NORMATIVE AUDITORY BRAIN-STEM RESPONSE DATA FOR BONE-CONDUCTION IN THE DOG

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a valuable tool for the diagnosis of hearing disorders in dogs, but is hampered by the lack of publishe d normative data, The aim of the present study was to obtain normative data for bone conduction, without masking, tinder clearly defined con ditions, Subjects comprised 20 Dalmatians and 20 Jack Russell terriers , Two methods were investigated: holding the bone vibrator against the head by hand or by applying a 500 g weight. The results revealed no d ifference in hearing threshold between the two breeds or for the two m ethods of applying the bone vibrator to the head, The mean hearing thr eshold was close to 0 decibels re normal hearing level (dB nHL), which is the biological norm for humans, Hence, bone conduction thresholds can be used for confirmation of conductive hearing impairment in the d og, in the same way as in humans.