Pet Is Not Longer Among
The Hearing Impaired
Forsyth County News
May 6, 2002
It's not unusual for a 91-year old to experience hearing loss. Nor is
it unusual for the hearing impaired to make an appointment for a hearing aid.
What's unusual about this is that Tazzy is a 13-year old graying
Schnauzer-Yorkshire terrier. The snazzy schnauzer is now one of the
few dogs in Georgia sporting a hearing aid - and it's all thanks to a
loving owner and an ingenious local veterinarian. When Carole Kjellsen
noticed that Tazzy wasn't responding when called outdoors, she knew her
beloved pet's hearing was going. It progressed to where Tazzy didn't
respond if Kjellsen or her husband, Richard, called her in the house.
"We kept having to yell louder and louder", recalled Kjellsen.
"The worst part was, to wake her up we had to touch her and it always
startled her". Enter Tazzy's vet - Dr. Mike McLaughlin of the Animal
Medical Center of Cumming. McLaughlin studied under Dr. Arvel Marshal
at Auburn's School of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. At that time, Marshal
was researching hearing aids on dogs and cats. Marshal, a veterinary
neurologist connected with Dr. Curtis Smith, also of Auburn. Smith, an
audiologist, had a colleague with a dog that was deaf. "He asked me if
I thought we could fit a dog with a hearing aid," recalled Marshal.
"I told him, That's the nuttiest thing I ever heard of." Despite his
initial thoughts, Mashal realized it could be done.
"At first we molded hearing aids to the ear, but the dogs shook it out,"
Marshal explained. "It wasn't the hearing aid that was the problem.
It was teaching the dog to wear it." McLaughlin, who is affectionately
known as "Dr. Mike" by his clients and staff, recalled Marshal's work
and discussed with Kjellsen the possibility of fitting the elderly pooch
with a hearing aid in October 2000. The greatest hurdle was finding the
hearing aid. "The main problem is the cost of the hearing aid is
prohibitive for most pet owners", said McLaughlin. "Mrs. Kjellsen brought
a used hearing aid that her father-in-law no longer needed and we modified
it to fit". The human hearing aid is attached to the dog's collar.
An approximately three inch strip of IV tubing carries sound from the
hearing aid to the dog's ear canal and allows some room for the collar
to move. The tubing is held in place in the ear with ear foam, similar
to what is used at car races. The tubing is threaded through the foam,
which is compressed and then gently expands in the dog's ear, securing
it in place. Kjellsen helped the dog adapt to the foreign sensation by
putting just the foam in her ear. "It's like getting a small child used
to wearing a hearing aid or glasses," explained McLaughlin.
"You have to use rewards. Mrs. Kjellsen used love as a reward. It only
took her one day, but that's very unusual. In Dr. Marshal's studies, it
took about six weeks for the pet to adapt to the foam. It tells you a
lot about the relationship between Tazzy and Mrs. Kjellsen." "The key
to success is training the dog," noted Marshal. "And that's really up
to the owner. You have to have a dog that's pretty compliant."
The first thing is to make sure a hearing aid will benefit the dog.
There are canine hearing tests but they tend to be very expensive,
according to McLaughlin.
"Not only that but, in older dogs, they have to be put under general
anesthesia," said McLaughlin. "The test is called the Brainstem Auditory
Evoked Response Test. The dog is asleep and you make different noises
and look for changes in the brainwave activity. Like a human, if the
dog is completely deaf, there's nothing we can do for it. The hearing
aid acts as an amplifier. If the dog is completely deaf, no amount of
amplification will help."
A less expensive method of testing your pet's hearing suggested by
McLaughlin is to come up behind the pet and make a high-pitched noise.
If the ears twitch, even if the pet doesn't turn around, there is hearing
present and an aid may help. "What we found was the owners knew when the
dog was going deaf and testing was really unnecessary." Marshal added.
Kjellsen does not leave the hearing aid in 24 hours a day. In addition,
she alternates ears. "It will be interesting to see if Tazzy hears
better out of one ear than the other," McLaughlin noted. "Most humans
have better hearing in one year." And now Tazzy looks and her tail
wags when her name is called. "I think this is wonderful", Kjellsen beamed.
"I'm tickled to death." "This is great to see," added McLaughlin.
"Being able to help a pet that has lost one of its senses return to normal,
and the interaction between the pet and owner - that's what being a vet
is all about."
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