I’ve recently treated a staggering number of brand-new clients whose pets have chronic ear infections, also known as otitis. One new client came to see me with a sheltie that had been suffering from an ear mite infestation for six months. I asked this new client who diagnosed this problem. She claimed that after describing dark, gritted debris in her sheltie’s ears, a pet store employee informed her that it was ear mites. This client has been cleaning her pet’s ears once a week for the past six months and treating them with ear mite medication without success.
I took a swab of her pet’s ear debris, applied a special stain, and examined it under a microscope to check for the presence of yeast, bacteria, and mites after gathering her pet’s history and performing a thorough physical examination. As you may have guessed, there were no mites. This pet had a terrible yeast infection.
This client was upset and embarrassed. She could not believe she had endured six months of suffering for her pet. I informed her that there was good news: Today, a new treatment strategy to treat your pet’s yeast infection would start. ”.
Ear infections do not spontaneously occur. Some event or underlying disease must precipitate it. My top reason why pets get ear infections is allergies.
Certain foods, including beef, dairy products, chicken, lamb, fish, eggs, corn, wheat, and soy, can cause allergies. The skin, eyes, ears, and nose of your pet may come into contact with allergens like tree pollen, grasses, house dust, mold, weeds, perfumes, aerosol home cleaning products, insects, and wool, which can cause allergies.
If allergies are not the primary factor causing your pet’s ear infection, I would then be concerned about the following risk factors: excessive moisture (swimming), poor ventilation (big, floppy ears), a weakened immune system (like in animals suffering from hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease), mites, foreign bodies (like plant material), and poor conformation (like the narrow ear canals frequently found in Chinese Shar-pei, Pug, and Pekingese dogs
How can I fix it? First, get a proper diagnosis from your veterinarian. A thorough oral history will be taken by your veterinarian before a thorough physical examination is carried out. Your veterinarian will pose the following questions to you during this discussion:
1. Does your pet scratch and rub his/her ears every spring during peak tree pollen season, for instance, “Does your pet get an ear infection around the same time every year?” 2 Allergies to food, house dust, and mold can occur all year long; does your pet frequently have ear issues? 3. Pets with food allergies frequently lick their paws and anal region, shake their heads, rub their faces, and scratch their ears. 4. When a pet has an allergic reaction to fleabites, they may frequently scratch their hindquarters as well as the area around their head and neck. This is especially true in cats. 5. If your pet develops ear infections two to three days after swimming or being groomed, there may be a problem with increased moisture in the ear canal.
Second, your pet’s ears will be closely inspected by your veterinarian using a unique tool called an otoscope. Your veterinarian will examine the ear canal in a patient who is tolerant to see if it is swollen or ulcerated, if debris or a mass are present, and if the tympanic membrane—a transparent membrane that resembles a curtain and divides the middle ear from the outer ear—is still intact. When a pet is in excruciating pain, it can be impossible or cruel to examine its ear canal while it’s awake. When a pet has severe ear infections, we frequently sedate them in order to properly assess, clean, and treat their ears.
The outer ear will then directly communicate with the middle ear if a ruptured tympanic membrane is found, which could cause temporary hearing loss. It is necessary to give pets with ruptured tympanic membranes specific care instructions and medication.
To characterize the issue and enable appropriate medication selection, a swab of debris will be collected and examined under a microscope for yeast, bacteria, and mites. If the infection is severe, recurrent, and/or the tympanic membrane is ruptured, a bacterial culture and sensitivity may be advised to ensure the best course of treatment.
How do I treat an ear infection?Your veterinarian must thoroughly clean the ear canal before treating the ear infection. Applying topical antibiotics or antifungal medications to an ear that is blocked with debris would be foolish. The organism is captured by debris, which offers a safe environment for it to flourish and prevents contact with the ear medication. Sometimes sedation is necessary because it is impossible to clean a dog’s ear while the animal is awake and in pain. But frequently, it can be done with little to no restraint of your pet.
The right selection of ear cleaning products is necessary for effectively cleaning your pet’s ears. There are now an unprecedented number of pet-friendly ear cleaning products on the market. Please consult your pet’s veterinarian for advice on the best ear cleaning solution. Do not solicit advice from a pet groomer or store employee. They are not medically trained to deliver veterinary medical advice.
At Animal Medical Center of Chicago, I frequently suggest a gentle product called Cerumene by Vetoguinol to soften and loosen earwax if my patient’s ears are clogged with waxy debris. I frequently choose a product with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory qualities, like Douxo Micellar Solution by Sogeval, for animals with bacterial ear infections. If I have strong suspicions that an unpleasant bacterial infection called Pseudomonas has infected my ears, I frequently turn to alkalizing ear-cleaning solutions that contain triz EDTA. I frequently suggest an ear cleaning product with ketoconazole for yeast infections. As an alternative, I’ll suggest a homemade concoction of 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts warm water as a nice cleaning solution for mild yeast infections. Remember to seek advice from your veterinarian before purchasing any ear cleaning products. The infection in your pet’s ears could worsen if you use the incorrect ear cleaning solution.
Additionally, to clean a pet’s ears requires patience and respect. Do not clean your pet’s ears with cotton-tipped applicators. Cotton tips scratch the delicate ear canal of your dog and feel like a rough pad. These tips can also force ear debris deeper into the ear canal, aggravating the ear infection. I advise gently squirting the ear cleaning solution prescribed by your veterinarian into your pet’s ear canal and letting it sit there for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, wipe it out with some lightly moistened gauze or cotton balls. It’s best to perform this task outside or in a room with easily-cleanable walls in case your pet shakes its head.
Your pet’s veterinarian will recommend topical ear medication after cleaning your pet’s ears. Based on your pet’s medical history, the results of the physical examination, and the results of an ear swab, the exact medication will be chosen. Due to the high local active drug concentration that topical ear medications can achieve, they are almost always advised for treating ear infections. Sometimes I will recommend oral antibiotics or anti-fungal medications if I think topical therapy won’t be effective, if I suspect a middle ear infection, or if the owner can’t properly administer it. Recently, Osurnia by Elanco, one of my new favorite ear medications, was released. This medication is intended to treat bacterial and yeast ear infections in animals. It works really well, and my clients are happy that they do not need to medicate their pet’s ears at home. Your veterinarian will apply one medication-filled tube in each ear on the first and seventh day of treatment, and that’s it.
Asking your veterinarian this question is a great idea because the answer will depend on the type and severity of the infection. I firmly advise setting up a recheck appointment with your veterinarian before you stop the medication. Do not mistakenly believe that your pet’s ear infection is gone after 10–14 days. Often, when my clients think their ear infection has completely healed, I find out at their follow-up appointment that it has only significantly improved. If the ear infection is not completely treated, your pet will definitely get it again.
To prevent ear infections from occurring again, one must first identify and treat the underlying cause of the infection. In order to break the cycle, you must address the allergy issue if inhalant or contact allergies are suspected. This may involve your veterinarian performing intradermal skin testing for allergies or collecting one blood sample for testing. You can start symptomatic treatment with avoidance, antihistamines, steroids, immune modulating products, shampoos, and/or topical sprays once your pet is identified as having inhalant or contact allergies. It is possible to perform specific desensitization to the offending allergen(s), and your veterinarian should be consulted about this.
Your veterinarian will advise you to feed your pet a single, special protein diet exclusively for 8 to 12 weeks if food allergies are thought to be present. The requirements for this allergy food trial can only be met by a homemade diet or a prescription diet prescribed by a veterinarian. Even though there are many over-the-counter diets with the label “single protein source” available at pet and grocery stores, the way these diets are made frequently results in contamination with other protein products.
I advise your pet to have a thyroid blood test to see if there is an underlying thyroid condition. It is necessary to investigate any underlying metabolic issues, such as hyperadrenocorticism.
If you notice that your pet develops ear infections after swimming, bathe the animal with a hypoallergenic shampoo afterwards, or at the very least, thoroughly rinse the animal’s coat before drying the ears with a cloth. You can purchase a few topical ear-drying products to reduce moisture in your pet’s ear. Please discuss this concept with your veterinarian before using one.
Finally, inspect your pet’s ears bi-monthly. Clean it out with the appropriate cleaning solution if you notice any light waxy debris. In the majority of patients, I strongly advise against cleaning your pet’s ears more frequently than every two to three weeks lest you interfere with the ear’s normal self-cleaning mechanism. My own dog’s ears haven’t been cleaned in a while, if ever. If all is well, leave the ears alone. Consult your veterinarian if your pet’s ears are red and inflamed, have a lot of debris inside, or have a strong odor.
Are ear infections painful? Absolutely. Please discuss appropriate pain medication with your veterinarian. The majority of topical ear medications contain an anti-inflammatory drug to lessen your pet’s discomfort. I frequently send pets home with painkillers and oral steroids for a few days if their ear canals are swollen and you are unable to administer topical ear medications to them properly. Then I ask the patient and client to come back for a follow-up evaluation, ear cleaning, and topical medication therapy.
A different disease process, such as allergies, thyroid or adrenal disease, will almost always lead to ear infections. Please make a visit to your veterinarian as soon as your pet begins to shake or rub his or her ears. Your veterinarian can provide immediate pain relief for your pet if it has an ear infection. Please refrain from ignoring your pet’s recurrent ear infections by saying, “He always has one.” Ask your vet instead, “Why does my pet have an ear infection?” Knowing the answer will enable you to start an efficient treatment plan to stop your pet’s annoying and painful cycle of ear infections.
Clubs Offering:
Dear AKC: Sometimes after having my floppy-eared dog groomed, he returns shaking his head as if his ear is bothering him. It appears to be a little irritated. He does occasionally get ear infections. Does his grooming have anything to do with his ear infections? – Shaking My Head
While grooming itself doesn’t cause ear infections, there are a number of things that could be happening at the salon to aggravate a pre-existing condition or susceptibility if he is prone to them.
Overgrowth of bacteria and yeast is what causes the majority of outer ear canal infections. The moist environment needed for this to occur can be created by water in the ear. Debris that becomes lodged in earwax and causes inflammation, infection, and irritation is another potential cause.
Therefore, it’s possible that when your dog takes a bath, water may get in his ear and trigger an infection once more. Additionally, as it dries, the warm, wet ear that is covering the ear opening might produce enough moisture to encourage the growth of bacteria. Or perhaps after trimming him, hair will start to fall into his ear canal, starting yet another infection. I do not advise using any home remedies to treat this condition, but you should always have your veterinarian’s prescription medicine on hand in case these early symptoms occur.
Keeping water and debris out of his ear canal is a better way to avoid issues in the first place. Since he has floppy ears, I advise putting cotton balls in them when they bathe, dry, and clip the hair on his head and ears. At least by doing this, you can rule out two scenarios that might result in an ear infection again. https://www. akc. org/wp-admin/admin-ajax. php Get Your Free AKC eBook.
Why Water In Your Dog’s Ears Is Bad
Why is it so difficult to keep water out of your dog’s ears? Dogs have longer, L-shaped ear canals than do humans. Water enters through the top portion of the L-shape and condenses in the lower portion. Once water has entered the dog’s ear, it can be very challenging to get the water out.
When water accumulates in a dog’s ears, a warm, damp environment results. Such conditions can lead to ear infections, the development of yeast in the dog’s ear canal, and eventually the possibility of hearing loss. Keeping water out of your dogs ears is key!.
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Dr. Nicholas completed his internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City after earning an honors degree from The Royal Veterinary College in London, England. He currently lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. For many years, Nicholas was a general practitioner and emergency veterinarian who was devoted to maintaining the welfare of animals. He is the author of the book series Preventive Vet’s 101 Essential Tips.
FAQ
How do I clean my dogs infected ear?
Advice for Cleaning the Ears Tilt your dog’s head downward with one hand and squirt a mild cleanser into the ear canal, filling the canal. This will clean the ears. Give the ear a nice massage while keeping it closed, thoroughly squishing the cleanser inside. That softens any gunk inside.
Can dogs ears get wet in bath?
Since your dog’s ear canal is quite long, it can be challenging for them to remove the water on their own when it gets in their ears during a bath. Your dog will inevitably attempt to shake their head in an effort to dry or remove the water from their ears.
How can I treat my dog’s ear infection without going to the vet?
An ear infection’s itching and discomfort may be lessened with the aid of apple cider vinegar. Combine one part filtered or spring water with one part vinegar. Using a cotton ball that has been sopped in the mixture, clean the exposed parts of the ear. Holding your dog’s ear still will help you ensure that the liquid enters the ear canal.
Should you clean infected dogs ear?
Really, dog ears don’t require routine cleaning unless they are susceptible to infections and require medication. Home “remedies” or over-the-counter medications may not help your pet and may even make their discomfort worse, so never put anything into your dog’s ear unless you have specific veterinary instructions.