ET CETERA : Why Your Woofer Can Hear Tweeters

When someone blows a “silent” dog whistle, you don’t hear a thing. But your dog sure does.

Dogs can hear certain sounds a lot better than people can.

Your dog’s ears look very different from those of people. But they work the same basic way. A dog’s hearing--and yours--takes place in a small tube deep inside the ear. Within this tube are nerve cells. They send sound messages to the brain. A dog’s nerve cells are more sensitive than yours, so they pick up some sounds when yours can’t.

Sound travels through the air as invisible waves. These waves move back and forth, making tiny flutters called vibrations. The faster a sound wave vibrates, the higher the sound is.

The sound waves coming from the dog whistle vibrate very fast. The sound is higher than your ears can bear. But your dog’s ears can easily pick up the noise.

Woof!