This may require allergy testing or dietary management to reduce the level of allergic inflammation in the skin.Įar surgery is reserved for those cases that cannot be managed satisfactorily by medical means. Treating the initial or underlying cause will usually involve recognition and correction of predisposing factors that may be present in the patient. The key to successful management of ear disease lies in control of the bacteria and yeast organisms within the ear canal and soothing the inflammation, at the same time as addressing the initial cause of the irritation. Systemic (oral) antibiotic and/or anti-inflammatory drugs.Topical ear anti-inflammatory medication.Initial treatment aims to break this vicious cycle using a number of techniques: As the organisms increase in numbers, their presence causes further inflammation and damage to the skin, leading to a vicious cycle of deterioration.įigure 2 – shows a model of an ear suffering from otitis externa (our ear disease) with middle ear involvement (otits media)Īs the infection and inflammation progress, the ear canal can become irreversibly narrowed, and the middle ear chamber can also become filled with infected material (Figure 2). In mildly affected dogs, most areas of the skin can avoid significant organism overgrowth, but the moist and warm environment within the ear canal provides the ideal environment for these organisms to grow and therefore cause further inflammation. Initially the hypersensitivity or skin allergy causes a low level of inflammation which allows bacteria and yeast organisms that normally live on skin to increase in numbers. The reason that the ears are often more severely affected by this generalised skin irritation than other areas of the body, is because of the environment within the ear canal. More severely affected dogs can suffer from clear evidence of skin allergy over other parts of their body, in addition to the ear disease. In the majority of cases, inflammation of the skin within the ears is part of a more generalised skin condition, with the result that dogs suffering from ear problems often to lick or chew at their feet or experience irritation elsewhere. The hearing organ is situated within the skull itself and is referred to as the inner ear.Ĭanine ear disease usually occurs due to inflammation of the skin that lines the ear canal (otitis externa) which can lead to secondary infection of the middle ear chamber ( otitis media). The hearing organ receives the sound as vibrations and converts it into electrical signals that are then sent to the brain for interpretation.The tympanic bulla is referred to as the middle ear. The ear drum is situated within the tympanic bulla which acts as an amplifying chamber rather like the inside of an acoustic guitar or violin. The ear drum is a very thin sheet of tissue that catches the sound waves and transmits them via three very small bones to the hearing organ itself (the inner ear).The ear canal is an air filled ‘trumpet’ shaped tube that allows sound waves to be channelled from the ear pinna to the ear drum. Most dogs are able to swivel and move their pinna in order to pick up sounds around them. The appearance of the pinna varies between different breeds and can stick up or be floppy in appearance.
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