ear problems

piperh

My boy seems to get bad wax in just one of his ears its not mites or infection and the vet gave me some stuff to clean his ears with every so often. Seems strange to me its just in one ear. I can tell when its building up because he starts getting uncomfortable and scratching at it. I've put the stuff in his ears a few times and its almost like its hurting him but after about 20/30mins it does give him some relief and that'll last around a week.

Does anybody have any suggestions i can try that will give him relief without the pain/discomfort. He's quite happy to have me mess with his ears at the moment but i'm sure if i persist with the stuff from the vets he'll start to get awkward.

star-pants

What type of dog is he? Does he have much hair *in* his ears?

tk123

My guy is the same - just his left ear!! I wonder if it's because he usually lies on that side? He does hydro every week and I finish drying him when we get home so now I use the earwash before I start (since it runs out when he shakes his head). I got cleaning pads from zooplus that are very good too. I give him a biscuit afterwards and that keeps him happy lol.

piperh

He's a wheaten/wolfound x and yes theres loads of hair. Wondered about getting it cut but didn't know if that was a good/bad idea? Just hate to see him uncomfortable.

piperh

tk123 wrote: »

My guy is the same - just his left ear!! I wonder if it's because he usually lies on that side? He does hydro every week and I finish drying him when we get home so now I use the earwash before I start (since it runs out when he shakes his head). I got cleaning pads from zooplus that are very good too. I give him a biscuit afterwards and that keeps him happy lol.

Strange tk cus its my boys left ear as well but he lies on both sides. He gets a biscuit afterwards but it doesn't distract im

star-pants

piperh wrote: »

He's a wheaten/wolfound x and yes theres loads of hair. Wondered about getting it cut but didn't know if that was a good/bad idea? Just hate to see him uncomfortable.

As TK suggests cleaning might be good too regularly.
I asked because my two are Lhasa Apsos and they would have a good bit of inner ear hair and I was always told to have their ears plucked if getting them groomed because it helps keep them cleaner / less chance of infections.
They've each had an ear infection or two, usually when they're due a groom/hair has grown back. Could be coincidence but I find they're not as scratchy at their ears when it's been plucked (after the initial couple of days after).
It's easier to keep clean with some cotton wool and warm water, to clear any wax on the outer parts of the ear too.

Maybe ask your vet if they think it might be something that would help? (I wouldn't like to suggest something that might make it worse)

lorebringer

piperh wrote: »

He's a wheaten/wolfound x and yes theres loads of hair. Wondered about getting it cut but didn't know if that was a good/bad idea? Just hate to see him uncomfortable.

One of mine has had ear problems since the day we get him (he's a rescue) so I know how uncomfortable and out of sorts they can be with it. He has problems in both ears but one is definitely worse than the other. Clipping the hair inside the ear really helps, along with regular cleaning. My guy produces huge amounts of wax so we clean them maybe 2/3 times per week but still he gets ear infections every so often. Shaving as much hair as possible from inside the ear flap will help air to circulate and let the ear dry out, preventing bacteria from growing. Even better if you can get the ear plucked (not all dogs will allow this and may need to be sedated) but shaving really close will do the trick too.

On the cleaning subject - we have used a few cleaning solutions and some are better than others. Make sure it's a good one from the vet and really work it into their ears (massage it down the bell of the ear, so it will go as deep into the canal as you can get it, for at least a minute). We clean off any external wax that comes out (from just inside the ear canal) just before we use the solution. Along with shaving, cleaning really helps relieve some of the scratching and helps the wax come out of the ear, as opposed to just sitting inside it.

piperh

star-pants wrote: »

As TK suggests cleaning might be good too regularly.
I asked because my two are Lhasa Apsos and they would have a good bit of inner ear hair and I was always told to have their ears plucked if getting them groomed because it helps keep them cleaner / less chance of infections.
They've each had an ear infection or two, usually when they're due a groom/hair has grown back. Could be coincidence but I find they're not as scratchy at their ears when it's been plucked (after the initial couple of days after).
It's easier to keep clean with some cotton wool and warm water, to clear any wax on the outer parts of the ear too.

Maybe ask your vet if they think it might be something that would help? (I wouldn't like to suggest something that might make it worse)

lorebringer wrote: »

One of mine has had ear problems since the day we get him (he's a rescue) so I know how uncomfortable and out of sorts they can be with it. He has problems in both ears but one is definitely worse than the other. Clipping the hair inside the ear really helps, along with regular cleaning. My guy produces huge amounts of wax so we clean them maybe 2/3 times per week but still he gets ear infections every so often. Shaving as much hair as possible from inside the ear flap will help air to circulate and let the ear dry out, preventing bacteria from growing. Even better if you can get the ear plucked (not all dogs will allow this and may need to be sedated) but shaving really close will do the trick too.

On the cleaning subject - we have used a few cleaning solutions and some are better than others. Make sure it's a good one from the vet and really work it into their ears (massage it down the bell of the ear, so it will go as deep into the canal as you can get it, for at least a minute). We clean off any external wax that comes out (from just inside the ear canal) just before we use the solution. Along with shaving, cleaning really helps relieve some of the scratching and helps the wax come out of the ear, as opposed to just sitting inside it.

Thank you both, I clean them every 7/10 days so perhaps more often would help? I've had him at the vets 3x just to check it wasn't infection or mites and am using cleaner that they gave me. But will try the cotton wool and warm water I'll call into vets and ask about plucking on monday, and he's due a groom so i'll get them to shave as well.

Lorebringer thats the method i use with the massage but i am always nervous about rubbing to hard. I've never really had to clean a dogs ears out and suppose i'm a bit nervous about doing more harm than good, but he's such a softie he lets me do anything.

mymo

The hair in the inner ear can be plucked, you just grab and pull, it doesn't hurt, my two don't even move, I also shave the hair on underside of the ear flap as said before. If there is a lot of hair on the head under the ear flap, trim that too, it helps let the air in.
My fella had inflamed ear once and I've been doing this since with no issues, if you don't want to try plucking the ear hair yourself, call a groomer and ask them to do it, it doesn't need to be done often, maybe twice or 3 times a year.