A Comparative Study on Brainstem Auditory-Evoked Response between Dogs and Cats

Abstract

Hearing assessment is critical in dogs and cats. Hearing loss in dogs and cats may be congenital or secondary to a central nervous system disorder or ear disease. The brainstem auditory-evoked response (BAER) test has been developed as an electrophysiological test for auditory function assessment. Modern BAER equipment is based on a computerized system. Thus, auditory function assessment can be performed using this objective, safe, and noninvasive method. No study has yet investigated the interspecies differences between BAER test results of dogs and cats. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the differences in BAER test results between dogs and cats. The test was conducted on four healthy adult dogs and four healthy adult cats. Regarding latency, lower values were obtained for all waveforms above 50 dB in cats compared to dogs. Regarding amplitude, cats showed higher values than dogs at intensities above 50 dB. Through a comparative analysis in this study, it was concluded that the two species had statistically significant differences. The BAER data of dogs cannot be applied to cats, and vice versa. © The Korean Society of Veterinary Clinics.