Hearing loss to complete deafness

It seems that in the last two months Lucy has gone from hard of hearing to nearly completely deaf. Does it normally progress that quickly? I realize that I could just be paying more attention too. What have you experienced?

My last pug, Rhoda, was completely deaf for the final year to year and a half of her life after a lifetime of chronic ear infections and overuse of Gentamicin. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when hard of hearing becomes total deafness, isn't it? But I knew we were there when she could no longer hear things like "Who wants a cookie?", the fridge door opening, or barking dogs on TV.

One thing I wish I'd known before having a deaf dog: They can sleep really really deeply. This happens with deaf people, too. They don't hear the dozens of little noises that bring a hearing sleeper into a lighter sleep cycle throughout the night, and instead can remain in heavy, deep sleep for extended periods of time. So deaf dogs can be hard to wake up.

Sometimes it would take me 30-45 seconds of petting (no exaggeration!) to get a response from Rhoda. I'd start by scritching her neck, then move on to chest and tummy rubs. She'd be completely limp all that time, totally out of it, before finally coming around.

I've mostly had deaf dogs that were either born that way or came to me deaf. I've had a few that went deaf over time--but usually once it starts (in an older dog) it can seem rapid because most dogs adjust to it very easily.

My shih tzu, Theo, was deaf as a post and did sleep very heavily. What I found with him was you had to wake him very gently and slowly as his startle response was high. Mind you, he was also blind.

It does explain a lot of recent behavior, like sleeping very soundly, and not seeming to pay attention. I spoke with the boys about the fact that we know she cannot hear well and what we need to keep in mind. (Startling easier and such) My boys are all so sad for Lucy, but all have them have commented that she seems just as happy as before! I wonder if dogs notice its gotten quieter? Maybe Lucy thinks her prayers have been answered, my house is loud!

It does seem a part of growing older, unfortunately.