Ear infections

Ear infections



Ear infections tend to be a common ailment in dogs, particularly bacterial and yeast infections. Allergies and parasites are also a frequent cause of ear infections.



Symptoms of an ear infection:

• Foul odour emitted from the ear
  

• Signs of discomfort (scratching, pawing at the ear, head shaking, ear held at an unusual angle)
  

• Redness, swelling and/or crusting of the ear
  

• Balance problems
  

• Discharge, other than the level of earwax which is normal for that particular dog
  

• Loss of hearing
  

• Irritability, lethargy or other unusual behaviour which may indicate unhappiness
  

Diagnosis and treatment:


A veterinarian will be able to ascertain the type and cause of the infection by using an otoscope to examine the ear. The ear may be swabbed to allow microscopic evaluation, as well.

Treatment depends entirely on what the cause of the infection is. For the most common causes mentioned above, antibiotics (bacterial infection), antifungals (yeast infection) and antiparasitic (parasites) treatments can be used.  For an ear infection caused by allergies, the ear may be cleaned with a special solution and the dog may be given antihistamines to control the allergies.



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My mums Rocco suffers from chronic ear infections - mostly due to yeast as his ear canal is abnormally shaped not allowing for proper drainage or air to enter.
His ear sounds like there's water sloshing inside when it's getting infected.

I've never heard of that happening - the sloshing sound, I mean. Is it something you can hear from a distance, or is it just when you put your head next to his?

When he shakes his head next to you. The ear canal has an extra bend and it thins to the top so fluid builds up in the ear and can't drain by itself. My mum has to clean his ears every morning and night. Mostly she just pokes a bit of toilet paper in to suck up excess moisture. It must be extremely irritating for him. Can you imagine permanently having water in your ear?

Poor little thing. That must be really uncomfortable!