Hi, I have a dog (cross german shepherd/husky/collie) and today she was in the car. I like to listen to loud music so it got me wondering… do dogs hear sound louder than humans? Or are they just more sensitive to it? If my dog is in the car and I’m pumping some loud tunes, is it worse for her than me? I’ll assure you, when she’s in the car it isn’t that loud, but I was just wondering if it was, would it be bad?
Thanks in advance 
-nifu
I’m not a veterinarian, so you can check this with your dog’s next time you’re there, but I believe the hearing of dogs (and cats) is much more sensitive than yours and mine. They can hear a much higher range of sounds, for example, and I think they are able to detect sound at a lower decibel range, too. And just like you and me, their hearing can be damaged by excessive noise.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the whistles that only dogs can hear. They will sometimes complain about a sound that seems innocuous to humans, but has some notes that are painful to the animal’s ear.
Loud sounds for a prolonged time are bad for both of you, but at least in your own case it’s self-inflicted. Seems a shame to impose that on a pet.
Many years ago I took part in some hearing experiments, and the fellow conducting the experiment stated that if the human ear were any more sensitive within its range we would be hearing stuff like the blood flowing through the membrane and other internal noises.
bnorton: if that is true then, does that mean a dog would be able to hear blood flowing through their membranes? hmm i kind of doubt it.
anyways, i won’t torture my dog with my loud music, let alone my horrible taste in it
thanks all,
-nifu
No. The critical qualifier is the range. Dogs can hear higher pitched sounds than we can (and perhaps lower sounds), but within our audible range you can’t get any better than what we can hear. At least that’s what I was told.