Owning a Dog When You Have Tinnitus?

So I am a little afraid of animals, but recently my parents thought that they should get me a dog since I really wanted an elephant, but they compromised and said...let's go for a dog. But won't a dog barking really bother my Tinnitus? How do you handle the unpredictability of dogs barking in your face when you reach down to hug it?

 

I'd go with your first choice then wait to see if your parents discuss the elephant in the room.

 

HI @coffee_girl

You are doing just fine and as time passes you will notice further improvement. Please do not fall into the trap of allowing negative thinking to take hold for it can easily happen, especially when visiting a tinnitus forum and helping people as you are now doing which is great. It takes at least two years perhaps more, for one to feel completely at ease with themselves regarding being around normal everyday sounds, after having a noise trauma to the auditory system and especially when they have had hyperacusis to deal with.

Please go ahead and get your dog and enjoy your life to the full. Keep doing what you're doing and give headphones a wide berth and you'll have no problems at all.

Best of luck and please post us a picture of your dog.
Michael

PS: I read your post about going to the cinema. I see no problems for you in this area and you may not even need earplugs. If I were you though, I'd use a low attenuation type that will filter the sound by 9 to 18 decibels should be sufficient.

 

Definitely better than an elephant. Have you heard those beasts trumpeting? It's quite loud.

"Elephants can produce very gentle, soft sounds as well as extremely powerful sounds. Some of the calls produced by elephants may be as powerful as 112 decibels (dB) recorded at 1 meter from the source."

 

That's why I thought when I read "elephant". That would definitely scare me.
If you go for a dog avoid the small ones, they're usually the ones who make the most annoying and high pitched noises. My dog barks when he sees someone near my house, in those cases I plug my ears. Other than that it's never a problem.. and he brings me a lot of love

 

I don't handle it very well. Luckily it doesn't happen too often. I have three Australian Shepherds and I can definitely get into panic mode, especially if they all start barking together. But I have a lot of problems with sound (some of it real.) Also, if you are going to be away from the dog for hours everyday it really needs another dog friend to play together. They are very sensitive and social beings. Just something to keep in mind. I don't want to dissuade you from getting a dog. They are wonderful friends and can bring joy to your life and you to theirs.

 

Mine never does that. Fortunately

 

Comfy, cute, low maintenance, and comes housebroken.
Who here /cat/?

 

I own a beautiful quiet purry cat. She's a complete delight

 

Some cats can be real pains who want to bite you and scratch you whenever you want to play or stroke them. Whereas dogs always want to be cuddled
What I also don't like with cats is that you need a litter and he pees and shits inside your house, and that can be veeery smelly. Whereas dogs do all their physiological needs outside.

 

I like how quiet cats are. It's very nice.

They poop on their own though. You don't have to go out of your way to walk them.

 

If you don't want to get a cat, you can get your new dog one of those collars that get them to not bark... It is not nice for the dog, but it will bother the dog less than T will bother you if the dog were to bark into your ear and restart your T again.

 

Haha, yes I made a small joke about elephants but really elephants are my favorite animals. I worked at an animal shelter in my home country and I always felt so nice to bathe the baby elephants whose parents abandoned them. They are my favorite animals.

I wish i could get a cat but they are very scary to me along with birds and little hamsters. I was pecked to almost bald once by angry birds as a child and had to wear a hat to school for most of the summer so now birds really scare me. My aunt had a cat once and it really was so awful to me, it would seek me out to gnash and swing its claws wildly at my face and so I am to terrified of how moody cats can be.

I had one dog before so I am most familiar around them, and they generally are very friendly and do not get too aggressive. I prefer Labs and they generally have a deep bark. Thanks though for the advice! I think i will take the risk hehe

 

How unpleasant is that for the dog? I saw those collars with the spikes inside of them and it made me feel bad for the dogs...does this collar do that?

 

Barking is their way of communicating and expressing themselves. Just let them be dogs. Then you can work on being human.

 

Get a ragdoll cat. They are expensive, but you can be sure that they will be nice. They are supposed to relax when you pick them up and act like a ragdoll. Look this breed up!

Yes, if the benefit of them being quiet were to be low, then the high cost to them would make it irrational to use this collar. However, the benefit of not risking getting louder T is extremely high. In addition, would it be possible to love a pet that had ruined your life, and can ruin it further? So the dog would benefit too - its options are to live in a loving home and be quiet, or the alternative, which I am sure the dog would not choose if it could weigh the two options.

It provides an electric shock when it senses that the dog is barking. The owner can control the intensity of the shock. The lower intensity will be less likely to change the dog's behavior, so the owner would have to set it to the lowest value that succeeds in getting the dog to be quiet. It is my understanding that once the dog is over its barking habit, it will keep being quiet even without the collar.

 

A whippet dog would be perfect

Very calm and quiet and don’t bark
Happy to just sit all day

 

If I am ever able to get a cat again, I will want to get a Ragdoll cat.

 

Not too far off from a dog bark. A golden retriever was recorded at 113dB, but most dog barks are between 80-90dB at four feet away.

Dogs bark to communicate, but if a dog excessively barks you could look into a training program @coffee_girl. There are services that will help train your dog to not excessively bark but they won’t train the dog to never bark.

It can be a catch, too. Most large breeds have deep, loud barks but do not bark often while many small breeds are known for being yappy and frequently barking. I wouldn’t advise against getting a dog, but I would advise doing your research. Due to noise concerns with neighbors, there is a lot of information available about dog breeds.

It’s not on this thread, but I always find it interesting when someone with tinnitus will say they do not want children due to noise. Babies and toddlers outgrow loud crying and screaming, while dogs of any age will bark. There are of course exceptions, like dog breeds with quiet barks or my own child who really did not cry much or even loudly as a baby or toddler.

 

Yeah I just don't see myself have children either as I am really afraid of them and I would feel so awful to wish they were more quiet and not screaming so much. My niece is 1 years old and she is so playful and outrageous and I love it so much when she is nearby...but omg she screams sooooo much and there are times when we are playing that I had to run away hands to ears just to have some respite. Even with ear plugs there has to be limits, I just don't know how people can have babies who shrieks at the top of their lungs and you have to place them down to put in ear plugs at all hours of the day. Seems exhausting and excessively difficult.

 

Not a ragdoll, but I used to have a cat that looked like this named Suki. She was really shy but really nice.

 

@coffee_girl I go with the majority choice of T friends here --- CAT.
You can not forbid dog barking but cat usually is quieter.

 

I have to gatecrash here.
My tiny little Persian girl, called Annie, is just 2k.
A rescue cat from the RSPCA for £85.
So adorable, she is my alarm clock and wakes me up by laying next to me at 6:30am every morning.


My boys Percy and TimTom are Big British Shorthairs, at 7k each. They cost about £500 each over in the U.K.
Percy


TimTom


Beautiful temperaments, they love cuddles.
Here as kittens.....

They love each other....

Sometimes sleep head to head....

Percy asleep on the sewing machine....

Annie getting a kiss from her big brother TimTom
She doesn’t really like kisses, and clouted him straight afterwards.....(she’s a woman).....

 

I used to have Rough Collies (Lassie type),
then Welsh Border Collies, but I simply could not take the noise now.
I believe there is a huge difference in personality between cats and dogs.
Sammy, my border collie’s eyes would follow me round the room, adoring the ground I walked on.
My pussycats are far more independent.
I’m pretty sure they quite like me - let’s face it - I feed them and give them treats - but that’s about it I think.
However, I adore them, and all critters really.

 

I have 4 rabbits..... they don’t bark or make other noises haha.... and they love to cuddle

 

I have learned from a lot of veterans with dogs, mostly service dogs for their PTSD, that they can be trained to be predictable. Dogs can communicate in a lot of ways that does not involve obnoxious loud barking. It’s not being cruel to them, no more than it is not cruel to teach a child not to run around screaming for no apparent reason.

If you want a dog, don’t let your tinnitus stop you. You both can learn to live happily together. It will just take a bit of training for both of you.

 

The relief I get from walking my dog is incredible, to walk in nature and hear the sounds of nature is so relaxing and therapeutic, I would be a basket case without my furry friend.

 

Cat people and dog people are two different camps.......