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 Louisiana State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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

Coming to LSU 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. Directions to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine: If coming from the east on I-10, exit at Acadian (Exit 157B) (Acadian becomes Stanford); stay to the left when it becomes a single lane and turn right onto Highland Road when it ends. After entering the campus gates, take the first left (South Quad Drive, formerly Nicholson Extension) and then turn right after about a half mile onto Nicholson Drive north. Turn left (west) on South Stadium Drive/Skip Bertman Drive at the football stadium. If coming from the west on I-10, exit at Highland/Nicholson (Exit 155A) at the end of the Mississippi River bridge, and follow Nicholson Drive to Skip Bertman Drive; turn right (west). Click here for more directions.

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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:
  Canine and Feline Hereditary Disease (DNA) Testing Laboratories, http://research.vet.upenn.edu/Default.aspx?TabId=7620. Described in
  J Slutsky et al., 2013, A web resource on DNA tests for canine and feline hereditary diseases. The Veterinary Journal
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.02.021.
• The only source of its kind:: Deafness in Dogs and Cats by George M. Strain, published in October 2011 by CABI Press (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 on line. 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 on line. 
• 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 here.
  

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. 

VIDEOS ON HEARING AND DEAFNESS

• Auditory Transduction - YouTube - excellent animation
• How Hearing Works - Hearing Research Foundation (cochlea.org/en)), 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 George M. Strain

Click here to see a list of publications by Dr. Strain

• "Congenital sensorineural deafness in Dogo Argentino dogs: prevalence and phenotype associations." Veterinary Record 2021;e299. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.299.
• "A genome-wide association study of deafness in three canine breeds," by Hayward JJ, Kelly-Smith M, Boyko AR, Burmeister L, De Risio L, Mellersh C, Freeman J, & Strain GM.
  PLoS ONE 2020, 15(5): e0232900. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232900.
• "STRING data mining of GWAS data in canine hereditary pigment-associated deafness." by Kelly-Smith, M & GM Strain. Veterinary and Animal Science 2020, 9: 100118.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vas.2020.100118.
• "Hearing disorders in cats. Classification, pathology and diagnosis." Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 2017, 19: 276-287.
• "The genetics of deafness in domestic animals." Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery Section 2015, Vol. 2,
  Article 29, 20 pp. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2015.00029.
• "Prevalence of deafness in dogs heterozygous or homozygous for the merle allele." Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2009, 23:282-286.
• "Deafness in blue-eyed white cats: The uphill road to solving polygenic disorders." The Veterinary Journal 2007, 173:471-472.
• "Deafness prevalence and pigmentation and gender associations in dog breeds at risk," The Veterinary Jouranl 2004, 167(1):23-32.
• "Heritability and segregation analysis of deafness in U.S. Dalmatians," by EJ Cargill, TR Famula, GM Strain & KE Murphy. Genetics 2004, 166:1385-1393.
• "Congenital deafness and its recognition," Veterinary Clinics of North America - Small Animal Practice 29:895-907, 1999.
• "Aetiology, prevalence and diagnosis of deafness in dogs and cats." British Veterinary Journal 152:17-36, 1996.

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Other Information

• Discussion of genetics of deafness.
• Hereditary Hearing Loss home page - genes for deafness identified to date.
• Canine Inherited Disorders Database (CIDD) home page - Canadian source, information on all known canine genetic disorders.
• Inherited Diseases in Dogs home page (IDID) - similar listing from the U.K.
• Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) - similar listings, multiple species.

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• Book: Living With a Deaf Dog
• Book: Hear, Hear! A Guide to Training a Deaf Puppy
• Hearing protection ear muffs for dogs: Mutt Muffs. 
• Instructions on building a vibrating collar (originally posted on the Deaf Dog web page). Notes on Training With a Vibrating Collar.
• Sources (DDEAF) for electronic vibrating collars: (http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/vibramakers.php).
• Source for electronic vibration obedience training collars: Dog training collars (www.k9electronics.com/dog-training-collars).
• Source for a GPS-based tracking device for dogs: dog tracking collars (www.k9electronics.com/dog-tracking-systems/).
• Dalmatian Club of America position statement regarding reducing deafness in the Dalmatian.
  

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• Curriculum Vitae for Dr. Strain
• Search PubMed for publications by Dr. Strain

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  Gratitude is expressed to the following sources of research funding that have financially supported this research program:
• Dalmatian Club of America
• Australian Cattle Dog Club of America
• English Setter Association of America
  
• Chicagoland Dalmatian Club
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, US Public Health Service
• American Kennel Club
• Canine Health Foundation
• Jack Russell Terrier Research Foundation
• Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
• Individual donors
  

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  George M. Strain, PhD
  Professor of Neuroscience
  Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences
  School of Veterinary Medicine
  Louisiana State University
  Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA
  Phone: 225-578-9758 Fax: 225-578-9895
  E-Mail: strain@lsu.edu

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 Louisiana State University or the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Date last modified: 3/14/2023.