Can Dogs Wear Hearing Aids?

If you own a dog who you believe has trouble hearing, you may have wondered whether dogs could wear hearing aids.

In the Starkey Sound Bites podcast, you can listen to a conversation with Dr. Peter ‘Skip’ Scheifele, the executive producer of FETCHLAB, which is the University of Cincinnati’s internationally distinguished animal hearing and bioacoustics laboratory. 

The podcast features a story about Dr. Scheifele fitting his dog with hearing aids. 

When Dr. Scheifele began testing at FETCHLAB, his dog was making several TV appearances, notably on Animal Planet. When the dog turned 12 or 13, he started to lose his hearing. Dr. Scheifele and others realized the dog was confused when given verbal commands off-camera.

He discussed this with a colleague and decided that they should try to fit the dog for a hearing aid.  
 
They used behind-the-ear hearing aids. A cape was customized for the dog so that the hearing aids could be easily attached to it with Velcro, and the tubes were placed in. The dog received excellent training from Dr. Scheifele’s wife, so it made fitting and accepting the hearing aid easy. 

A lot of people have asked whether hearing aids can be fitted for dogs. It is possible, but it also involves a lot of commitment to train the dog to keep the hearing aid in their ear. It’s also good to note that even if a dog is trained to wear and keep the hearing aid in their ear, they may never acknowledge that there’s a hearing aid in their ear or that it’s benefitting them in any way.

If you, or another human in your life, are experiencing hearing loss, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation for a free hearing aid trial.  

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