Worried about my puppy's hearing?

Question

I have a five month old golden retriever. Whenever someone says her name or something that she responds to, she can never figure out where the sound is coming from. She will look around and will not be able to find where the sound is coming from even if the person is very close to her. Should I be worried?

Answer 1

Could be selective hearing, like my wife claims I have.,...just hears what she wants to!  

Answer 2

Sounds like she may be hearing impaired on only one side.  She hears the stimulus, but she can't determine the direction.  I fostered a rescue Aussie who was a "lethal white".  He had normal hearing in the pigmented ear and was deaf on the side with the white ear.  He reacted to the same sounds that my own dogs did, but he had no idea of the direction.  If I called him he ran to where he thought I should be, even running right past me occasionally.  I'd have to wave a hand to catch his eye.

There is a simple test, called the  BAER test,  that will determine whether or not each ear can hear.  It just gives you a yes or no answer,  not a level of acuity for each ear.  The vet should be able to do it or refer you to someone who can.  It might be something as simple as a yeast infection or blockage of the ear canal.  Hopefully something fixable!

Answer 3

She's probably just a little dumb. She's young too so she'll fine tune her hearing after a while.

Answer 4

don't be worried. but talk to your vet about it.  hearing impaired dogs can still be wonderful pets tho.