TL;DR: If your cat stops responding to sounds like food bags or their name, they may be experiencing hearing loss, which is usually a chronic condition rather than an emergency. Seek a veterinary evaluation to rule out infections, but visit an emergency clinic immediately if they also show signs of distress like head tilting or falling.
What does it mean if my cat stops responding to familiar sounds?
When a cat stops reacting to familiar sounds—such as the opening of a food bag, their name being called, or sudden loud noises—it may be experiencing hearing loss. This condition can range from partial impairment to total deafness and can affect one or both ears. Common causes include aging, ear canal blockages, infections, or genetic factors.
Is my cat’s hearing loss considered a medical emergency?
Urgency Level: Low. In most instances, a feline's loss of hearing is a chronic condition rather than an acute medical crisis. While it requires a veterinary evaluation to rule out treatable infections or polyps, it is not considered an emergency unless your cat is also showing signs of severe distress, such as falling over, head tilting, or intense pain.
How can sharing a photo or video help diagnose my cat's hearing issues?
- Share a clear, close-up photo of the entrance to your cat's ear canal to help a professional look for visible signs of discharge, redness, or growths that might be causing a blockage.
- Record a video of your cat failing to respond to a loud noise (like a clap) while their back is turned to help confirm the extent of the auditory deficit and provide a baseline for the veterinarian.
Clinical Context (Merck Veterinary Manual)
Identification of feline deafness is most accurately performed with brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing at referral centers, but behavioral testing is typically used in the clinic by observing for a response to a sound stimulus outside the animal's visual field. Limitations of behavioral testing include the inability to identify unilateral deafness, stimulus detection through other senses, blunted responses in stressed animals, and failed responses from expired novelty of a repeated stimulus; however, failure of a sleeping animal to waken to an auditory stimulus that does not activate other senses is a reliable indicator of bilateral deafness in the home environment. Otoscopic examination of the external ear and tympanum, radiography of the tympanic bullae, and neurologic examination may reveal the cause, especially in conduction deafness, which usually responds to appropriate medical or surgical treatment. Many geriatric animals develop presbycusis, with mid to high frequencies affected first, followed by progressive loss at all frequencies, eventually progressing to complete deafness; onset is typically in the last third of a breed's typical lifespan. A variety of drugs and chemicals are ototoxic, especially aminoglycoside antibiotics, antineoplastic drugs, salicylates, diuretics, and antiseptics, with toxicity being permanent and high frequencies being affected first.
Chapter: Neurology, Otolaryngology
Source: The Merck Veterinary Manual, 11th Edition (Page 520)