Hi,
We thought our 13 year old was going deaf.  From the outside, his ears look fine, no smell, redness or itchiness.  But I got one of those otoscopes, had a look a bit deeper and he does have a lot of compacted, dark wax.
What's the best product to get this out without having to put him through the stress of a visit to the vet?  If I really have to I will, but I'd rather try at home first if I can.
It might also give him a bit of his hearing back?  Maybe.
Thanks all.

If it is compacted then that is a vet job, I'm afraid.  Not worth the risk of doing more harm.  There could be damage underneath that you can't see.

Update - Took him to the vet and they said the wax is normal, which is great news.  However, this does mean that he is definitely going deaf. 
Does anyone on here have dog that has gone deaf?  Do you do anything particular to ensure they continue to have a happy life. 
I am almost deaf in 1 ear so I know how strange it must feel for him.

Teach hand signals many wholly deaf dogs manage very well .
Scent games are fun and use his good senses

I am sure someone knows bit if ots just wax isn't it possible as in humans to remove ?
Ses sad he loses his hearing due to something so normal

I agree with teaching hand signals so that your dog looks to you to understand what to do. I’ve only had one dog that lost hearing in later life and unfortunately I hadn’t really taught hand signals to her something I made sure I did with my dogs after that.
Does your dog regularly ‘check in’ with you when off the lead out on walks? My deaf one didn’t and because she didn’t hear anyone calling her she assumed she could just keep going so for her safety was kept on the lead when out. With hand signals and a dog that regularly checks in you should be able to let them off lead when out in safer places.
Do you use a whistle to recall your dog? It may be that he can still hear the whistle, would be worth finding out.

My 15 year old girl has been profoundly deaf since 2020.

I realised when I called them for a biscuit she wasn't  just being ignorant when she didn't  come when called for food.

Also realised she wasn't  just sleeping more heavily, so I gently blow on her ear to wake her.

I obviously can't  let her off lead,  but I have rarely let mine off in last 15 years.

I do have to try not to startle her, to wake her,  need to use gestures to get her to come,  and physically fetch her if she's  not looking my way.

I don’t have a deaf dog but I can absolutely confirm that hand/body cues are the way forward.

I taught River a combination of verbal and body cues from being a tiny pup, and while he’ll respond correctly in just a vocal he’s faster with a hand gesture because he just finds it easier.

And with agility, which involves both verbal and body cues, if I get confused as I often do and give him conflicting information he’ll follow the body cue every single time. Like if I say “come by” (go round the back of the jump from the left side and jump towards me instead of away from me) and give him a body cue for “jump forwards but do a tight right turn and head back”, he’ll pretend I didn’t speak at all and do the wrap jump my body was indicating.

I’ve heard of people using ecollars for deaf dogs - not shock of course, but teaching them that the vibration function is a recall cue. Or stamping their feet on the ground, which the dog can feel. I suppose you could teach them that something like that means “look at me” and then you can give hand/body cues for recall, etc.

> I am sure someone knows bit if ots just wax isn't it possible as in humans to remove ?<br />Ses sad he loses his hearing due to something so normal

He's not gone deaf due to the wax, the wax was normal and vet advised just using a regular ear cleaning solution.  His hearing loss is just down to old age (he's 13).

> Does your dog regularly ‘check in’ with you when off the lead out on walks?

Yes, he does - most of the time!  He'll come back for a treat at regular intervals but calling him for his attention is getting harder.  He does hear if we whistle, so we've been doing that.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I will try & teach some hand cues, and see how we get on.  I still want him to have his off lead time as he enjoys a good sniff around, but want him to be safe.

Sorry I misunderstood

I don’t know what other people do, but my recall cue is to have my arms wide apart so that it’s very visual from a distance. Closer to it can be a slight as just waggling a finger or two and pointing to my side. Sit is just a raised hand.
I think dogs respond well to visual cues as that is how they view the world and other dogs, after all they are past masters at body language which is how they always seem to know what you are going to do before you do it.

> I don’t know what other people do, but my recall cue is to have my arms wide apart so that it’s very visual from a distance. Closer to it can be a slight as just waggling a finger or two and pointing to my side. Sit is just a raised hand. <br />I think dogs respond well to visual cues as that is how they view the world and other dogs, after all they are past masters at body language which is how they always seem to know what you are going to do before you do it.

Unless they are A BASSET

Dogs are also masters of figuring out that certain things predict other things. My lab was an absolute genius at knowing we were about to go for a walk almost before I’d finished thinking “must be time for a walk about now”.

When I open the living room door River knows whether I’m going to put his harness and lead on and go for a walk via the front door, or straight into the garden for a play/training session, or if I’m just letting him into the hallway. I don’t tell him, but my body language must be different each time.

My old girl is almost deaf. She can hear if you clap your hands loudly if she's quite close by. When it's dark, a flashing torch can attract her attention, then she can follow the beam on the ground back to me. Unfortunately she is mostly blind now too