Hearing loss

14 years ago

I have a 12 yr old Shih Tzu that has become hard of hearing and it appears that it happened fairly quickly although I have no way of knowing. I plan to take her to the vet on Wednesday to have a check up but was wondering if anyone has heard of something that might help her in this regard. Her ears look clean so I dont think she has an ear infection but will know soon. Just wanted to hear others thoughts

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

shellm
14 years ago
I have 5 yr old choc lab,who I have had since 18 months old.He was severely abused befor I got him.Very recently it seemed as if he went deaf overnight.The vet thinks he has probably been partly deaf his whole life due to the abuse and was able to compensate for it up until now.I would imagine at 12 yrs old it is due to old age.Sorry I cant offer more help.

Shelley
annzgw
14 years ago
It's probably old age.......and other times it can be due to genetics, trauma or disease/infections.

I've had a few dogs that lost their hearing due to old age and I found teaching them hand signals worked really well.

Be sure not to come up from behind and surprise her.
Related Discussions
Help...Reduction of adenoid swelling, naturally...
Q
Comments (4)
anilegna26 First remember that all the symptoms are just indications of the underlying problem so go to see a good nutritional therapist (www.nutrition.org) who specialises in children. I live in the UK and I assume that you live in the US so I don't have anyone that I can recommend but if you contact me directly I can ask the nutritionist who treated my daughter. You will need to fill out a detailed history about your child including what they eat, the environment they play and live in, vacciness, etc. Anything that could be stressing the immune system of your child. He or she will probably want to run some tests depending upon what you tell them. While finding a good nutrional therapist, I would recommend following the diet recommended by naturalist doctors which is what the call the mucusless diet. Meaning you eliminate dairy products including goat's milk and yoghurt, eggs, grains especially gluten-rich ones like wheat, oats, rye and barley, sugar, potatoes and other starchy vegetables. Replace them with fresh fruit and juices (i.e. You make fresh fruit and vegetable juices for your child as well as having them eat fresh fruit and vegetables. The veggies can also be lightly steamed). If you need help in formulating a feeding program for your child, get Mucusless Diet Healing System by Arnold Ehret. Also do searches on the ingredients of the products your child comes into contact. If you come up with any connected with serious health issues, get rid of the product. What you will be looking for in my opinion is things that stress the immune system. Could be toxins, the drugs, could be poor quality food, or cheap lotions, if she has had antibiotics in her first two years (the situation with my daughter), than look for leaky gut and also of equal importance if she has had antibiotics at all, a sufficient quantity of good bacteria (lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum) in her gut. Without these she could possibly have a yeast infection, or something worse. The antibiotics would not eliminate it, it would make it worse as it kills all bacteria but the most virulent strains are left to wreck havoc. If you want to contact me directly, my email is on my page. Good luck
...See More
Help with hearing aid.
Q
Comments (13)
True, there is a lot of info on the internet. I feel however that it does not really apply to me. Take my bifocals for instance. I could not live without them, need them for the computer, the newspaper, books, driving, etc, etc. Would not have passed my driver's lic exam without them. They are an absolute must and I have a good pair. There is a Vision center in Long Beach, fairly well known, where you can get a set of bifocals for $160. All inclusive, exam, glasses and all. That's about as much as the copay and 20% of that useless insurance I have. I was hoping of finding something like that for hearing aids but it does not seem to exist. My hearing loss is a different matter. People that know me, family and friends, know that they need to speak little louder, I know I must face them with my good ear. Radio and TV are no problem I just turn them up, since my biological rhythm calls for me to be unconscious by 10:PM, I don't think that bothers anyone. Phone also has a volume adjustment. I don't attend any important meetings. Since the average age at orchid societies hovers around 80, sound amplification is usually more than adequate. This truly is a nuisance, nothing more, I may just do nothing or throw a few hundred dollars at a cheap sound amplifier. Let's see what turns up south of the border. Nick PS We actually do have a lot of young active members but certainly a good selection of silverbacks most of them hard of hearing like myself.
...See More
Information about concerts causing hearing loss
Q
Comments (9)
My 17 year old son played the drums for over a year, practiced daily and went to loud concerts. Not anymore. He has hair cell damage in one ear. It drives him crazy. He has no hearing loss per say, just a weird buzz, crackle in that ear. He was told that loud noises such as concerts, drums and such can make the tiny hairs in the ear lay down much like grass when you walk on it. If you don't stand or walk on the grass again it will slowly start righting itself and eventually be standing up again. The best way for someone to not "walk on their hair cells" is to stop exposing oneself to loud noises or to wear protective ear plugs. There are all kinds available in drug stores and from ear doctors. There are even special ones that can be custom made for musicians. I took him to an Audiologist who suggested wearing ear plugs every day until the problem corrected itself. After months of no improvement, I took him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. An MRI of the brain was done on him thinking the problem might be related to a tumor or aneurysm since it was only affecting one ear. Thankfully his brain looks fine. We will now investigate custom ear plugs from an audiologist. I hope this helps your daughters realize the seriousness of loud music, I know my son is pretty bummed by the prospect of having this irritating problem in his ear all the time. By the way, I was a nightclub DJ back in the 70s and 80s. Our legal limit for both records and live bands was 110db. I had a decibel reader and had to keep harping on the lives bands to keep the levels down. They hated me for it and contiued to push the limits all the time. Your only defense it seems is to protect yourself by wearing good ear plugs. Jodi-
...See More
Can You Help Me With Hearing Aids?
Q
Comments (13)
I have hearing aids now for quite a few years. I have moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. I should have been wearing them my whole life, but kids can be real cruel in the first grade! Back in 2006 I finally broke down, got tested and went over the different kinds of hearing aids that were available. BTE, CIC, etc. I chose CIC and have not regretted it at all. I have both low and high frequency loss of different decibles. The brand I have now are Audibel, these are digital. The right one is red and the left is blue. I had mine fitted just for me with a substance that was poured into my ear to make a mold. I hardly know they are there. To avoid that stuffed up feeling, the tiny air vents needs to be cleaned at least once a week. I just went back to the specialist for a in depth hearing test. I have loss some more % of hearing in the past 6 years. I was given a phamplet of the brand Focus by Microtech. These are also digital. I can still hear the dog lapping out of the water bowl and the leaves crunch under my feet as I walk. I'm am still very happy with my Audibel brand and don't plan on getting any new ones just yet.
...See More
brutuses
14 years ago
I second what annz says. If you sneak up or startle them be prepared to get a nip on the foot or leg.
dabunch
14 years ago
One of my Shih Tzus lost her hearing at the age of 11 1/2. Not all of it but quite a bit. I would have to talk to her ear (louder) until the end. She heard loud bangs but a lot of the hearing was gone. I always thought that she lost her hearing at the same time, or around the time when she had a retinal detachment (went blind in 1 eye...). I swore that it all happened during a thunderstorm. She would shake uncontrollably. My holding her didn't help. Valium didn't help.

She lived with limited vision in 1 eye, and hearing almost all gone until the ripe age of 18. It seemed that she learned to compensate for the hearing loss and the lack of vision with her smell and maybe a sense of vibration, because she would know when we came home or were around her. It was amazing how she developed an extra sense to know what was going on around her. She never missed a treat ;) I kept the furniture and other things so she didn't have to learn new ways. Although, we moved when she was 16, and she adjusted just fine.

The Shih Tzu I have now is 13, and her vision and hearing seem fine. However, I'm not 100% certain that she is purebred. She's a puppy mill dog that looks 95% Shih Tzu.
quasifish
14 years ago
My lab was deaf the last couple years of her life. She adapted surprisingly well. In her case it seemed like her eyesight might have improved, but in actuality, I'd guess she just learned to depend on it a little more.

We developed a set of hang signals that she learned and responded to very quickly. Hopefully it doesn't sound terrible to say, but we thought of her deafness as a blessing after our DD was born- the dog was never distressed by a crying baby. In her case, the deafness didn't ever seem to bother her much.

Our old, lone cat we have now is deaf-ish. It's been tougher on her. She yowls a lot and has gotten more high strung about things, understandably. We recently got her some homeopathic anxiety drops for animals that seem to do a pretty good job calming her when she's having a bad day. She's sort of learned the same hand signals that our dog did. In both cases, eye contact became of the utmost importance.
hald
14 years ago
I 3rd Annz comments. I've had several deaf dogs and currently have a 15 year old Westie that has been deaf for about 2 years, and 3 younger hearing dogs. Stuart tends to sleep a lot, so I find it's important to wake him as he can't hear my calls to include him in activities. Also, Stuart (and another dog I had, Ginger) sometimes will "hear things" and bark or become scared. I find that loving petting is all that's needed to get him through it.
Your dog will probably pick up hand signals fast; Stuart did.
sitkafatima
8 years ago
We brought home a 5 yr.old shi-Tzu from the Humane Society 1 1/2 yrs. ago.Now, she is 6 and deaf overnight. Vet says it probably was coming on but not sufficiently noticeable. Now, how should we handle this? We love her just the same but she hides all day in the bathroom
Linda Doherty
8 years ago
You can buy vibrating collars, so you can get her attention. There is a problem with certain ear cleaners that can cause deafness...maybe that was it? Or she is older than you thought?

Hearing loss

Comments (8)

shellm

annzgw

Related Discussions

brutuses

dabunch

quasifish

hald

sitkafatima

Linda Doherty

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US