Whilst on holiday Heiko kept scratching his ear and shaking his head, so we took him to a vet who said he had infection and prescribed (Canaural) one drop daily for five days, after a couple of days he seemed a lot better and his ear wasn’t bothering him but we continued drops for five days. When we got home it didn’t twig at first, but little things began to make we wonder about his hearing, OH shouted his name ‘nothing’ tried clapping hands ect : nothing, that is when my suspicions were confirmed he was deaf. He never showed any signs like loss of balance ect: I went online and put in ear drops causes deafness and was shocked to find, it was quite common for dogs to go deaf, after using ear drops.https://www.dailydogdiscoveries.com/ear-drops-may-be-making-your-dog-deaf/ There is no warning on outside of box and vet didn’t mention about it either. I am now blaming myself for not reading the small print where it does say, that in geriatric animals use of auricular preparations can cause hearing loss which may be transient or prolonged. So it’s a waiting game to see if he will get his hearing back.
There is no point in blaming yourself Vee - the ones to blame are the vet, who should have known better, and the lack of warning on the outside of the box. I do hope that Heiko gets over whatever it was in the ear drops that caused his deafness and that it is only a temporary thing.
Thanks Malka, i never use ear drops just thornit which i've never had a problem with but didnt have it with me.
You were not to know that you might need Thornit. I mean how many people go on even a short holiday and take with them this, that or whatever "just in case". Come to think about it, how many people have either or both first aid kits for themselves and their dogs at home, let alone take them with them on holiday.
Chas went to the doctor to ask to have his ears syringed, and was told that they didn't do it any more, just to use olive oil. After a few days he went completely deaf, but it was because the oil had made the wax swell, blocking the passage completely. The treatment was to use a few drops of warm water, and massage the base of the ear to float up the blockage a little at a time - only minimal use of cotton buds near the surface, so as not to compact the discharge. I'm wondering if this could be has happened to Heiko - if you think it may be possible, it might be worth a visit to have your own vet look down there with an auriscope. I really hope his hearing does return soon. I use CleanAural fairly regularly for the Beags and have never had any problems, but have never used Canaural. Thanks for the warning though.
Ram always checks Tikva's ears while she is on his lap [shots, nail tipping etc] and I have never thought of asking him whether I should get something to clean her ears. The only time I had my own ears cleared properly was when my previous GP sent me to an otologist because I had lost all speech hearing in my right ear. He used something like a vacuum thingy and cleared a load of gunk - not that it helped my hearing - and the ABR test he sent me for proved I was right - I had lost all speech frequencies in that ear. It is horrible when ears feel blocked - I have some drops for myself but nothing for Tikva. Maybe I should ask Ram when he next comes? Only he has only just been here so is not due again until end December. Luckily she does not have long droopy Doxie ears so does not have that problem. But just in case, maybe I should have something for her 'just in case'.
So sad to hear that. Don't worry everything will be okay and please do not blame yourself because you're just doing what is good for your dog but next time please do read instructions and also the details. God bless!
Afraid not Carole, I’m devastated, , when I rang my vet he explained that it could still come back but I don’t hold much hope of it returning. I used to moan as he was a pain in the neck barking at every little thing, could hear when I was making his dinner or a cuppa (as he gets a titbit) now I have to signal to him and i miss him barking .
I'm so sorry. I have had a blind dog, but not had a deaf one. Are you going to teach him some hand and light signals?
I am so sorry Vee and do Heikos' hearing comes back. I rely so much on Tikva, and Pereg before her, to tell me what is happening as I am hard or hearing. I do not think how I could manage with the silence. I so much like her talking as well.
Luckily he has always been glued into body/hand signals, as I’ve always used hand signals in training. I just have to roll my eyes and he knows what it means, he also knows from our body language routine when its walkie time, I have noticed he watches us a lot more, but if in deep sleep I have to gently tap him. Sometimes if im in another room I forget and find myself calling him. @ Malka My OH is profoundly deaf and though never trained to do so Heiko would go up to him and bark to let him know if someone is at the door, when he sets off the fire alarm, if there is anyone around ect .
I am not profoundly deaf but have no speech hearing in my right ear - measles as a child - and I was always told I was just not listening. Not having perfect hearing in my left ear and getting fed up with continually , after the sorry I can not hear you, please say that again, I had an ABR test, which showed I do not have full hearing in my left ear, My right ear can not have a hearing aid - I do have a tiny in-the ear one for my left ear but it is no good as the microphone points backwards so no good if someone is speaking to me. And it cost a fortune and the batteries only last for 5 days, and it it hurts, so I do not wear it at rely on lip talk and face talk. Easy face to face but not good on the telephone. So I have them set on highest sound possible and relied on Pereg and now Tikva who seemed to know, to tell me things other things. And they did and do and I do not know how they learned how to do so. How did they know who was coming down the ramp was a friend or not? They just did.
I'm not deaf, but do I have tinnitus in my left ear, though I am starting to get some sounds in the right one too. I had lost some hearing when I was diagnosed - possibly I should have had a follow-up test - but NHS advice just seemed to be that there was no cure, and to learn to live with it. I don't think I'm bad enough for a hearing aid, and don't think I could cope with an in-ear device anyway. I have narrow ear canals and the smallest ear buds become painful after a while. I rely on my right ear for clarity, so can miss a little in casual conversation, so I try to smile and nod in the right places. TV dramas drive me mad - everyone mumbles and looks away from the camera! I love the radio, it seems to have a much purer sound, and the background sounc does seem to reduce the intrusivess of my resident waterfall or dog whistle. I even sleep with the radio on, fortunately OH is a sound sleeper.
My lad is profoundly deaf too. He's the perfect neighbour as every device (computer, TV, phone, alarm clock) is on silent so he's very quiet to live next door to and doesn't complain about noise from his neighbours unless the sound is ratcheted up so loud that the floor vibrates
My OH suffers terrible from tinnitus it seems to be getting more frequent and harder to block it out, it happens mostly at night and he has to get up and put telly on ,luckily he has a loop system connected to the tv so that he can hear through his hearing aids when its on mute. He depends mostly on lip reading, but not always easy as most people either mumble, different accents , or don’t look at him when talking if we are somewhere with background noise his hearing aids are useless.
My lad gets no benefit from hearing aids and all he can 'hear' are loud bangs and then we're not sure if he actually hears them or feels them. His lip reading skills are extremely poor so his form of communication is sign language. All the dogs I have owned tend to know what he wants them to do. Body language and signing seem to be a common communication for both dogs and humans
I was given a bleeper for the - not the last but the previous Gaza war - but it did did not work and when I gave it back I refused to pay for it to be fixed to be worked so I do not care. I usually do hear the sirens and if I do not I honestly do not care. Things are going to go bad soon but Tikva will tell me if I do not hear a siren.
Gary relies on the gadgets, Juli. Flashing door bell and telephone (minicom), vibrating alarm clock and smoke alarm that vibrates under his pillow and also flashes. Computers and smart phones are a very big bonus for him in the communication stakes both messaging and video messaging as he can talk to his deaf friend with ease on video despite them living a hundred miles apart
I’ve had a dog who went stone cold deaf in her later years. Her eyesight was going too. She was still a very happy dog until the morning she was laying on the kitchen floor and didn’t want to get up. My mother became hard of hearing but wouldn’t admit it for a long time.... She would however talk VERY loud, and she didn’t realize it.. She thought everyone else was talking quietly.. Everyone was relieved when she finally got hearing aids.
