• The first thing you may look for, of course, is if your ferret shows any reaction to the sound of your voice. Does he even turn his head to look your way? Try making unusual sounds, rather than just talking.
• Rattle a jingle ball (or some other noise making toy) out of the ferret's field of vision. Does he respond? Be sure he can not see your hands, or he may just be responding to the movement.
• All ferrets seem to react to a vacuum cleaner. While your ferret is sleeping, turn it on and watch for him to pop his head up. This may not work if he is sleeping with other ferrets, because their movements may wake him up. Take note too, that occasionally a ferret is in such a deep sleep that they can sleep through the noise. Do these "tests" over a period of a couple days. Some days, a ferret's attention span is even shorter than others, and even a ferret that can hear may just not be in the mood to respond!

What are some "signs" or mannerisms of a deaf ferret? {These are my own observations from my two ferrets that are deaf.}

• Deaf ferrets are sometimes harder to train not to bite. Why? Because they do not hear you when you say "No", so they have no idea they are doing anything wrong. They just need a little more time and patience, and a slightly different method of teaching.
• Deaf ferrets tend to play rough with other ferrets, because, again, they cannot hear the other ferrets protest when they are biting too hard.
• When they are kits, deaf ferrets tend to be more vocal, or louder than hearing ferrets. Especially when squealing! But as they mature, they become almost silent. {I have been told by others this was true with their ferrets also}.
• While holding a deaf ferret, they seem to like to "hang up-side down"! All my ferrets do, once in a while, but the two that are deaf do it almost constantly. Again, talking with others, this seems pretty common.
• Power Sniffing!
• When my deaf ferrets come out of their cage, they go through a ritual of checking out everything in the room before they will play. Even if everything is exactly the way it was an hour ago, and nothing new has been added to the room, it still must be checked out before they will play.
• Deaf ferrets seem to be more obsessive when it comes to accomplishing something, such as digging where they shouldn't, or jumping on the couch. I try to redirect their attention to something else to do, or play with, but they always go right back to what they were doing. Over, and over, and over, again!

Here are some tips that may help:

• Ferrets are sensitive to  vibration, so when I want the attention of one of my deaf ferrets, I will "hit" the floor with both my hands, palms down, as if playing a drum.
• Never approach your ferret from behind when picking him up. This can startle him and he may bite as a quick reaction.
• When the ferret is sleeping, stroke him softly, or lightly blow on his fur to let him know you are there before picking him up. Just don't blow in their face, that is not so pleasant!
• Which leads me to this tip. When correcting a deaf ferret, he of course will not respond to the word "no" ... so, while scruffing him, you can still mouth the word no, but then blow in his face. Sounds odd ... but I have been told  by several other people that this has worked for them. I have tried it with my two, and it does get results. But not always.
• Now this is something that may come in handy, even for your hearing ferrets. You can train your ferret to come out to a flashlight or laser pointer. Get their attention with a flashlight or a laser pointer, however, do NOT shine them at their face or in their eyes! When they come to you to see the flashlight or pointer, give them a treat. Practice every day. Every time they come to you, give them a treat and/or Ferretone. Give them a hug or kiss and lots of encouragement too. So how does this come in handy for your other ferrets? If your ferret ever happens to wander outdoors and gets lost, grab your flashlight, or laser pointer, and open a jar of treats or Ferretone (so they can smell it) and start searching. This could possibly save your ferret's life someday.

Remember that when introducing a deaf ferret to hearing ferrets, it may be a slower process. A deaf ferret can't hear when another ferret protests that they are biting too hard. Again, time and patience. With a little extra understanding, it will not take long for your deaf ferret to learn what is acceptable and what is not. Of course, ALL ferrets seem to forget these things once in a while.  :-)

Credits for Deafness go directly to Terri, from her own experience and knowledge.