A Primer for BAER Hearing Testing
By: Scott E. Facey & Mary-Lynn Jensen, Ph.D. DCA Health & Research Committee on Hearing, Dalmatian Club of America
The test is usually pain-free and generally requires no sedatives.
-Printouts of the waveform of both ears should be given to the breeder.
-Puppies should not be tested before they are 5 weeks old
Many breeders and veterinarians/technicians prefer to wait until puppies are 6 weeks old to ensure developmental changes have time to occur.
The BAER test should be repeated if an inconclusive result is produced. If the tracing pattern is random, it means that the ear probably does not hear. If the same inconclusive pattern is produced repeatedly further testing is warranted.
Questionable puppy BAER tests should be repeated 3 to 6 months later.
Another test that can be done on a questionable ear is called the bone stimulator test. This is used when there is suspected conductive hearing loss that can be caused by earwax buildup, infection, etc. For a more detailed explanation of the Bone Stimulator go to Dr Strain's website and check out his article. It should be noted that, unlike human hearing tests, BAER testing only tells whether an ear can hear or not hear, it does not quantify how well a particular ear hears.
As with any diagnostic test the results of a BAER test are subject to interpretation by the tester. If the breeder has any question about the results of a particular dog's test, they should seek a second opinion.