Deafness?

[JoanneF]

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I'm pretty sure Timber is going deaf. He stopped responding to me, and tonight we are having a thunderstorm - something that can make him really restless. I'm very pleased he isn't stressing about it like he would in the past but it seems to confirm my suspicion.

Is it wrong to feel a little glad he isn't reacting?

Anyway, the real reason for this post - we are on holiday and I'll see the vet when we get home. But, what should I expect? Can deafness be caused by something temporary, that can be fixed? Sorry to have no idea about this.

BTW he will be 13 in a few weeks, JRT and probably poodle cross.

 

[arealhuman]

Hi @JoanneF, sorry to hear about this. We had exactly the same with Jimmy (aged 12/13). He wouldn't always respond to his name, and during a thunderstorm and last November's fireworks, he didn't bat an eyelid where normally he'd run for cover (literally). We didn't follow this up as it was obvious what was going on and he had enough to contend with because of his illness/treatment. Our specialist vet also said he had cataracts as well, although outwardly his sight seemed to be OK.

How did we deal with it? If he didn't respond to his name, or I otherwise wanted his attention, I would emit a high-pitched and loud whistle. If I wanted him to know he was a good boy - which was often - I would say it in a low tone directly into his ear. If he was in overall better health, we would've spoken to our vet about this but we were just glad to have him with us during this time

I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done unless a general clean-up of the ears might help (internal hair growth, wax build up) but obviously a vet will be better placed to advise.

I guess dogs, much the same as us, will start to lose hearing as they age, I know mine's not as great as it was! Please let me know how this pans out.

 

[JoanneF]

Thank you @arealhuman.

He doesn't seem unduly bothered, and because he isn't showing discomfort I don't think it's an infection; and he has never had a wax problem. We will be seeing a vet in a couple of weeks so I'll get her to check his ears but I think, like you said, it's just going to be an age thing.

Fortunately he can still hear the whistle, and being a velcro dog he checks in on me frequently. So his walks and so on don't need to change, but I do feel a bit sorry for my poor old man dog.

 

[JudyN]

Is it too late to teach some hand signals, do you think? Maybe have a think about which, if any, could be useful if his hearing gets really bad.

 

[JoanneF]

We have used hand signals along with verbal cues for a while now - so we have that covered

 

[Flobo]

When Jake's hearing was going I found he still could hear a hand clap or 3! So even though he couldn't hear me call him, the clap was able to get his attention, mostly!

Is it wrong to feel a little glad he isn't reacting?

I don't think it's wrong at all, when our dogs age all these things are sad for us, but for them not hearing and then thankfully not getting stressed over thunder or fire works has to be a small blessing... one less thing to worry about for all!

 

[JoanneF]

A sad confirmation. Our living room has two doors, one to the kitchen and then outside; the other to the rest of the house.

I brought T in from his garden visit, and went out of the room through the other door to go to the loo. When I came back in, he was staring at the door to the kitchen, he obviously thought that's where I was.

So I said his name - no reaction. I said it louder. Still nothing. I touched his shoulder and he jumped. So, no doubt now.

 

[JudyN]

That's sad, but I'm sure he'll cope with it admirably. You said you would be seeing the vet - did they confirm there was no problem other than simple ageing?

Which reminds me - I must nag Mr N again about getting a hearing test. I told him some time ago that there was a correlation between hearing loss and cognitive decline, and he replied, 'Between what and what'?

 

[JoanneF]

Thanks. We did see the vet, he said it was likely just age related. I suspect he is right, if it was an infection or anything similar, younwould expect the other ear to work.

I hate that he is ageing, but I have to be brutally honest with myself that the reduced awareness of some sounds is less stressful for him. We had a thunderstorm while we were on holiday. Two years ago, he spent the whole time pacing and panting; he didn't want to be inside and he didn't want to be outside. This time, he didn't notice. I'm so conflicted.

 

[RGC]

They seem to cope with it. One of our previous whippets suffered from gradual blindness. At first I was taking him down some stairs in a gloomy theatre and he was very cautious. A few years later we were in a gloomy crypt (I think it was a crypt) at St Davids and Blue wouldn’t go by a certain area which we put down to he’d picked up a scary vibe. The following year we took him to a veterinary ophthalmologist who confirmed that Blue was completely blind in one eye and sight in the other was going. It made no difference to Blue. We didn’t move the furniture in the house and when we went for a walk our other pointy face, Poppy, would have a bell on her collar so he knew that we were all together and, more importantly, know where to scold Pops when she went ‘spoony, soppy girly’ over other boy dogs. It’s horrible as they age and walks have to be much more relaxed but I don’t think our animals see it that way as long as we’re together. Bless them. If they could purr, they would. Just go at Timber’s pace both physical and spiritual. As an aside, does anyone have a recipe for homemade dog biscuits? I’m mastering an air fryer - pure boy’s toy, I know but I’m trying it out.

 

[arealhuman]

Sorry to hear your concerns have been realised. There's not much I can add to what's already been said, other than to say dogs seem to have this remarkable capability of dealing with things and getting on with life, which I'm sure Timber will. Best wishes to you all.

 

[Hemlock]

Sorry to hear this, but at least you know now. Dogs do cope with these things really well.

JudyN, tell Mr. N. I got hearing aids last November, and they are a real boon. And the modern ones are very comfortable (you don't know you're wearing them) and hardly visible in use.

 

[JudyN]

JudyN, tell Mr. N. I got hearing aids last November, and they are a real boon. And the modern ones are very comfortable (you don't know you're wearing them) and hardly visible in use.

Though I confess, I rather like being able to say, 'I told you that!' whenever it's convenient