How do dogs hear?

The anatomy of the dog’s ear doesn’t differ much from the human’s ear. It can be divided into outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. Anyway, there are three essential differences when it comes to the ear’s skills.

1. Dogs also hear higher frequencies, which humans aren’t able to hear (human: 20 to 20.000 Hz, dog: 15 to 50.000 Hz). A common example is the dog whistle.

2. Dogs are able to move their ear conch independently like radar. Therefore they are able to locate and capture sources of sound. Dogs with upright ears nearly perfected this skill. With this, they can easily locate their prey animal.

3. Dogs also have the ability to hear selectively, which means that sounds can be masked out on demand. With this, they are able to sleep with loud music while the sound of the fridge is waking them up.

In contrast to the human one, the ear canal of the dog is quite long and has a kink that can be up to 90°. Certain glands that produce earwax (“cerumen”) are arranged in the ear canal. A healthy ear generally cleans itself.

If you see changes on the ears of your dog like secretion or unpleasant odours, a visit at the vet is required to find the cause.

It is important to protect the dog’s hearing. Permanent noise and loud sounds can cause permanent damage to the dog’s hearing.