Otitis externa is one of the most common reasons dogs visit veterinarians, causing significant pain and distress, yet many cases are preventable through appropriate ear care and addressing underlying causes.
Ear infections cause significant pain - the ear canal inflammation produces discomfort that dogs express as head shaking, scratching at ears, and reluctance to have the head touched. Severely infected ears are acutely painful and owners may not recognize the distress their dog is in until it becomes obvious. Chronic recurrent infections cause progressive damage to the ear canal, eventual calcification, and permanent hearing impairment. The root cause of most recurrent ear infections - allergic skin disease - is often undertreated, condemning dogs to repeated cycles of painful infection.