The dog's ear is much more developed than that of human beings, as its hearing capacity reaches 60,000 Hz, when man is only capable of perceiving sounds at 20,000 Hz. Despite this privileged sense, it is possible that the dog suffers from deafness at some point in his life, which which generates great concern in human companions.
The first thing you should do is find out what is causing the problem, and whether or not it is reversible. In case your dog's deafness has no solution, don't worry: it's just a dog like any other. He continues to feel all the affection for you as always, and if it is a puppy he can be trained without any problem, just like a dog that listens correctly. Discover in this article on our site about deafness in dogs, its causes, symptoms and treatment, as well as everything you need to know so that you and your dog continue living in harmony.
Is my dog deaf?
Contrary to popular belief, it is not true that a deaf dog is more violent, more surly or more difficult to have at home. It will obviously require some extra consideration, but nothing you can't handle.
We say that a dog is deaf when he proves to be unable to hear what is happening around him, acquired problem (diseases, disorders, etc.) or present congenitally (from birth). It can be total, in which case the dog hears absolutely nothing, or partial, when he still perceives some sounds, especially the loudest ones. Similarly, deafness may be unilateral (affects only one ear) or bilateral (affects both ears).
The deafness does not manifest itself externally, that is, there is nothing in the dog's appearance that reveals the existence of a hearing problem. This is so because the ear, which is the outer part of this important sense, has no relation to what happens inside, in the middle ear and the inner ear of the dog.
When a sound is produced, the dog perceives it thanks to the vibrations it generates by bouncing off elements from the outside, and it is these waves that pass through each ear individually and each middle ear until they reach the internal, where hearing occurs. When there is deafness, these vibrations are no longer perceived.
What factors can cause deafness in dogs?
Depending on the cause, the deafness may or may not be reversible. In addition, in cases where it is possible to cure it, it is crucial to detect the problem in time, which is complicated on many occasions.
One of the causes of deafness in dogs is Advanced age As with humans, the body of dogs deteriorates over the years, and the gradual loss of hearing capacity is one of the elements that shows the passing of time.
When deafness occurs in a young dog, the most common factors are usually the following:
- An ear canal infection or head trauma are also causes of deafness. Otitis, the presence of mites, a foreign object that has been introduced into the cavity, among other factors, would trigger this type of deafness. It is usually reversible, but this requires quick action.
- Distemper, a common disease in dogs and other mammals, can cause irreversible deafness after healing.
- Excessive accumulation of wax prevents correct addition, as the plug blocks the channel that perceives external stimuli. This cause, of course, is caused by the lack of hygiene of a careless human. Both in this case and in that of wounds and infections, the ear problem affects the dog's balance.
- The presence of a tumor, carcinogenic or not, in the auditory apparatus or even in the brain affects the functions of the ear, causing canine deafness.
- Some medications impair a dog's hearing as a side effect, such as certain antibiotics, chemotherapy, some drugs used to treat ear infections, and even certain household and transported cleaning products in the air to the ear.
- Repeated exposure to loud noises, whether low or high, damages the nerves of hearing.
However, heredity is often the main cause of deafness in dogs. It is related to a lack of pigmentation, which is why it affects many white dogs. Why? It does not mean that dogs that are naturally light in color are deaf, but rather it affects those that, different from those of their race, white predominates as a lack of pigmentation. When this happens, the inside of the ear also suffers from this depigmentation, causing the inner nerves to deteriorate when the puppy is only a few weeks old. This feature is not externally visible.
When it comes to heredity, some breeds are more likely than others to become deaf, such as the Dalmatian, Bull Terrier, Saint Bernard, Cocker Spaniel, Jack Russell, among others.
What are the symptoms of a deaf dog?
When the problem is caused by an infection, mites, otitis, etc., it is possible to observe certain symptoms, such as frequent shaking of the head, scabs on the outer part of the ear, colored cerumen black, loss of balance and obvious pain.
In the rest of the cases, more than physical symptoms, what a deaf dog presents are changes in behavior If it is an adult, you will notice that he slowly seems to ignore your calls or commands, which is simply because he cannot hear them. Similarly, it is likely that he will begin to sleep for a greater number of hours because, in general, the dog wakes up at the same time as the rest of the family, so he will be unable to perceive the typical morning noises.
A deaf dog gives the feeling of being disobedient and not interested in games and interaction with their humans, but the reality is that he does not perceive the calls that they make to him. In addition, in cases of unilateral deafness you will see that, at some sound, the dog turns its head in different directions, trying to detect its origin.
Deafness is also possible in puppies, evidenced in games that are aggressive to the human eye, since when the puppy bites hard it does not listen to the pain alerts given by, for example, the human or some brother of the litter. Similarly, the pup will not respond to its mother's calls to eat or to noises in the home.
How to know if your dog is deaf?
If you suspect that your dog is deaf, you can carry out some simple tests at home to determine his degree of reaction to sounds. When the dog has his back to you, make a sound that doesn't produce vibration, such as turning on the TV, putting his food bowl on the floor, or shaking some object that makes noise. If the dog does not react, you should consider deafness as a possibility and proceed to determine its causes with a veterinarian. If, on the other hand, he appears disoriented looking for sound, it may be unilateral and even reversible deafness.
Professionally there is a test to determine deafness in dogs, called BAER(Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response), which is applied by a veterinarian. The test consists of placing a series of electrodes on the dog's head, accompanied by headphones on the ears. Faced with sound stimuli sent to the headphones, the level of the dog's brain response is studied. The only downside is that it is an expensive test and not all vets are trained to perform it.
However, by observing the signs that we have mentioned in the previous section and with the correct advice from your pet's veterinarian, they will be able to discover what the problem is. Ear x-rays, observation of the ears and a study of the animal's medical history, among others, are found in the pertinent analyses.
Is there a treatment for deafness in dogs?
That depends on the factor that triggered your dog's deafness. When it is due to an infection, such as an ear infection, it is possible that the hearing will recover, as long as you treat the disease in time. Prolonged neglect can damage your dog's hearing forever.
Similarly, when deafness is the product of earwax blockage, proper cleaning will suffice to return to normal. Once this has happened, we recommend that you pay attention to your dog's hygiene in all its aspects, especially clean its ears once a week or every fortnight at most.
In the other cases the final result varies, and therefore also the treatment that will be applied. The only sure thing is that, once deafness has been declared irreversible, there is no medication or treatment that can cure it, nor will it be necessary for you to administer any extra medication to your dog.
What a deaf dog needs is compression and a lot of love, as well as patience When you approach him, for example, try to always do it from the front, so as not to startle it. If the hearing has not completely atrophied, call the dog using claps or some other deep sound, until he gets used to responding to this sound.
Outside the house it is essential to be extremely careful, because the dog will not be able to detect sounds that warn him of approaching dangers. Whenever you go out for a walk, put your dog on a leash and do not leave him free in unsafe places, very crowded or where he can run and escape. On the other hand, trains your dog the same way you would a hearing dog, only instead of sounds forcommands uses signs and gestures with the hand.
As a form of prevention, we also recommend putting a collar with a tag that not only indicates the dog's name and your contact information, but also includes the word “Deaf”. Add a bell to the collar, so it's easy to know where the dog is at all times.
Treat your dog with love and patience, play with him and never stop giving him the love he so deserves. All care for deaf dogs in our article, don't miss it!
