Nerves Electrical or Sonic?

When I was a kid I once held a vibrator to my arm and I noticed that my arm went numb. I always wondered why? Why would vibration effect my ability to feel? After all, nerves work electrically, not via vibrations, right?

This fascinating article talks about new research that indicates that nerves might actually work on sound -- electrical signals may only be a side-effect of how they operate. Amazing!