The relationship between incipient stress‐pulse‐induced damage and the electrical response of a piezoelectric, ferroelectric, or electrically biased dielectric is examined. The model assumes the presence of isolated inclusions of damaged material which are conducting and which may grow. Virgin insulating material surrounds the inclusion . Sillars’ model of an inhomogeneous dielectric is invoked to yield parameters of an electrically equivalent, relaxing dielectric. These parameters are used to generate the electrical response caused by propagating stress pulses. Qualitative agreement with current histories obtained from experiments onX‐cut quartz is obtained, quantitative results await further experimentation.