Signs of a Dog With a Hearing Problem
There are four specific signs of a dog with a hearing problem. These include head shaking, not reacting to loud sounds, not coming when called and ignoring squeaky toys. A dog may be born with a hearing problem or it may develop a hearing problem later in life from ear infections or certain medications. Dogs may have a medical reason that impairs their hearing, or they may develop degenerative hearing loss with age like humans.
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Head Shaking
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Dogs may shake their heads to try to clear objects from the ear canal. There can be something in his ear that needs removing. The object can be as small as a piece of grass, seeds from a plant or a bug. A dog may shake its head and put its paw inside their ear to try to hear better. This may be a sign of hearing loss from a wax buildup or an ear infection, which will cause him loss of hearing from fluid accumulation in the ear canal.
Not Reacting to Loud Sounds
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If a dog does not notice a loud sound that would normally awake them from sleep, it could be losing its hearing or be hearing impaired. Dogs normally hear sounds that humans do not even notice and react to them by looking for the cause of the sound or by barking. Degenerative hearing in dogs as they age is as common as it is in humans.
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Not Coming When Called
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When a dog is in its yard and playing, it may not come when you call. This can be part of the dog's personality or can signal a hearing problem. Other outside noises as the wind blowing in the trees can mask the sound of a person's voice as background noises. Other dogs barking, traffic on a nearby road and the sound of rain can all attribute to background noise, which may make a dog unresponsive when you call its name. Keeping a dog inside most of the time will not allow these other noises to interfere with his hearing so he may identify the foreground sounds better.
Ignoring Toys with Squeakers
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All dogs, even those with limited hearing, can hear the high-pitched sound of a dog toy that contains a squeaker. Development of the tone of squeaky toys results in getting a dog's undivided attention at a pitch level that is loudest to a dog's hearing. If a dog does not respond to a toy squeaking, he probably has a serious hearing problem that can be the result of certain medications, genetics, overabundance of metals, tumors or cancer of the hearing nerves or many other factors.
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