Hearing Aids for Dogs

When a dog becomes deaf, just as it does for humans, it’s a confusing time as they start to notice changes in their everyday world (unless they were born hearing impaired) more. Pet owners will notice that the dog is experiencing hearing loss if they suddenly don’t respond the way they used to. Deaf dogs don’t respond the same as those with adequate hearing abilities and some owner’s mistake the symptoms as their pets simply being stubborn. In many cases, dogs become uneasy about being touched on their ears. Deaf dogs also frequently shake their heads and only respond when you touch them. These are a few of the initial signs that your dog may be experiencing hearing loss.

Hearing loss in dogs refers to the lack of or gradual loss of their ability to hear and can be a partial or complete loss. If the dog has been deaf since birth, referred to as “congenital”, it will obviously be apparent to you from a young age. There are approximately 30 dog breeds that are known for being susceptible to deafness, including Boxton terriers, Australian shepherds, Dalmatian, Cocker Spaniels, Maltese, Miniature and Toy Poodles, and Jack Russell Terriers. Hearing loss is most common with senior dogs.

Symptoms

Unresponsive to everyday sounds, sleeps through loud noises, unresponsive to the calling of their name or the sounds of squeaky toys.

Diagnosis

A complete history of the dog, including any drugs that may have damaged the ear or caused a chronic ear disease, is completed by the veterinarian. Early age onset usually suggests birth defects (congenital causes) in predisposed breeds. On the other hand, brain disease is a slow progressive disease of the cerebral cortex, usually caused by senility or cancer — making the brain not able to register what the ear can hear. Bacterial cultures and hearing tests, as well as sensitivity testing of the ear canal, may also used to diagnose the underlying condition.

NOTE: Conduction deafness can be corrected if the cause, such as wax accumulation or infection, can be eliminated. Cleaning the ears should be done with care to prevent damage to the eardrum. Only well-trained and knowledgeable people should use cotton-tipped applicators such as Q-tips to clean the ears. Caution should be used. Dogs with severely dirty ears may need to be cleaned under anesthesia by a veterinarian.

Treatment

Unfortunately, any deafness present in the dog at birth (congenital) is irreversible. If it is caused by an inflammation of the outer, middle, or inner ear, medical or surgical approaches may be used. These two methods, however, are dependent on extent of disease, bacterial cultures, sensitivity test results and X-ray findings. Conduction problems, in which sound waves do not reach the nerves of hearing, may improve as inflammation of the outer or middle ear are resolved. Hearing aids can also sometimes be used for dogs.

If you are not interested in hearing aids for your dog, the good news is that dogs do not ‘suffer’ from hearing loss the way people do for a multitude of reasons. For one, when hearing loss comes on slowly, dogs adapt. And part of the reason why they can adapt to their loss of hearing is because dogs rely more heavily on their sense of smell than on their ability to hear. (That’s why they smell other dogs when they meet them, and that’s why we can use them to locate everything from missing children to hidden drugs to a urine sample from a patient with bladder cancer.) Hearing for them is a lesser sense. So even with diminished hearing, your dog can still enjoy a happy life.

Hearing Aids for Dogs or Pets

There are hearing aids for dogs or pets and they’re effective in most cases, unless hearing impaired dogs are born with a pigment, a genetic issue that is associated with hearing impairment. Deaf dogs who have lost their hearing due to non-genetic reasons still have partial auditory functionality in which case hearing aids provide a practical solution. The reason hearing aids can’t help hearing impaired dogs with genetic issues is that they act as sound amplifiers which doesn’t help in cases of congenital deafness.

Investing in Hearing Aids for Dogs or Pets

Purchasing hearing aids for deaf dogs can be a risky expense, given that not all dogs respond well to the feeling of having a foreign object near the ears. Some veterinarians have noted that smaller dogs do relatively well with hearing aid devices, while larger breeds don’t tolerate them as well.

Hearing aids for dog or pets are CUSTOM MADE by a veterinarian

(These are not commercially available as an item that is sold “over the counter) who will make a mold of the dog’s ear canal. Next, the mold is sent to a lab where a comfortable, perfectly fitting device will be designed for your dog. After that, the hearing aid will be placed in the dog’s ear(s) after a series of tests have been performed. This type of hearing aid is very similar to the BTE “behind the ear” hearing aids; as a matter of fact, human and dog hearing devices are basically the same.

Teaching a Deaf Dog Sign Language

It is highly recommended that dog owners teach their deaf dogs how to respond to sign language. Learning the appropriate hand signals and teaching your hearing impaired dogs or pets how to respond plays an important role in training a hearing impaired pet – it can actually also benefit pets that don’t have hearing problems. When a dog is properly trained they’ll find it much easier to adjust to changes in their world, especially when it comes to hearing loss.

It’s important to remember that pets are very different from humans given that they don’t have emotionally motivated thought processes that can potentially dis-empower them. By showing your dog lots of love and being patient with them, they’ll quickly adapt to their hearing loss by relying naturally on their other senses.

Custom made hearing aids for dogs or pets have become quite sophisticated and in some cases expensive. The good news is that there are several pet insurance policies today that cover these kinds of costs, something you can take advantage of if you have your pet insured.