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Key Takeaways
The first signs of hearing loss in dogs are small and easy to explain away. A dog that used to race to the door at every knock now sleeps straight through the doorbell, or jumps when a hand touches its back.
In deaf-dog owner communities, one question comes up again and again: is he ignoring me, or can’t he hear me? The answer starts with a fair home check and ends with a vet, because some causes, such as wax or an ear infection, can be treated by a vet and others are permanent.
At BOLLSEN, we make hearing protection trusted by 1,000,000+ people, and our dog hearing protection is built around Dog+ earmuffs (ear muffs, called ear defenders in the UK). Ear protection can limit further noise exposure, but it does nothing for age-related or inherited deafness.
What are the signs of hearing loss in dogs?
The most common signs of hearing loss in dogs are a dog that stops responding to its name or spoken commands, sleeps through familiar sounds such as the doorbell or a key in the lock, and startles when touched or approached from behind.
- Stops responding to its name or verbal cues, but still follows hand signals.
- Sleeps through the doorbell, a knock or a key turning in the front door.
- Startles or snaps round when touched from behind or woken by a hand.
- Barks louder than before, or barks at odd moments with no clear trigger.
- Shakes or tilts its head, or scratches at one ear, which can point to an ear problem rather than deafness.
- Turns the wrong way when called, a common clue to hearing loss in one ear only.
One sign on its own proves little. Three or four together over a few weeks is the point to run a fair home check and book a vet appointment.
How do you test a dog’s hearing at home?
To test a dog’s hearing at home, make a sound from behind and out of sight while the dog is awake but relaxed, such as a squeaky toy, a jangle of keys or a whistle, and watch for an ear flick or a head turn.
Home tests fool owners more often than they expect. Dogs pick up floor vibration, air movement from a clap near the head, shadows and the reaction of another dog. Stand still at least 2 metres away, ideally on carpet, and keep other pets out while you test.
A home check also misses partial loss. A dog that is deaf in one ear, known as unilateral deafness, usually behaves normally at home because the hearing ear still picks up most sounds, so only a BAER test at the vet can confirm it.
What causes hearing loss in dogs?
Hearing loss in dogs has three main permanent causes, noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and congenital sensorineural deafness, alongside conductive loss from wax or ear infection, which a vet can often treat. Only noise-induced loss is tied to something an owner controls, the amount of loud noise a dog meets.
| Type of loss | When it shows | What happens in the ear | Can ear protection help? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conductive (wax, ear infection) | Any age | A blockage or inflammation stops sound reaching the inner ear | No, this needs a vet |
| Noise-induced (NIHL) | After repeated or very loud exposure, any age | Loud sound damages the hair cells in the cochlea | Yes, by limiting further exposure only |
| Age-related (ARHL) | Senior years, gradual | The cochlea and its nerve cells slowly degenerate | No |
| Congenital | From birth, testable from 5–6 weeks | Inner-ear hair cells die off in the first weeks, linked to white pigmentation | No |
Noise-induced hearing loss
Loud sound damages the delicate hair cells in the cochlea, and those hair cells do not grow back. The Merck Veterinary Manual names military dogs, hunting dogs and dogs kept in noisy kennels as the groups most at risk.
The question of how loud is too loud for dogs decides that risk. Our decibel guide, how loud is too loud for dogs, sets out the thresholds and everyday noise levels with input from our vet partner, so this page stays on spotting the damage.
Working dogs and repeated gunfire
Gundog hearing protection matters because working dogs carry the heaviest noise exposure of any group. A spaniel or retriever on a shoot day meets gunfire at close range, and owners often notice the change only when whistle commands stop landing.
For picking-up and beating dogs on a shooting season, our guide to gundog hearing protection explains how working dogs wear ear muffs in the field before the first drive.
Age-related hearing loss
Age-related hearing loss is the most common permanent hearing loss in older dogs. The cochlea and its nerve cells degenerate slowly, so the loss creeps in over months and usually affects both ears. Ear protection cannot slow or prevent this change.
Which dog breeds are prone to congenital deafness?
Congenital deafness in dogs is most common in breeds with white, merle or piebald coat pigmentation, especially the Dalmatian, Bull Terrier, Australian Cattle Dog, Catahoula, English Cocker Spaniel, Parson Russell Terrier and Boston Terrier. The deafness is inherited and linked to missing pigment cells in the inner ear.
The Dalmatian is the best-studied breed. Older combined data gathered by the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine put deafness at around 29.7%, with 21.6% deaf in one ear and 8.1% in both. A 2020 UK study in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine found 17.8% (13.4% in one ear, 4.4% in both), a fall the Royal Kennel Club links to careful, test-based breeding.
What is a BAER test for dogs?
A BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) test measures the electrical activity in a dog’s brainstem in response to clicks played into each ear, one ear at a time. It is the only reliable way to confirm deafness in one or both ears, and puppies can be tested from around 5–6 weeks old.
Breeders of at-risk breeds test whole litters before puppies leave, and a vet can refer an adult dog for testing when home signs point to a loss.
When should a dog with hearing changes see a vet?
Speak to your vet as soon as signs of hearing loss appear, and sooner if they come with head shaking, ear scratching, a smell or discharge, or a sudden change in balance. Wax build-up and ear infection are the first things a vet rules out, because both block sound and both are often treatable.
The Merck Veterinary Manual guide to deafness in dogs lists the other causes a vet will consider, including injury and certain medicines that can harm the inner ear.
Hearing loss is not the same as noise fear. A deaf dog may stay calm through fireworks because it hears little of them, while a dog with noise anxiety hears them clearly and pants, paces or hides. Our condition guide on noise anxiety in dogs covers those fear signs and when they need a vet’s input.
Can ear muffs stop a dog’s hearing getting worse?
Ear muffs cannot reverse or slow hearing loss that has already happened, and they do nothing for age-related or congenital deafness. What they do is reduce the noise reaching a dog’s ears during loud events, which helps prevent further noise-induced damage in a dog that still has hearing to protect.
For working dogs and fireworks season, our Dog+ earmuffs (SNR 27 dB, sizes XS to L, £69.95) are designed for that job, with soft padded cups and an adjustable headband that fit most breeds.
Signs of hearing loss in dogs build slowly until a pattern appears. A fair home test from behind and out of sight is a sensible first check, but only a vet can rule out wax or infection, and only a BAER test can confirm deafness in one ear.
Deaf dogs still live full, happy lives with hand signals. For a dog that still hears, keeping loud noise away from its ears is the part an owner controls, so start with the vet and plan the loud days around what they find.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.