Ear infections affect a significant proportion of dogs and cause genuine chronic pain when untreated or inadequately managed. Understanding the underlying causes and effective prevention is essential for reducing a very common source of companion dog suffering.
Chronic ear infections represent one of the most common sources of ongoing pain in companion dogs that is insufficiently recognised and treated. The pain of otitis — particularly when otitis media develops and affects the middle ear — is significant: dogs with chronic otitis show measurable pain-related behaviour changes, altered facial expressions consistent with the canine pain scale, and relief behaviour when appropriate treatment is provided. The chronicity of the problem in allergic dogs means that without adequate management of the underlying allergy, ear infections recur repeatedly across the dog's lifetime, creating years of intermittent or continuous pain. Treating the ear infection without investigating and managing the underlying cause is the most common management error. Welfare-centred otitis management addresses the underlying allergic disease alongside acute infections.