Devastating Dog Middle Ear Inflammation: A Terrifying R

Outer Ear Inflammation

Wait, isn't this about otitis media, not otitis externa? Why are we talking about the latter?

The most common cause of otitis externa is when a dog's ear canal glands produce an excessive amount of earwax. This can lead to inflammation. If left untreated for a prolonged period, the outer layer of the ear canal's skin and the dermis can gradually become fibrotic, ultimately resulting in the closure of the ear canal (yes, you read that right).

Otitis externa can cause discomfort and itching in dogs, along with redness around the ears. In severe cases, it may even lead to the rupture of the eardrum and otitis media.

Otitis Media

Indeed, otitis media is often a result of otitis externa.

Largeeared dogs are more prone to otitis media, and it can affect dogs of any age. In other words, don't take your dog's ear issues lightly.

Symptoms

Otitis externa and otitis media share many similarities. Dogs may exhibit symptoms such as head shaking, pain, ear scratching, and an unpleasant smell coming from the ear canal.

As mentioned earlier, one of the most common causes of otitis externa is actually parasites, allergies, drug reactions, wound infections, foreign objects, hair and skin buildup, and autoimmune deficiencies. All these can lead to either otitis externa or otitis media.

Other potential triggers include inflammatory diseases, bacterial infections, fungal and bacterial mix infections, changes in the ear canal environment, swimming, and improper ear cleaning methods or frequency.

Treatment

While it's essential to follow your veterinarian's advice, rest assured that the treatment for these ear inflammations is quite simple and affordable. The only thing you need to remember is patience.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has reported that the average treatment duration for otitis externa is about 3 to 4 weeks, while the treatment for otitis media takes longer, with a minimum of 6 weeks.

By now, you should understand that since otitis media often indicates that the outer ear is also inflamed, the treatment process naturally takes longer than that of otitis externa.