Military working dogs play a vital role in a variety of roles, including tactical operations, patrol, detection, and specialized searches.

Hearing loss, either temporary or permanent, can impair the animal’s performance, compromise ability to hear commands, and shorten the dog’s working capacity. Hearing protection for canines has long-existed, but these devices were limited in their effectiveness due to poor fit and cumbersome design.

In response, the U.S. Army Medical Research Development Command funded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a better option. Zeteo Tech, Inc., along with Pete “Skip” Scheifele, MD, PhD, developed the Canine Auditory Protection System (CAPS). CAPS uses a lightweight, acoustic absorption material that conforms to the shape of the dog’s head creating a proper seal.

Related Resources
U.S. Army: Innovative Hearing Protection May Safeguard Military Working Dogs

Share this

Recent Posts

Protected: President’s Message: An Inside Look at Our Coding and Reimbursement Team

Honoring Our Service Members: Supporting Our Veterans

Academy Recommends Changes to Proposed Amendments to New York EHDI Screening Protocol

Related Posts

Hundreds of American flags planted on the lawn

Honoring Our Service Members: Supporting Our Veterans

This Memorial Day, we honor those service members who have died in military service in the United States. The day was originally called Decoration Day, so named for the tradition of decorating graves with wreaths, flowers, and flags commemorating those who have passed on. While the day was widely observed after the Civil War, and…

Read More
Aspen Trees and fall colors in the Autumn in the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona

Exploring New Sounds with the World’s Largest Trees

What does one of the world’s largest lifeforms sound like? That was a question Ari Daniel asked on a recent National Public Radio (NPR) “All Things Considered” episode. Pando is a quaking aspen tree that has spread to cover over 80 football fields in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. While Pando may resemble a forest, what…

Read More
Low section of female teacher with smiling children reading books in library. Shutterstock Image.

Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Communication in Children Diagnosed with Hearing Loss

Based on parent and teacher report, the prevalence of mental health problems is twice to four times higher in children diagnosed with hearing loss when compared to those peers without a hearing loss. Interestingly, children who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/hh) and hard-of-hearing (HH) typically do not rate themselves as having significantly higher mental health…

Read More