ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,302,860, issued on May 20, was assigned to Zeteo Tech Inc. (Sykesville, Md.).

"Hearing protection devices and methods for animals" was invented by Thomas McCreery (Sykesville, Md.), Michael McLoughlin (Sykesville, Md.), Evelyn McCreery (Tucson, Ariz.), Noella A. Bryden (Sykesville, Md.), Stuart Collymore (Sykesville, Md.), Thomas Sager (Whispering Pines, N.C.) and Rebecca Baxter (Spring Lake, N.C.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Passive noise reduction components provide reduction of at least 20 dB to 30 dB in dogs using flexible soft muffs that are housed in a hearing protection sleeve. Active noise cancellation (ANC) features may also b...