Miss Indy is losing her hearing...

[LisaT]

It's official. I've suspected it for awhile, but had confirmation the other day as I stood behind her and spoke to her, with not a single reaction. She will react to louder sounds, so it's not all gone.

I'm caretaker for 2 parents and 2 dogs, now 3 out of 4 have hearing impairments!!

I hope that she doesn't lose all of it, I still want to be able to have her off leash and hear the whistle. At least I have some warning, I can start associating some new hand signals with words that she already knows. She has quite the extensive vocabulary, no way I'll have that many hand signals though!!

No wonder she doesn't bark at the kids out front so much anymore, she probably doesn't always hear them. I guess there are some advantages.

[Elmo's Mom]

Awww.... poor Miss Indy. Sometimes I wonder whether their hearing loss is harder on us than it is on them.

You are right about having a heads up. It does help.

Our Pomeranian can barely hear anything and our Jack Russell's hearing is not as good as it once was.

[LJsMom]

Mention it the next time Indy has acupuncture. The needles go in near the ears. LJ was practically deaf before acupuncture. Now she can hear the treat bag open from the next room!

[LisaT]

You might be right Bonita, I was questioning myself whether I will still talk to her if she can't hear. Of course I will, and that's all about me!

Joanne, Criminey! she can't do acupuncture because of the needles . BUT, I do have my red light acupuncture thingee, and I should try that with her. She is very sensitive around her ears. I'm also going to try the oregano oil for a bit, in case her ears are inflamed. I can hear her stuffy nose - we all have inflamed noses and maybe even ears here, from *something*.

All this time I thought she was being super stubborn, but it was just her regular stubborn, with hearing loss!

ETA: That is so cool about LJ and the bag of chips!

[LJsMom]

I bet that red light thingee will work just as well!

[LisaT]

I hope so, just gotta figure where to point the thing. I can ask the vet next time I'm in. I just think it's so cool how well it worked for LJ

[Elmo's Mom]

Originally Posted By: LisaTAll this time I thought she was being super stubborn, but it was just her regular stubborn, with hearing loss!

That's exactly what we thought with Molly at first. She's always been a bit sassy and marches to the beat of her own drummer. It took us a while to realize her hearing was going down.

That is amazing about LJ's acupuncture treatment.

[Skye'sMom]

When my late Solo began to lose her hearing I also thought it was just selective hearing. Then she began to startle if you petted her from behind or came upon her suddenly.

I learned to walk a little harder so she would 'feel' me coming and that helped. The biggest help though is that Skye would go get her if she was not looking at us and it was time to come inside.

Hopefully treating Indy's ears will help a little and your "red light thingy.'

Hang in there, Indy - let your mom work on those ears.

Our seniors just keep us worrying, don't they. I'd do it all over though to have mine back.

[LisaT]

yeah, Indy has always been pretty independent, so I thought she was just being, well, Indy.

Unfortunately, Max just isn't that helpful, I think I'd faint and crack my scull open if he went and got Indy for me. Maybe he will surprise me?

I'm with you Bonnie, I'd certainly rather have to adapt to her changes, than to not have her here. And when her time comes, I will miss all of it Solo

As for the red light thingee, here it is: http://www.mclarenusainc.com/therapy.htm I bought it years ago, in the long run, it was cheaper than what I was paying to have it done, and I get to use it on everyone!

[Zisso]

So sorry to hear about Indy and her hearing troubles. Fingers crossed that you can find the best solution to accomodate her needs and yours.