulting in impaired performance and inability to hear the handler's commands, which can hinder the mission," Army researcher Stephen Lee told CCDC Army Research Laboratory.

He continued, "This new technology protects the canine while on missions and can extend the dog's working life."

Dogs' ears are extremely sensitive to noise, much more so than humans' ears.

Unsplash | Caleb Fisher

In fact, dogs can hear four times the distance of humans, and can detect a frequency range of up to around 50,000 Hz.

To put that into perspective, a young human with average hearing can typically only hear up to about 20,000 Hz.

So anything that sounds loud to us can be positively deafening to a dog, like a military helicopter that can produce noise above 90db. Thankfully, those doggos traveling in copters will now have the proper gear to keep them safe from temporary or even permanent hearing loss.

h/t: Popular Mechanics, CCDC Army Research Laboratory

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