Post-anesthetic hearing loss not impossible in pets

Dear Cathy: My little shihtzu had a terrible outcome from a dental cleaning when she was 12 years old. When she woke up from the anesthesia, she was deaf.

I searched for connections between teeth cleaning and deafness on the internet and found that small, old dogs can lose their hearing from dental work.

My vet didn’t believe me, but he looked it up as I had and found it to be true.

My precious little dog spent her last year very depressed and sad, and I suffered along with her. This is rare, fortunately, but something to consider. — Nan, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Dear Nan: I am so sorry to hear what happened to your dog. A survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health focused on “post-anesthesia deafness in dogs and cats following dental and ear cleaning procedures.”

In the study, researchers determined that “deafness may occur in dogs and cats following anesthesia for dental and ear cleaning procedures, but the prevalence is low. The hearing loss appears to be permanent.”

The survey said there were 62 reported cases of hearing loss in dogs and cats from 2002 to 2009 after ear and dental cleaning. Forty-three cases occurred after dental procedures, while 16 cases occurred after ear cleaning. They noted that there didn’t appear to be any relationship between the deafness and the dog or cat’s breed, gender, size or anesthesia drug given.

The study concluded that senior animals are more susceptible to post-anesthetic, post-procedural hearing loss. While extremely rare, pet owners should discuss this with their veterinarian before these procedures.

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