About Hearing Dogs

A Hearing Dog is a dog that is trained to assist hard-of-hearing and deaf people by alerting to sounds by making physical contact (such as nudging their person with their nose or paw).

They alert their person to sounds such as the doorbell, smoke alarm, alarm clock, timer, phone, and so on. Everyone is unique in their hearing loss and some may require being alerted to all sounds, or just a few sounds.

Hearing Dogs usually work in the home, so they are not as well known as Guide Dogs for the Blind, or a Mobility Dog (who is trained to assist their person in retrieving things, bringing items to the person, opening doors, etc.) or a Therapy Dog (who is trained to go into hospitals, convalescent homes and other medical settings, and to work directly with more than one person, such as several patients in the medical setting). 

Hearing Dogs provide such a valuable service, and have saved many lives.

For example, there are so many hard-of-hearing and deaf people who may be sleeping alone at night, and the smoke alarm could go off. Not every hard-of-hearing or deaf person can hear the smoke alarm without hearing aids or cochlear implants (all of which are supposed to come out of our ears at night). The person could easily sleep through the sound, and not wake up in time to be able to get out of the building safely in event of fire. Having a Hearing Dog would allow the person to be woken up and for them both to be able to get out of the building safely.

Besides the safety factor, Hearing Dogs often provide loving companionship to their person, and gives their person independence. This goes both ways, as the person usually is very loving and extremely attached to their Hearing Dog. It is not just a "working relationship", but a very loving and mutual relationship. Hearing Dogs don't work all the time, and have fun, such as walks and all other things that all dogs enjoy.

This blog is my personal opinion and is about my own experiences with two previous Hearing Dogs, and with a third Hearing Dog. I had my first Hearing Dog from 1987 - 2001; I had my second Hearing Dog from 2001 - 2011. At this time of writing this post, I have been approved to attend class for a new Hearing Dog in late September.