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Ear Problems, Help!
My twelve year old dog has had ear problems for a very long time and no ear wash or antibiotic the vet has given me has helped. She has balance issues, she won't open her mouth and seems reluctant to eat, and her ear smells horrible. Is there anything I can do?
Oh, sweetie, I am SO sorry to hear this! Please accept my most sincere condolences! I just don't know what else to say!
Ghilly
Ghilly
Unfortunately, she doesn't need anymore help. We had another appointment for her but she passed away this morning. She had a heart condition and I'm sure the pain in her ear probably caused her stress and her heart couldn't take it. She wouldn't have been able to withstand any surgery and after the many times she was taken to the vet nothing they gave her helped. I'm sure she's in a better place now and she'll suffer no longer. Thank you for your advice.
Very bad smelling ears often have yeast infections in them. I would take her to another vet. Sometimes vets just throw up their hands and give in rather than treating things like this aggressively, and I don't know why that is, but I've seen it happen in several cases.
Has the vet cultured the ears to see just what it is that is causing the bad smell? Infection itself can smell awfully bad, but coupled with yeast it can set up a really putrid odor. If a vet has tried everything they can to get an ear infection under control but has been unsuccessful, the last ditch effort is to do an ear canal ablation. This involves surgical removal of the ear canal and then sewing over where it was removed. The dog will not have hearing when the ear canal is removed, however considering the severity of the infection necessary to push vets into doing an ear canal ablation, deafness is preferable to a life of pain and smelling so bad that nobody wants to get close to them.
Also, if she has balance issues, this has spread into the middle or possibly even inner ear so I would find an ear specialist QUICKLY to get this evaluated and taken care of. She is probably suffering horribly even though she may not completely show it. Dogs can be amazingly stoic and can hide pain through a LOT. Please take her and have her evaluated by a specialist as soon as you can. Also, please keep us posted as to what you find out.
Ghilly
Has the vet cultured the ears to see just what it is that is causing the bad smell? Infection itself can smell awfully bad, but coupled with yeast it can set up a really putrid odor. If a vet has tried everything they can to get an ear infection under control but has been unsuccessful, the last ditch effort is to do an ear canal ablation. This involves surgical removal of the ear canal and then sewing over where it was removed. The dog will not have hearing when the ear canal is removed, however considering the severity of the infection necessary to push vets into doing an ear canal ablation, deafness is preferable to a life of pain and smelling so bad that nobody wants to get close to them.
Also, if she has balance issues, this has spread into the middle or possibly even inner ear so I would find an ear specialist QUICKLY to get this evaluated and taken care of. She is probably suffering horribly even though she may not completely show it. Dogs can be amazingly stoic and can hide pain through a LOT. Please take her and have her evaluated by a specialist as soon as you can. Also, please keep us posted as to what you find out.
Ghilly
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