⏱️ Estimated reading time: 11 min
Key Takeaways
Military dog ear protection today mostly means snood-style hoods from research programmes such as the US Army’s Canine Auditory Protection System (CAPS), plus over-ear ear defenders used in training and kennels. Many police and military dogs still deploy with bare ears, and the reason is practical rather than careless.
The worry handlers raise first is not deafness in ten years’ time. As Dr Stephen Lee of the US Army Research Office put it, even a short helicopter flight can affect a dog’s hearing and leave it unable to hear the handler’s commands. A dog that misses a recall in a live job is a safety problem for everyone around it.
At BOLLSEN, we make hearing protection trusted by 1,000,000+ people, and our dog hearing protection is built around Dog+ earmuffs, a passive over-ear muff. Below is what police and military dogs are exposed to, what the research shows, and where a muff like ours fits and where it does not.
What ear protection do military and police dogs actually use?
The best-known piece of military dog ear protection is the Canine Auditory Protection System (CAPS), a snood-style hood a little more than an inch thick, developed with US Army Research Office funding, tested on military and federal law-enforcement dogs and designed to sit alongside dog goggles.
According to the US Army’s 2019 announcement, dogs wearing CAPS showed significantly less short-term hearing loss during helicopter operations. It began as a research programme with animal audiologist Dr Peter Scheifele of the University of Cincinnati, not as a retail product.
British forces use ear defenders too: AKC News reported in January 2018 that 105 Military Working Dog Squadron dogs train in ear defenders, goggles and booties. In October 2024, The Defense Post reported a £3.1 million, five-year MoD kit contract covering 500+ military working dogs across the British Army, RAF and MoD Police, including hearing protection.
How loud does a police or military dog’s working day get?
A police or military working dog meets continuous noise in helicopter cabins and occupied kennel blocks, intermittent sirens and barking in vehicles, and impulse noise at firing ranges and from distraction devices.
Handlers usually start by asking how loud is too loud for dogs. Our guide on how loud is too loud for dogs covers the everyday decibel scale and the 85–90 dB discomfort line, so the table below names a source for each working noise and shows where a passive muff fits.
| Noise source | Measured level or finding | Source | Where a passive over-ear muff fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-60 helicopter cabin | 107 dBA averaged over a 30-minute flight | Scheifele et al., 2022 | Partly. Rotor and engine noise is low-frequency, where every over-ear muff cuts least |
| Occupied military kennel block | Peaks around 100 dBA, loud enough that handlers need protection to enter | Scheifele et al., 2022 | Good fit for a resting dog that does not need to hear commands |
| Police vehicle with dogs barking and sirens | 6 of 22 handler measurements exceeded the NIOSH daily noise dose | NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation 2006-0223-3029 | Good fit for a dog resting in its crate between jobs |
| Firing range and training ground | Impulse noise; a continuous-noise rating does not describe it | See the gunfire note below | Waiting areas back from the firing point only |
| Distraction devices on deployment | Impulse noise during a live job | Surrey and Sussex PCC market exploration, 2026 | Not a fit. This is specialist deployment equipment |
| Dog discomfort line (reference) | About 85–90 dB | Matija Medved, DVM, Dr.Vet clinic | Above this line, protection is worth planning |
What does a helicopter flight do to a working dog’s hearing?
A helicopter flight can cause a temporary threshold shift in a working dog: in a 2022 study by Scheifele and colleagues, seven dogs aged 2–5 went from an average 27.71 dB nHL before flying to 58.35 dB nHL thirty minutes after landing, a moderate-to-severe shift.
These are hearing thresholds, not noise levels: a BAER test finds the quietest click a dog’s brain responds to, so higher means worse hearing. An hour after landing the dogs averaged 46.5 dB nHL, still short of baseline, according to the Canine Hearing Management chapter published by IntechOpen.
One dog in the group wore a snood-type hood and had better thresholds after the flight than before, though a single dog proves little. The authors also note that existing commercial devices do not sufficiently attenuate frequencies below 1,000 Hz, which is exactly where rotor and engine noise sits.
Why don’t police dogs wear ear protection on every deployment?
Police dogs often deploy without ear protection because a dog in a live job must hear its handler and keep its kit on, and a 2022 New Zealand Police trial with Massey University found hearing protection carried more risk to the dog.
The trial, reported by Northern Rescue Helicopter, named two problems: restriction around the neck from the securing straps, and equipment coming detached during deployment. New Zealand Police now manage how often their dogs fly instead.
Many working dogs are also deliberately exposed to gunfire in training so they stay steady on the job. Habituation builds composure, but it is not hearing protection, and a calm dog’s inner ear takes the same exposure as a nervous one’s.
Where does a passive over-ear muff fit for a working dog?
A passive over-ear muff fits a working dog’s controlled exposure, not its deployment: kennel blocks, vehicle and transport time, waiting back from the firing point at a range or training ground, and retired service dogs at home, where the dog does not need to take commands by ear.
That is the job our Dog+ earmuffs (SNR 27 dB, sizes XS to L, £69.95) are built for, with soft padded cups, an adjustable headband and reflective stitching. Dog+ is not deployment kit: we publish no water or IP rating and no material specification for it.
How much noise dog ear muffs reduce depends on frequency. Dog+ cuts 13.6 dB at 63 Hz against 44 dB at 1,000 Hz, according to our supplier’s attenuation table, so helicopter rumble is where it cuts least and no muff makes a flight safe. Our explainer on how much noise dog ear muffs reduce sets out the full frequency picture.
Gunfire is the loudest thing most working dogs meet, and no ear protection takes it out completely. BOLLSEN Dog+ cuts a large amount of it, at the moment it matters most, across a whole season of it. A dog wearing muffs is still never brought closer to the firing point than it would be without them.
Field sport is a different job, and gundog hearing protection has its own trade-offs. Our guide to gundog hearing protection covers shooting days, pegs and picking-up for working gundogs.
What about retired service dogs on fireworks night?
Retired police and military dogs often live with handler families, where fireworks night is the loudest evening of the year. Our plan for dogs and fireworks runs from preparation weeks ahead to the morning after, and muffs are one layer within it.
If a retired dog pants, paces or hides at loud sounds, our guide to noise anxiety in dogs explains the signs and when to involve a vet or behaviourist.
Who protects the handler’s hearing?
The dog handler shares the dog’s exposure and adds the dog as a noise source: in a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation of the Cincinnati Police Canine Unit, 6 of 22 handler measurements exceeded the NIOSH daily noise dose, and 3 of 9 officers tested showed hearing loss.
The noise came from barking in the car, sirens, distraction devices and firearms ranges. The NIOSH report recommended a hearing loss prevention programme, ear protection when loud noise is expected and training the dog to stay quiet on routine patrol.
In the UK, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set a lower action value of 80 dB(A), an upper action value of 85 dB(A), at which hearing protection must be provided, and an exposure limit of 87 dB(A), according to the HSE. A kennel block peaking around 100 dBA is far louder than those action values, which is why the 2022 study says handlers need protection to enter.
How do police forces and military units buy hearing protection for dogs and handlers?
Police forces and military units buy dog and handler hearing protection through formal procurement: in May 2026 the Surrey and Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner published a market exploration for ear and eye protection for operational police dogs deployed where flash-bangs or other incapacitating devices are used.
Dog deployment equipment is a specialist category, and Dog+ is not part of it. We can help a unit with the controlled-exposure side for dogs and with hearing protection for police and military personnel, which the HSE figures make a legal duty.
For units, see our page on hearing protection for military personnel, which covers bulk orders for service personnel. For forces and dog sections, our page on hearing protection for police covers officers and handlers.
Ear protection for police and military dogs is a young field with mixed evidence: research hoods like CAPS show promise in helicopters, while New Zealand Police found straps and detaching kit outweighed the benefit on live jobs. Leave deployment decisions with the unit and its vet, and protect the hours a dog spends resting in kennels, vehicles and waiting areas. Look after the handler’s ears at the same time.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.