BAER Hearing Test

$65 per pup for groups of 3 or more

St Francis Animal Hospital BAER Testing Center Evaluates Hearing and Screens Pets for Deafness

  • Comprehensive Testing Using State of the Art Equipment
  • Meets all Regulatory Requirements for Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) and American Kennel Club (AKC)
  • A Detailed Report is Produced for each Patient
  • Dogs must be at least 35 days (5 weeks). 
    • 5 to 7 weeks are the preferred ages, with 5 weeks the best age
    • Testing can be performed on any age dog or cat
    • Sedation is usually not needed in young pups or kittens
      • The owner may hold the pup, if you prefer.

 

Call or Email for Details

BAER Hearing Test
1 BAER Test $110
2 BAER Tests $90 per Test
3 or More Tests $65 per Test
There is no office visit charge. Sedation is $20, but is usually not needed.
 
Options available with BAER Test

Microchip:   $40.00

Vaccinations:  DHPP: $16 Coronavirus: $8; Bordetella:$12

Health Certificate:  $5

Rabies: $12  Worming: $2

Sedation: $20

    
 
Easy Access Between Lancaster, York and Harrisburg

from Rte 283 (Salunga Exit) and Rte 30 ( Prospect Rd Exit) Click Directions & Map Link on left for Directions.  

Harrisburg    25 minutes                Baltimore            50 minutes

York                 10 minutes                 Gettysburg           45 minutes Scranton             2.5 hours                 Lancaster             10 minutes

Pittsburgh          3.5 hours                 Philadelphia        90 minutes


BAER Testing is used to evaluate hearing, detect brain stem and middle ear disease, and is ideal for identifying deafness in breeds predisposed to hearing loss.

The BAER is the recording of brain stem potentials in response to an auditory click stimulus in the ear canal. The BAER is used to evaluate hearing, often in context of vestibular abnormalities and brain stem lesions. The BAER is ideal for identifying deafness in breeds predisposed to hearing loss. Puppies and kittens ideally 5-7 weeks old are tested using pediatric auditory tubes inserted into their ear canals. Each ear is tested independently. Puppies that are deaf in only one ear can still pass on the gene for deafness and should not be used in breeding programs. Appointments can be scheduled to test full litters in one visit.

Reference to Dr. George Strain's Deafness in Dogs and Cats website:  http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/deaf.htm

 

Dog Breeds With Reported Congenital Deafness*

[Bold = relative high prevalence]
Akita Dogo Argentino Pit Bull Terrier
American Bulldog English Bulldog Pointer
American-Canadian Shepherd English Cocker Spaniel Presa Canario
American Eskimo English Setter Puli
American Staffordshire Terrier Foxhound Rhodesian Ridgeback
Australian Cattle Dog Fox Terrier Rat Terrier
Australian Shepherd French Bulldog Rottweiler
Beagle German Shepherd Saint Bernard
Bichon Frise Great Dane Samoyed
Border Collie Great Pyrenees Schnauzer
Borzoi Greyhound Scottish Terrier
Boston Terrier Havanese Sealyham Terrier
Boxer Ibizan Hound Shetland Sheepdog
Bulldog Italian Greyhound Shih Tzû
Bull Terrier Jack Russell Terrier Shropshire Terrier
Cardigan Welsh Corgi Kuvasz Siberian Husky
Catahoula Leopard Dog Labrador Retriever Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Löwchen Springer Spaniel
Chihuahua Maltese Sussex Spaniel
Chinese Crested Miniature Pinscher Tibetan Spaniel
Chow Chow Miniature Poodle Tibetan Terrier
Cocker Spaniel mongrel Toy Fox Terrier
Collie Norwegian Dunkerhound Toy Poodle
Coton de Tulear Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Walker American Foxhound
Dalmatian Old English Sheepdog West Highland White Terrier
Dappled Dachshund Papillon Whippet
Doberman Pinscher Perro de Carea Leonés Yorkshire Terrier (n=81)

*Note: dogs of any breed can have congenital deafness, from a variety of causes. Breeds with white pigmentation are most affected. 

Reference: Dr. George M. Strain at: http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/breeds.htm

 

Cat Breeds with Reported Congenital Deafness:

  • White
  • White Scottish Fold
  • European White
  • White Turkish Angora
  • Foreign White
  • White American Wirehair
  • White Cornish Rex
  • White American Shorthair
  • White Devon Rex
  • White British Shorthair
  • White Manx
  • White Exotic Shorthair
  • White Persian
  • White Oriental Shorthair

Reference:  Dr.George Strain at:  http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/catbreeds.htm

 

Breed-Specific Deafness Prevalence In Dogs (percent)

Breed Dogs
Tested		 Bilaterally
Hearing		 Unilaterally
Deaf		 Bilaterally
Deaf		 Total Deaf
(uni + bi)
Dalmatian 5,333 70.1% (3,740) 21.9% (1,167) 8.0% (426) 29.9% (1,593)
Bull Terrier
      white
      colored 		665
346
311		 89.0% (592)
80.1% (277)
98.7% (307)		 9.9% (66)
18.0% (62)
1.3% (4)		 1.1% (7)
2.0% (7)
0.0% (0)		 11.0% (73)
19.9% (69)
1.3% (4)
English Setter 662 87.6% (580) 10.3% (68) 2.1% (14) 12.4% (82)
English Cocker Spaniel
       parti colored
       solid color 		1,136
1,067
60		 93.1% (1,057)
93.0% (992)
98.3% (59)		 5.9% (67)
5.9% (63)
1.7% (1)		 1.1% (12)
1.1% (12)
0.0% (0)		 6.9% (79)
7.0% (75)
1.7% (1)
Australian Cattle Dog 296 85.5% (253) 12.2% (36) 2.4% (7) 14.5% (43)
Catahoula Leopard Dog* 78 37.2% (29) 23.1% (18) 39.7% (31) 62.8% (49)
Whippet*
 80
98.8% (79)
 0.0% (0)
 1.3% (1)
 1.3% (1)
Jack Russell Terrier*
84
86.9% (73)
7.1% (6)
6.0% (5)
13.1% (11)

*Insufficient numbers of animals tested at this time for percentages to be meaningful.

Reference:  Dr. George M. Strain, Louisiana State University at http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/incidenc.htm