Deafness in Dogs & Cats
Information on Deafness Prevalence, Causes, & Management for Owners, Breeders, and Researchers
George M. Strain, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience Comparative Biomedical Sciences School of Veterinary Medicine
Topics on Deafness
- Dog breeds with congenital deafness
- Cat breeds with congenital deafness
- Prevalence of deafness in dog breeds
- Causes of sudden onset of deafness
- Hearing frequency ranges for dogs & other species
- What is the BAER test?
- What is the bone stimulation BAER?
- What about hearing aids?
- Hand commands for communicating with deaf animals
- BAER testing sites
BAER Testing?
Coming to 海角社区 for BAER testing? If you are using mapping software our address is: 1909 Skip Bertman Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. Some programs aren't up to date, so try South Stadium Drive instead (don't use MapQuest). We are at the intersection of River Road and Skip Bertman Drive. Go to the Small Animal Clinic to initiate your paperwork.
News
- Although there are no DNA tests for hereditary deafness in either white dogs or cats,
this web site is useful for identifying other available tests:
. Described in
J Slutsky et al., 2013, s. The Veterinary Journal. - The only source of its kind:: by George M. Strain, published in October 2011 by (paperback, hardback, and ebook).
Also available through Amazon and other online sources. - The gene for white color - piebald - has been identified in the dog on chromosome
20 by Elinor Karlsson et al of the Broad Institute of Harvard
and MIT, as the pigmentation gene MITF. Elinor K. Karlsson, I Baranowska, CM Wade, et al. Efficient mapping of mendelian traits in dogs through
genome-wide association. Nature Genetics, November 2007, 39 (11): 1321-1328. Published . Neither this report, nor the one below, explain
yet how the pigmentation genes result in deafness. - The gene for merle in the dog has been identified and sequenced: Leigh Anne Clark,
Jacquelyn M. Wahl, Christine A. Rees, and Keith E. Murphy.
Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 9 January 2006,
103(5):1376-81. Published . - Merle DNA test: A test for merle is available through IDEXX. The test must be ordered
through a licensed veterinarian who has an account with
IDEXX Laboratories. The test requires either 2mL of blood in an EDTA (purple-top) tube or 1-2 cheek swabs. I recommend submitting blood.
The test code is 3341 (MER). Results usually take 5-7 working days. If your veterinarian has questions about the test, he/she should call IDEXX
at 1-888-433-9987. They will only speak to a veterinarian with an IDEXX account. - The canine genome has been sequenced: K. Lindblad-Koh et al. Genome sequence, comparative
analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog.
Nature, 8 December 2005, doi:10.1038/nature04338. Copy available .
Canine Deafness Genes - Identified and Proposed:
- Border collie (adult-onset):
Yokoyama JS, Lam ET, Ruhe AL, Erdman CA, Robertson KR, Webb AA, Williams DC, Chang ML, Hytonen MK, Lohi H. Variation in genes related
to cochlear biology is strongly associated with adult-onset deafness in border collies. PLoS Genetics. 2012, Sep;8(9):e1002898. doi: 10.1371/ journal.pgen.
Genes: USP31, RBBP6. - Doberman:
Guevar J, Olby NJ, Meurs KM, Yost O, Friedenberg SG. Deafness and vestibular dysfunction in a Doberman Pinscher puppy associated with a mutation
in the PTPRQ gene. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2018 Mar;32(2):665-669. Gene: PTPRQ. - Doberman:
Webb AA, Ruhe AL, Neff MW. A missense mutation in MYO7A is associated with bilateral deafness and vestibular dysfunction in the Doberman pinscher
breed. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research. 2019 Apr;83(2):142-148. Gene: MYO7A. - Australian stumpy tail cattle dog:
Fangzheng Xu, Shuwen Shan, Susan Sommerlad, Jennifer M Seddon, Bertram Brenig. A missense mutation in the KLF7 gene is a potential candidate variant
for bilateral deafness in Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs. Genes. 2021 Mar;12(4), 467. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12040467. Gene: KLF7. - Rottweiler:
Marjo Hytonen, Julia E Niskanen, Meharji Arumilli, Casey E Knox, Jonas Donner, Hannes Lohi. Missense variant in LOXHD1 is associated with canine
nonsyndromic hearing loss. Preprint, in review, Human Genetics. 2021. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-288479/v1. Gene: LOXHD1.
associated with white pigmentation. The proposed gene for the Australian stumpy tail cattle dog is not mutated in other evaluated breeds (G.M. Strain, unpublished data).
Videos on Hearing and Deafness
Auditory Transduction - YouTube - excellent Animation
How Hearing Works - Hearing Research Foundation, extensive information for general audiences or students and professionals, in English, French, Spanish, or Portugese.
Dancing Hair Cell - YouTube - Just for fun
Hair Cell Hip Hop - YouTube - Just for fun
Deafness-Related Publications by Dr. Strain
Other Information
- Discussion of genetics of deafness.
- home page - genes for deafness identified to date.
- (CIDD) home page - Canadian source, information on all known canine genetic disorders.
- (IDID) - similar listing from the U.K. (Currently only accessibleto University of Cambridge members)
- (OMIA) - similar listings, multiple species.
- Book:
- Book:
- Hearing protection ear muffs for dogs: .
- Instructions on building a vibrating collar (originally posted on the Deaf Dog web page).
- .
- Dalmatian Club of America position statement regarding reducing deafness in the Dalmatian.
- Curriculum Vitae for Dr. Strain
- for publications by Dr. Strain
Gratitude is expressed to the following sources of research funding that have financially supported this research program: - , , US Public Health Service
- 海角社区 School of Veterinary Medicine
The Deafness in Dogs & Cats home page was constructed by George M. Strain, to whom all comments should be addressed. The statements and opinions included in this home page are those of the author only. Any statements and opinions included in these pages are not those of 海角社区 or the 海角社区 Board of Supervisors.