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 EAR DISEASE

Scoping and Treatment
Middle Ear
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Ear disease in dogs and cats is common. Our pets have more problems than our kids and that’s a lot. An estimated 15-20% of dogs and 6-7% of cats have some form of ear disease.

Many ear problems go unrecognized because our pets can’t tell us how they feel. This is too bad because anyone who has had an ear infection knows how painful it can be. Scratching, head shaking, redness, discharge and odor are usually the first signs that there is a problem.

Ear disease is often a one-time episode but many patients suffer from recurring or chronic problems. Several factors contribute to repeat problems:

  • Other disease - Allergy, food hypersensitivity, parasites, hormonal imbalance, sebaceous skin disease
  • Anatomy - Dogs and cats have long, downward slanting ear canals with poor ventilation and drainage
  • Breed - Small ear canals (Shar pei), excessive cerumen glands (Cockers, Labs)
  • Lifestyle - Swimming, especially in dirty water
  • Irritating medications or over-aggressive cleaning. Cotton swabs are very abrasive.
  • Infection - Bacterial and/or yeast. These are often secondary to other health problems.
Approach to treatment
1. Physical examination to determine if there are any health problems (allergy, hormonal, etc.) that may be predisposing the patient to ear disease. This may require anesthesia if the ear is painful or contains much debris.
2. Cytology – Microscopic examination of ear swabs can determine if the problem is inflammatory, bacterial infection or yeast infection.
3. Thorough cleaning and examination of the middle ear. Anesthesia and scoping are usually required.
4. Design treatment plan based on physical and lab findings.

We should make every effort to avoid recurring ear disease. Not only is it painful but chronic inflammation causes scarring of the ear canal which decreases ventilation and increases humidity, both of which promote infection. Infection can easily perforate the eardrum causing infection of the middle ear. Chronic or recurring disease can result in chronic pain, hearing loss, or the need for surgery to remove the ear canal and middle ear.

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