You call your dog’s name.
Nothing.
You whistle.
Still nothing.
Then you open the treat cupboard and somehow your dog appears immediately.
It can be tempting to assume your dog is simply becoming selective about which instructions deserve a response. But sometimes a dog that appears to be ignoring you may actually be experiencing hearing loss.
Hearing problems in dogs are more common than many owners realize, and they can develop gradually or appear suddenly. Hearing loss may affect one ear or both, and it can range from mild difficulty detecting certain sounds to complete deafness.
The important point is that not every hearing problem means your dog will become permanently deaf. Some forms of hearing loss are associated with ear infections, wax accumulation or other conditions that can potentially improve with appropriate veterinary treatment.
So, what should you look for?
1. They stop responding to their name
One of the most obvious signs of hearing loss in dogs is a change in their response to familiar sounds.
A dog that previously looked up when you called their name may suddenly seem indifferent. They may also stop responding to familiar commands when those commands are given verbally.
However, this sign alone doesn’t prove hearing loss. Dogs can ignore commands for countless behavioral reasons—which is why looking for several changes at once is important.
2. They don’t wake up when you make a noise
Try observing your dog while they are sleeping.
Do they normally wake when you enter the room, open a door or make a familiar household noise?
If your dog increasingly sleeps through sounds that would previously have awakened them, it may be worth discussing their hearing with your veterinarian.
Failure to awaken to an auditory stimulus while asleep can be a particularly useful clue when assessing possible bilateral deafness.
3. They become easily startled
A dog that cannot hear you approaching may suddenly be surprised when you touch them.
This can be particularly noticeable in older dogs developing progressive hearing loss.
A deaf or severely hearing-impaired dog can also become more vulnerable to startle responses, particularly when approached from behind. That’s one reason owners should take extra care when waking or physically approaching a dog with significant hearing loss.
4. Their ears move differently
Dogs have remarkably mobile ears and can move their pinnae independently to help locate sounds.
If your dog has hearing loss in one ear, they may have difficulty determining where a sound originated and may increasingly orient themselves toward their better-hearing ear.
Unilateral hearing loss can be surprisingly difficult for owners to detect because the dog may continue behaving almost normally.
5. They seem confused by verbal commands
A dog that suddenly appears to have forgotten commands they previously understood may not necessarily have forgotten their training.
If they can still follow hand signals or visual cues but struggle with spoken commands, hearing impairment becomes one possibility worth investigating.
This can be particularly noticeable when a dog is developing age-related hearing loss.
6. They bark differently
Changes in hearing can sometimes alter the way a dog vocalizes.
Some dogs with hearing impairment may bark more frequently or more loudly because they cannot accurately hear their own voice.
Other dogs may simply behave differently around vocalization and household noises.
Changes in barking aren’t diagnostic on their own, but they can form part of a wider pattern of hearing-related behavioral changes.
7. They don’t react to sounds they once loved
Think about the noises that normally trigger your dog’s attention.
The squeak of a favourite toy.
The sound of their food being prepared.
A car pulling into the driveway.
The front door opening.
If these sounds increasingly fail to produce a response, hearing loss could be involved.
Interestingly, dogs can lose sensitivity to certain frequencies before owners realize anything is wrong. Age-related hearing loss can initially affect higher frequencies, making early changes particularly difficult to notice.
8. They seem disoriented
Severe hearing loss can make the world feel very different.
Your dog may look around more frequently, rely heavily on visual cues or appear uncertain when you approach.
If hearing problems are associated with disease affecting the middle or inner ear, there can also be balance problems, head tilting, circling, falling or difficulty walking. These signs warrant prompt veterinary attention because inner-ear disease can affect both hearing and balance.
9. They shake their head or scratch their ears
This sign is particularly important because it can point toward an underlying problem that may be treatable.
Dogs with ear infections commonly develop head shaking, scratching, redness, odor and ear discharge. Chronic inflammation, accumulated debris and narrowing of the ear canal can interfere with the transmission of sound.
In other words, a dog developing hearing problems and painful or inflamed ears shouldn’t simply be assumed to be going deaf from old age.
There may be a treatable cause.
10. They stop reacting to sounds altogether
Complete lack of response to sounds is obviously more concerning than simply failing to hear a quiet noise.
But even then, determining whether a dog is completely deaf, partially deaf or deaf in only one ear can require specialist testing.
That’s because dogs can compensate remarkably well and may use vision, vibration and the behavior of other animals to work out what is happening around them.
