Hair Down Ear

[Mas1981]

I took my boy to the vet this evening as he has been flapping his head and shaking his ears so I thought he had a yeast infection BUT it turns out the vet could only see what looks like a clump of hair down his ear. I have some ear wash and we were told to try flush it out, if it doesnt work they will have to sedate him next week and remove it. Has anyone got any other suggestions and or advice??

[Bullbreedlover]

Flush his ear with ear wash as directed

See if that helps before taking hin back to the vet

[Blue Fox 001]

If the vet was looking atthe hair down the ear canal why didn't he remove it then and there? Even if a sedative was required would have only been 5 minutes and jobs done Sounds very odd.

Try the ear wash but I can't see it being successful.

Depending on how far down it is, if you had some haemostats you could have a go yourself. Obviously only if your confident the dog won't move as you could puncture the ear drum if dog moves at crucial moment.

[Rappie]

If the vet was looking atthe hair down the ear canal why didn't he remove it then and there? Even if a sedative was required would have only been 5 minutes and jobs done Sounds very odd.

Try the ear wash but I can't see it being successful.

Depending on how far down it is, if you had some haemostats you could have a go yourself. Obviously only if your confident the dog won't move as you could puncture the ear drum if dog moves at crucial moment.

Never stick anything down an ear if you can't see where it's going, especially pointy metal things. I'm sure there is an adage for people about not putting anything smaller than you're elbow in your ear, and that's in a species that doesn't have a 90 degree bend in it's ear canal.

What your vet has done is exactly what I would, and have done in similar situations. Sometimes no amount of external flushing will remove something that is firmly adhered to the depths of the ear canal and if it's in close proximity to the ear drum, I will have a dog under general anaesthesia. IMHO a light plane of anaesthesia is preferable (and safer) than a deep sedation in many cases.

[Mas1981]

Thanks for all your replies, he hasnt been shaking his head at all today so the ear wash and head shaking must have somehow dislodged it

[AmandaJ]

If the vet was looking atthe hair down the ear canal why didn't he remove it then and there? Even if a sedative was required would have only been 5 minutes and jobs done Sounds very odd.

Try the ear wash but I can't see it being successful.

Depending on how far down it is, if you had some haemostats you could have a go yourself. Obviously only if your confident the dog won't move as you could puncture the ear drum if dog moves at crucial moment.

I use a hemostat to pluck the hair from the ear but only where I can see the end of the hemostat. My dogs are used to having their ears plucked and don't generally move (doing it quickly helps but I did start with fingers). I use the ear wash every time I groom them.