How can I tell if he’s losing his hearing?

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

I would like to know if my bunny might be losing his hearing. I shake their hay and treat bag but he doesn’t respond. He doesn’t respond to a lot of loud noises however he’s always been like that. Except for the times I threw up earlier this year due to a stomach bug. Those noises really scared him. But now he doesn’t seem to respond to much. My step mom said “if he’s losing his hearing there’s nothing we can do” so I haven’t taken him to the vet though I want to. How can I tell if he’s losing his hearing?

[LBJ10]

What kind of bunny is he? Deafness is relatively common in Holland lops. They can be born deaf or hard of hearing.

You could try some experiments to see if he responds to sounds. Try something unusual, like a party horn to see if he perks up the first time he hears it. Or you can try clapping your hands when his back is turned to you. These are some of the things we tried when determining our bunny was deaf.

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

Sorry for the late reply. Having issues with my laptop. I’m not sure what his breed is. He is the rabbit in my icon. I tried whistling and clapping. I tried saying his name and everything I can think of. No response.

[LBJ10]

Rabbits are notorious for ignoring you if you don’t have something they want. If you haven’t already, try a novel sound. Something he wouldn’t have heard before. Like I said, I tried a party horn. One of my bunnies immediately perked up like “what the heck was that?!”. The other one (the deaf one) did not respond at all.

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

I tried looking for a party horn. But I can’t find any. Would a loud clicker do? My older half sister gave me her old one and I tried it. It was pretty loud. Neither of my bunnies heard that sound before.

[LBJ10]

Yes, anything novel. Sometimes bunnies ignore sounds that they are used to hearing, so you won’t get much of a response anyway. If it is something they haven’t heard before, they will often react… if they can hear it, of course.

[HT]

I agree with LBJ10. I previously had a holland lop who was either deaf or had trouble hearing. I would try making noise when he is not looking at you and seeing if he turns and responds to it. If he knows his name I would also recommend calling his name when you are around him to see if he responds. One thing to look out for as well when you are seeing if he responds to you is to pay attention to his ears. I would recommend watching his ears when you create sound to see if his ears move or turn to the direction of the sound.

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

So sorry for the late reply! My laptop had a virus on it and I couldn’t get it fixed until recently. I tried calling his name and used the clicker. Nothing. He turned towards me once but I think that was just coincidence. I tried clicking many times just to make sure.

[LBJ10]

Now try vacuuming the floor a few feet away from him while he sleeps. Haha!  This was a common occurrence with my bun. That vacuum would be going and he would be oblivious. He was deaf though, so the vacuum never bothered him.

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

The vacuum is too loud for me. However my parents did it for me and my stepmom said that there were no reactions from him. Or my girl though I know my girl can hear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

I hope this works this time. So sorry for the late reply. I was watching something on TV and there was plates/silverware clinking against each other and it wasn’t too loud. And Bramble thumped. I haven’t had an issue with him thumping before and I still question his hearing. But I guess if he heard that then is hearing should be fine right?

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