Q: Why does my pet keep getting ear canal infections?
A: Because spontaneous bacteria or yeast infections rarely occur in a dog or cat’s ear canal.
In my practice the only pet with an ear problem that does NOT return for an ear problem is the one with a foreign body (such as a grass seed) or ear mites (which tends to be more common in the cat).
If both ears have been affected I can guarantee you that the infection is coming back.
The good news is that provided you can get the prescribed medications into your pet, curing a bacterial or yeast infection is fairly easy. And nowadays it’s even easier since some veterinary dermatologists have started to advocate the use of larger volumes of ear ointment administered only once a day. Preventing the next infection is the challenge.
Ear infections generally recur and become more difficult to treat until the underlying cause is addressed. The most common underlying causes are allergies (either due to fine particulate matter in the environment such as pollens, or food, or both), defects in the skin cycle, hormonal imbalances, or immune mediated disease.
Addressing the underlying cause greatly reduces the recurrence of ear infections; however, in most cases the underlying problem cannot be fully addressed (take allergies for example).
Therefore I always inform my clients that there are two stages of therapy for their pet’s ear: the treatment phase and the maintenance program. The intensity of the maintenance program depends on the frequency of your pet’s flare-ups.
Note that a flare-up does not always equal an infection. Sometimes a dog can be scratching like crazy, shaking their head, their ears are red and sore, but there are no bacteria or yeast.
This is one reason why its so important for your veterinarian to look at samples of the ear under a microscope.
Not only that, but it can guide the selection of the appropriate medication, help determine the underlying cause, and it certainly aids in the design of an appropriate maintenance program.
Also of importance in managing recurring ear infections is follow up. If complete clearance of the infection and total cleanliness of the ear is not achieved, problems can recur due to incomplete cure as opposed to relapsing infection.
Knowing the reason for recurrence affects both treatment and maintenance, so make sure you show up for that follow-up appointment no matter what you think is going on in the depths of your pet’s ears.
Dr. Jeffrey Person practices at the Delton Veterinary Hospital and co-hosts the listener call-in show Pet Talk, heard every Sunday morning at 7 a.m. on AM630 CHED.
