Healthy dogs’ ears are clean and odor-free. If you notice a strange smell emanating from your pet’s ears, don’t be shy about taking a closer sniff or a closer look. Chances are, your dog is harboring a stinky surprise: thick brown or yellowish green discharge in the outer ear canal.
Red, itchy, painful ears are another sign of ear inflammation. This condition is common in dogs and can affect one or both ears. Inflamed ears can also become infected by bacteria or yeast, though infection isn’t generally the cause of the initial inflammation.
Risk factors and detection
Ear inflammation or infection can affect dogs of any age, but breed and overall health play big roles.
Long-eared dogs (including spaniels and retrievers), dogs with hairy ear canals (such as poodles or terriers), and dogs with narrow ear canals (such as Shar-Peis) are prone to ear infections because moisture remains trapped in their ear canals. Dogs who get water in their ears when bathing or swimming can develop ear infections as well.
Dogs with such diseases as hypothyroidism or seborrhea, a scaly skin condition, produce more wax, which can irritate the ear. And hypersensitivity, such as atopy (allergic dermatitis) and food allergies, can cause ear inflammation. Other medical causes of inflammation include ear mites, foreign bodies, or a growth in the ear.
Middle and inner ear inflammation or infection usually arises from an external ear condition that passes through the eardrum. Infection also can spread from the eustachian tube (the tube connecting the middle ear with the throat) or through the bloodstream. Vigorous ear cleaning can cause eardrum rupture and subsequent infection.
Signs of ear inflammation or infection include:
- ear odor
- dark brown or yellowish-green discharge
- a swollen ear canal
- decreased hearing acuity
- a slight head tilt
- painful ears
- scratching at the ears
- head shaking
Signs of the more severe middle and inner ear inflammation or infection include:
- reluctance to open the mouth or chew
- definite head tilt
- vomiting
- balance problems
- drooping lip
- drooping eyelids.
Call your veterinarian at the first sign of ear inflammation or infection. Your dog’s doctor will use an otoscope to peer inside the ear canals, make sure the eardrum is intact, and check for foreign bodies or tumors. He or she also will examine an ear discharge sample under a microscope for bacteria, yeast, and mites. To ensure patient comfort and safety, the veterinarian may sedate your dog if he’s suffering extreme pain. This allows the doctor to flush the ear canals if the discharge is heavy and to carefully examine the ears.
Your veterinarian also will ask about your dog’s medical history and perform a physical examination to check for signs of an underlying medical problem. Additional tests, such as a bacterial culture, blood tests, and X-rays of the ear canal and surrounding bone, can confirm the diagnosis.
Prevention and treatment
Check your dog’s ears regularly for odor or discharge, especially if your dog falls in the high-risk categories described above. You can help prevent infections by keeping your dog’s ears dry at bath time. Try placing cotton balls in his ears before soaking him down - just remember to take them out when you’re done.
You also can clean your dog’s ears, but don’t overdo it. A small amount of light brown wax is normal, but you should clean the ear when there is an accumulation of wax, dirt, or discharge. Most dogs need only an occasional wipe with a cotton ball and an ear cleaner made specifically for dogs. Never use full-strength rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide - and cotton swabs are a bad idea because they can push dirt and wax farther into the ear.
If your dog does experience ear inflammation or infection, your veterinarian will prescribe eardrops and may recommend regular ear cleanings at home. Dogs suffering middle and inner ear infections or severe external ear infections need oral antibiotics, too. Your veterinarian also will treat any underlying disease that is causing this condition. Regardless of the cause, the doctor will recheck your dog in one to two weeks to determine if treatment was successful.
Prognosis
Most dogs respond quickly to treatment with little or no side effects. Despite medical treatment, some dogs experience chronic ear infections and require aggressive preventive measures and periodic retreatment throughout their lives. Frequent ear infections can cause the ear canal to thicken and narrow, worsening the problem and causing chronic pain. If this occurs, your veterinarian might recommend surgery to open the ear canal and allow better drainage.
