how common is deafness in senior dogs?

pappimom · 02-24-2008, 09:44 AM

I would like to know how prevalent is deafness in senior dogs? I had two of my dogs go deaf, one at 10 years of age and one at 12. The 10 year old husky was recovering from cruciate repair surgery and was on Rimadyl for pain when we realized she was deaf. The 12 y/o Belgian Sheepdog, we thought had a stroke, turned out to be "old dog vestibular disease". For some reason

, my DH gave the Belgian some Rimadyl. He wasn't in pain, so I don't know what DH was thinking, but anyway. Lo and behold, Belgian recovers from the vestibular in 2 weeks and he is deaf too.

I was floored.
I googled Rimadyl and found that it can be great for some, disastrous for others. My vet, of course, said Rimadyl not to blame, and also that Vestibular Disease does not usually cause permanent deafness and that my dogs were just old. In my 'googling' I did not find deafness listed as a major negative consequence of Rimadyl.
What a coincidence, though, and then we were living with 2 deaf dogs. I have not met so many deaf old dogs as I have elderly dogs with blindness or sight problems, but that may just be my experience. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

echo8287 · 02-25-2008, 12:11 AM

I cannot comment on the Rimadyl, but I have had several dogs live to an old age. I had a Cockapoo that lived to be 15 and by that time he was deaf and his vision was gone, but he still liked to eat. I had a Lab live to be 12 and she could see and hear fine at that age. I had a Dalmatian that lived to be 13 and her sight was going, not gone and she had some hearing loss too, but not deaf. David

Patt · 02-25-2008, 12:38 AM

To me deafness is quite common in senior dogs. I've had quite a few dogs that went into their senior years and most all had hearing and vison problems due to age. I've never heard of Rimadyl causing deafness, and I've used it in a couple of my dogs with no problems. I've also used Deramaxx with no problems.