Get out of h-ear!

It’s very common for us to see pets who unfortunately suffer from recurrent ear infections. Rest assured, we are familiar with how to best manage this very challenging issue!

Making sure ear infections are properly treated

If your pet ever suffers from an ear infection, it’s best that we see them for an examination. A thorough exam helps us to determine if there are any obvious issues that would cause difficulties with effective treatment (such as a very wriggly uncooperative pet, or a very matted, hairy or narrow ear canal).

We will also take swabs from your pet’s ear to look at under the microscope, so we can check what is causing their infection. Different types of bacteria or yeast can cause similar symptoms, but need different medications for effective treatment.

If your pet has a significant ear infection, we will advise a recheck at the end of their treatment course – this helps us to ensure their issue is fully resolved. This way, if their problem returns, we know there’s likely an underlying trigger which needs further investigation.

Investigating recurrent ear infections

If your pet develops an unusual number of ear infections, we’ll discuss further investigation of their issue.

If we feel that the infections are not being completely cured with the standard treatments, we may discuss sedation or an anaesthetic for a thorough ear assessment and clean. This will allow us to flush out your pet’s ear canal (which is too uncomfortable to perform while your pet is conscious), and also check their ear drum to see if it’s damaged.

If your pet is developing repeat infections despite effective treatment of each episode, we’ll discuss investigation for a potential underlying allergy trigger. This will allow us to work out an effective long-term management routine to minimise ear flare-ups in the future.

Rest assured – your pet’s ears are in the best hands!