"Occasional congenital deafness is associated with white or white-patterned, blue-eyed animals. This includes dogs and cats. It is important to note that most splashed white horses are not deaf. Hearing loss is due to the death of the necessary hair cells in the ear. This is caused by the absence of melanocytes in the inner ear. Although the majority of splash horses have pigment around the outside of the ear, the pigment must occur in the inner ear to prevent hearing loss." |