My dog's hearing improved on steroids. Does he have an ear infection?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Depending on the cause of the infection (bacteria or fungi) different medications may be prescribed. Steroids are typically given to reduce inflammation and pain. At times, this action is sufficient to take care of a mild infection because it prevents from further scratching and self trauma. If the Seamus is still having the same signs, he should be seen by his vet, or a different veterinarian for a second opinion. His lethargy may be unrelated, so it is important to have him evaluated for that as well. I hope all is well and that Seamus feels better soon!

Hello. Yes, it is most likely that the gentamicin has induced the deafness in your dog. Most times this is reversible, but in some cases the deafness is permanent. I would not use any more gentamycin. Most ear infections are due to underlying allergies, so the first thing to do is have a culture done to see if antibiotics are even warranted ( may have to wait at least several days after stopping medications to obtain the culture ). I would also start a low dose with a decreasing dosage of steroids to decrease inflammation in the ears & start an anti-allergy medication such as Apoquel or Cytopoint to see if the ears can be kept at least more comfortable without the use of topical ear medications. Hopefully, some hearing may return, but it certainly will not as long as the gentamycin is being used. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry that Floppy is having this issue. If Floppy's ear drum had an issue or was ruptured at the time that your mom put the medication in his ear this could have caused hearing loss. It's always very important to have a veterinarian check the ears prior to starting a medication to ensure the ear drums are okay. There are also reactions to certain medications that can cause temporary hearing loss. These reactions cannot be predicted, however with time most often hearing will return. Without knowing the type of medication that was used it's difficult to say if this happened. You may want to contact the company that manufactures the ear medication to report the event and they may be able to offer more advice to you. As long as Floppy is otherwise acting normally and you've flushed the remaining medication out of his ear I would continue to monitor. Hopefully his hearing will gradually return. Obviously in the future I would not recommend using the medication that caused the issue. I hope this helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Best wishes to you and Floppy and I'm hoping his hearing returns quickly!

It could be that your vet meant that Max's ear canals were severely swollen from the ear infections (which can and does happen), but not enough to prevent him from hearing. Without seeing him in person, I can't say for certain, but that would be my best guess :-)

Hello. I am so sorry for your worries with Oreo. While I cannot confirm or diagnose the reason or the folded ear tips, I can tell you that this has been reported in cats that have been on chronic steroids, like methylprednisolone. Unfortunately, this is most likely permanent. I would suggest that your veterinarian monitor Oreo for Cushing's Disease as this is also a potential cause of ear folding ( & a possible consequence of long term steroid use). Good luck with Oreo & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Your dog will only have to go under anesthesia if the veterinarian decides to fix the othematoma surgically by opening it , draining it and reattaching the skin to the cartilage. the danger of a conventionally treated othematoma with draining, instilling steroids and hoping it goes away, is that the ear may become crippled, and/or (often) the it will refill with blood and may need to be drained several times. It is very important to find the underlying cause of the hematoma, such as an ear mite or other ear infection and also treat that. Your vet should discuss all options with you. Anesthesia nowadays is very safe.

This definitely does seem suspicious of hearing loss. Hearing loss can be due to infection, but this usually only affects one ear at a time and would not cause total deafness. There are also certain medications that can cause a dog to go deaf, so if you used any medications in the ear when you cleaned them, then this could have caused the deafness. Otherwise, dogs can suddenly go deaf for reasons that we often don't fully understand. Either way, it's best to get him evaluated by a vet. They will be able to tell if there are any issues within the ear that need treatment. I hope that helps and all is well with Lincoln.