Ear infections that keep coming back
If this is the third or fourth ear infection, something else is usually causing it. Treating the ear again without finding that cause is how a dog ends up on a fifth round of medication.
Why it returns
The cause is usually not the ear itself
Recurrent ear infections are usually associated with an underlying allergy or with moisture, rather than being a separate problem each time.
An allergic dog has inflamed skin, and the ear canal is skin folded into a warm, dark tube. Bacteria and yeast move in, and the infection is the visible sign of a problem that started elsewhere. That is why it usually comes back in the same season, and often in the same ear.
- Infections that clear on medication and come back within weeks
- One ear consistently worse than the other
- Ears that flare at the same time each year
- A dog who is also licking paws, rubbing the face or scratching the belly
- Thickened, narrowed or darkened canals
- Head shaking that never entirely stops
How we find the cause
Examine the ear, then look for the cause
The first job is to see the whole ear canal and find out what is growing in it. The second is to find what keeps causing the infections.
- Ear disease evaluation with video otoscope examination (a small camera that shows the whole ear canal)
- Cytology and impression smears (samples of cells looked at under a microscope), read in our own laboratory
- Skin scrapings to detect mites and parasites
- Blood-based allergy testing for environmental and food triggers
- Food and flea-control trials when your pet’s history suggests them
- Skin biopsies for the complex cases
What to expect
A long-term treatment plan
Once triggers are identified, treatment may include allergy immunotherapy (allergy shots or oral drops), anti-itch and anti-inflammatory medication, nutritional support and dietary management for food allergies.
The goal is a plan that improves long-term comfort rather than treating the same flare every few months. That means rechecks, because the only way to know an ear has cleared is to look at it.
An ear that started hurting today is a different appointment: same-day ear infection.
When it has gone too far
When medication stops working
Once an ear canal has scarred closed, medication cannot fix it and it needs surgery.
Years of inflammation can narrow or calcify the canal until medication cannot reach the disease. Total Ear Canal Ablation (surgery to remove the diseased ear canal) is then the procedure that ends the pain, and it is performed here. It is also largely avoidable, which is why we look for the cause at the third infection rather than the tenth. Ear surgery · Skin and allergy care
Common questions
Questions we are asked
Why does my dog keep getting ear infections?
Recurrent ear infections are usually associated with an underlying allergy or with moisture, rather than being a separate problem each time. We evaluate the ear — including video otoscope examination — and look for the underlying cause, because treating only the infection tends to mean it returns.
Can allergies be cured?
Allergies are managed rather than cured. Once the triggers are identified, treatment may include immunotherapy, anti-itch and anti-inflammatory medication, nutritional support and dietary management. The aim is long-term comfort with as little medication as possible.
Do cats get chronic ear disease?
Less often, and usually for different reasons: in cats the common causes are mites, polyps and allergies, which follow a different pattern from the allergy-driven ear disease seen in dogs. We use the same tests, and we are a Gold-level Cat Friendly Practice.
Call us or schedule a visit
Call us with your questions, or to schedule a visit for your pet.
- Address
- 6937 Warner Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92647 - Hours
- Monday – Saturday, 9 AM – 8:30 PM · Tue to 6 PMSunday: closed.
- Phone
- (714) 274-9305