Is Your Dog Losing Its Hearing?

Hearing loss in dogs can be hereditary, due to trauma, the result of congenital disability, or an infection. It is especially common for dogs to lose their hearing as they age, similar to humans.

Some breeds of dogs have what is called ‘congenital deafness.’ This refers to a loss of hearing triggered by certain genes. This sort of loss of hearing tends to be permanent and cannot be treated.

Here are the main signs that your dog is losing its hearing.

1.   Disobedience

It’s pretty common for people to mistake a loss of hearing in their pet for a behavioral problem such as disobedience.

This is especially true if your dog has thus far been very well behaved. A well-behaved dog that suddenly stops responding to its owner’s instructions and commands can easily be pegged as being disobedient.

Generally speaking, this sort of loss of hearing affects senior dogs. Before getting angry at your dog for misbehaving, make sure to conduct certain tests at home to check whether your dog is being disobedient by not listening to you, or whether he simply cannot hear you.

If you realize that your dog is having problems understanding your voice, you can always use hand signals and other visual cues to communicate with your pet.

2.   Loud and Frequent Barking

When a human has a hearing problem, they often start turning the volume of the TV up or start speaking louder than they usually do. In the same way, a dog suffering from hearing loss is likely to bark very loudly and all the time. This is because, without proper hearing, the dog doesn’t realize just how loud it is being. So, if your dog has suddenly started barking very loudly, this may be a sign that it’s starting to lose its hearing.

3.   Excessive Sleep

Generally speaking, a dog that is still adjusting from its newly discovered loss of hearing will try to compensate for this loss by sleeping frequently. Although you may initially assume your dog is only sad, the truth is, it is undergoing changes that it does not know how to cope with.

These were some of the major signs that your dog is losing its hearing. If your pet is displaying any of these signs, it’s best to get him checked by a vet at the earliest.