| BAER Test Cristalline |
|
By Daniëlle Rozeboom, Traditional Persian Cattery Yeri Shaes.
(Reprinted with permission)
In The Netherlands it's not allowed to breed with deaf white cats (also not cats who are deaf on only one ear). To prove that a white kitty is not deaf, you need to do the BAER test. In The Netherlands there are not many locations where you can do the BAER test. Luckily there is one not too far away from where we live. Today we took Cristalline to the clinic of dr Dijkshoorn in Zeist.
The hearing test known as the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) or brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) detects electrical activity in the cochlea and auditory pathways in the brain in much the same way that an antenna detects radio or TV signals or an EKG detects electrical activity of the heart.
On our way in the car. She definitely did not like it in the car,
she wanted to go out! She stayed in my arms for a while,
but it's safer in the travel kennel.
You have to bring the pedigree with you.
At the clinic Cristalline got first an injection with
anesthetics. She slowly fell asleep in my arms.
Sweet dreams...
The response is collected with a special computer
through extremely small electrodes placed under the
skin of the scalp: one in front of each ear,
one at the top of the head.
The stimulus click produced by the computer is directed
into the ear with a foam insert earphone.
Here placed in the left ear.
It's very clear Cristalline can hear with her left ear!
No doubt about it :-) One to go...
The other ear is tested now...
Yeah! Even better hearing. Cristalline is not deaf!
Ahh... poor Cristalline...
Time to wake up now...
What just happened?
On our way home...
© Daniëlle Rozeboom, March 14th 2008.