Dog Hearing Test: Home Checks and BAER Testing

Hearing loss in dogs often develops gradually—so gradually that owners may not notice until the decline is significant. A periodic dog hearing test, even an informal one at home, helps you detect subtle changes before they become safety concerns. Early awareness gives you time to pair voice commands with hand signals, adjust outdoor routines, and identify any treatable causes such as infection or wax buildup before permanent damage progresses.

Before performing any structured test, look for everyday behavioral changes that may suggest hearing decline:

• Not responding to their name or familiar commands, especially from behind or from another room.
• Sleeping through noises that previously caused a reaction—doorbell, dropped objects, other pets.
• Startling when touched unexpectedly, particularly during sleep.
• Increased barking or vocalization, as the dog may no longer adjust volume based on what they hear.
• Watching your face and body more intently than before, compensating with visual attention.
• Appearing confused or less responsive in situations that were previously routine.

These signs can also have other explanations—cognitive changes, vision decline, pain, or selective attention—so context matters. A dog that ignores commands only when a squirrel is nearby is not necessarily losing hearing.

Home observations can reveal meaningful changes in your dog's hearing but should be done calmly and without causing stress.

When your dog is relaxed and cannot see you, present sounds from varying distances and directions:

• Softly call their name from across the room.
• Clap gently or snap your fingers.
• Use a squeaky toy, clicker, or keys at different pitches.
• Try from the left, right, and behind.

A dog with normal hearing will typically rotate their ears toward the sound, turn their head, or orient their body. Note which sounds produce a response and which do not. Responses to low-frequency sounds (stomping, door closing) but not high-frequency ones (squeaky toy, whistle) may suggest early sensorineural loss, which often affects higher frequencies first.

Use Ordinary Sounds, Not Startle Tests

Avoid intentionally startling your dog with sudden loud noises like dropping a metal bowl or slamming a book. Startle tests cause stress, and repeated startling can create anxiety and defensive reactions that have nothing to do with hearing ability.

Instead, use ordinary household sounds at moderate volume. The goal is observation, not provocation. If your dog does not respond to sounds they once noticed, that observation is clinically useful without needing to frighten them.

Also be aware that floor vibrations, air currents, and visual cues can produce responses that mimic hearing. Test from surfaces and positions that minimize these confounders—stand on carpet rather than hardwood, stay out of the dog's peripheral vision, and avoid creating drafts.

Home observations can suggest that hearing has changed, but they have important limitations:

• No cause identification. You cannot tell whether loss is conductive (treatable) or sensorineural (usually permanent) by watching behavior.
• No threshold measurement. Home tests cannot quantify how much hearing remains or at which frequencies.
• One-ear compensation. A dog deaf in one ear may still orient to sound using the other ear, masking unilateral loss entirely.
• Device limitations. Phone speakers and household items do not produce calibrated, consistent sound. Online frequency-sweep apps are not validated for dogs and should not be used at high volume—they risk causing discomfort or further damage.
• Confounders. Sleep depth, distraction, cognitive changes, and learned indifference can all look like hearing loss.

If your home observations suggest a change, the next step is a veterinary evaluation—not more testing at home.

A veterinary hearing assessment typically begins with a thorough history—when you first noticed changes, which sounds your dog responds to, any medications, and ear disease history. Bring your observation notes and, if possible, a short video showing your dog's lack of response at home.

Otoscopic examination. Your veterinarian will examine the ear canals and eardrums with an otoscope, checking for wax buildup, infection, foreign bodies, polyps, eardrum damage, or inflammation. Identifying and treating these conductive causes can meaningfully improve hearing in some dogs.

Neurologic context. If sensorineural loss is suspected, the veterinarian may assess cranial nerve function, vestibular signs, and other neurologic indicators. Concurrent conditions—hypothyroidism, cognitive dysfunction, or vestibular disease—can affect hearing or mimic hearing loss.

Advanced imaging. CT or MRI may be recommended when middle ear disease, tumors, or structural abnormalities are suspected, particularly if otoscopy alone cannot explain the degree of hearing change.

Based on these findings, your veterinarian may recommend BAER testing for objective assessment or refer you to a veterinary neurologist or dermatologist for further evaluation.

The brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) test is the standard objective hearing assessment for dogs. Small electrodes are placed on the dog's scalp, and calibrated sounds are delivered through earphones to each ear individually. The electrodes record electrical activity along the auditory pathway—from the cochlea through the brainstem—in response to each sound.

The procedure is painless and typically takes 15 to 30 minutes. Most dogs tolerate it while awake or with minimal sedation. BAER testing is available at veterinary teaching hospitals and many specialty practices.

What a BAER Result Can and Cannot Show

A BAER test can:

• Confirm whether hearing loss is present.
• Determine whether loss is unilateral (one ear) or bilateral (both ears).
• Provide a pass/fail assessment of auditory pathway function at the tested intensity.

A BAER test in its standard clinical form does not:

• Generate a detailed frequency-by-frequency audiogram like human audiometry.
• Identify the specific cause of hearing loss (infection, age, toxicity, congenital).
• Predict how quickly hearing will decline.

BAER results are most commonly used for congenital deafness screening in at-risk breeds (Dalmatians, white Bull Terriers, Australian Cattle Dogs) and for confirming suspected hearing loss in senior dogs when clinical examination alone is inconclusive.

Because age-related hearing loss develops slowly, a single assessment provides only a snapshot. Tracking responses over time reveals patterns that isolated observations miss.

Keep a simple hearing log:

• Date and observation. Which sounds produce a response and which are ignored.
• Distance. Can your dog respond from across the room, or only when you are nearby?
• Frequency pattern. High-frequency sounds (squeaky toys, whistles) are often lost first.
• Context. Was the dog alert, drowsy, or distracted? Was the environment noisy or quiet?

Review your log every few months. A consistent trend of declining responses—particularly to higher-frequency sounds—is meaningful information for your veterinarian.

When to recontact your veterinarian:

• Response changes accelerate noticeably over weeks rather than months.
• New signs appear: head tilt, loss of balance, ear pain, discharge.
• Your dog begins a medication known to carry ototoxic risk.
• Your dog has chronic ear disease and hearing seems to be worsening despite treatment.

Recording a short video of your dog's non-response at home can be more informative than a clinic-based test, where the dog may be alert, anxious, and hyper-responsive to unfamiliar sounds.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not replace professional veterinary advice. If you suspect hearing loss in your pet, consult a veterinarian.

1. Deafness in Dogs and Cats — Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
2. BAER Test: A Method of Measuring Hearing Loss in Dogs
3. Deafness in Dogs — Merck Veterinary Manual