Two simple tests can help confirm suspected deafness.

For many years, anecdotal incidences of deafness in some blue-eyed Paint Horses were reported, but until recently, published reports of deafness in Paint Horses was lacking in the veterinary literature. Initially, University of California–Davis researcher K. Gary Magdesian, D.V.M., DACVIM, DACVECC, DACVCP, presented a short abstract at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in 1998, but veterinary textbooks still failed to include any mention of deafness in horses. In February 2006, an article was published in The Canadian Veterinary Journal confirming the diagnosis of deafness in a Paint Horse by a team of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine clinicians.