Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian and this article is not a substitute for veterinary care. Any information found on this site is meant to serve as a starting point for a conversation with your dog’s veterinarian about what options or treatments are appropriate for your dog’s specific needs.
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Sometimes I think my dog is losing his hearing.
He doesn’t always come when I call him.
He also once let a door-to-door salesman get all the way up to the porch before he started barking (but you should have seen how fast that man left once he did).
But he also comes running from the other side of the house whenever a plastic bag of shredded cheese is opened.
So I guess his hearing might be OK after all.
But, just like humans, hearing loss in dogs is something that can happen with age.
Dog Hearing Loss Causes
There are multiple reasons for a dog losing hearing at some point in its life.
Structural factors such as improperly developed auditory anatomy can result in a dog that is born with hearing loss or impairment.
While this can certainly pose some challenges in communication for the owner, it likely won’t hinder the dog’s ability to adapt or cause significant emotional impairment. The dog has no point of reference. Effectively it never lost its hearing, since he never had it in the first place.
In some cases a particular trauma such as a loud noise or injury can damage the dog’s ears, potentially causing the dog loss of hearing.
This acute experience can cause anxiety to your dog. This can come in the form of post-traumatic stress and the sudden, unexpected need to adapt to a life without a sense it has relied on up until that very point. Here, reassurance goes a long way.
In the case of an old dog losing hearing, it’s often a gradual process similar to the degeneration of auditory nerves seen in humans. The good news is that dogs are often better at adapting at it than their owners, who must learn new ways to communicate non-verbally with them.
The fact that it is gradual can mean the symptoms may be subtle and harder to spot immediately. This can unfortunately can cause frustration and misunderstanding.
This is especially so if you interpret the unresponsiveness in your dog to something like stubbornness or depression.
Dog Hearing Loss Symptoms
While the causes may vary, the symptoms of a dog losing hearing center around the fact that the dog will have a harder time following auditory stimuli.
This means the dog may:
- be less responsive to your words that it can’t hear well anymore
- sleep more deeply without auditory stimulation able to wake it up normally
- not enjoy the usual sounds it once did such as the squeak of a toy
- be more vulnerable to events around it without the auditory warnings that typically go along with them to put them into proper context.
For example, a dog venturing out into the street may be taken off guard by oncoming traffic or pedestrians. If the dog is unable to hear them coming quickly enough, this can result in injury or even death.
Apart from the safety hazards posed to the dog by hearing loss, difficulty communicating can cause frustration to the owner. Owners may mistake the unresponsiveness as stubbornness or disobedience.
If loss of sight accompanies hearing loss, it can make it more difficult, but not impossible, to communicate as you once did with your dog.
You’ll have to rely more on different forms of communication, such as touch, taste, and smell. You can find different ways to couple or associate these with specific spoken commands or hand gestures.
Tips For a Dog Going Deaf
While hearing loss in your dog can be frustrating and challenging at times, there are many ways you can still communicate effectively with your pet.
If your dog can still see fairly well, using hand gestures and sign language can aid in communication. This works especially well if there is still some residual hearing left that the dog can associate with the physical displays.
An emergency whistle can be used to make a loud noise the dog still can hear as long as they are hearing-impaired but not quite deaf. Just a warning though, this should be done outside and in relative seclusion. Otherwise, you run the risk of disturbing others or damaging your own ears in the process.
Assuming your dog’s remaining senses, particularly taste and smell, are still intact, they may even be heightened. This makes rewarding desired behaviors with food is still a very effective tool you can use.
While sounds may not be audible to the dog, it can still be sensitive to the vibrations associated with them. As a result, gently stomping your foot on the ground or using a vibration collar can provide an anticipatory stimulus or warning signal that your dog can pick up. This can make it so that he’s not taken by surprise from a sudden touch. Otherwise, this might cause your dog to get defensive and even bite you without meaning to.
Final Advice
Above all else, take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as you notice any significant changes in behavior that may be brought about by hearing loss. This includes failure to respond to verbal cues or other auditory stimuli.
They can provide you with an accurate and professional diagnosis about what exactly may be going on with your dog. Your vet can tell you what’s most likely to be causing it and potential treatments and management. They can also rule out any confounding medical issues.
With the valuable information you can get from your veterinary professional, you and your beloved dog can adapt to live the very best life you can together, full of magical and memorable moments!
Do you worry that your dog might be losing their hearing? Or do you have any tips for the owner of a dog going deaf? Let us know in the comments.
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