Clicking in Ear - Page 1

My seven year old female has had chronic ear yeast/bacterial infections since she was a year old. We all have discussed this subject several times. Yesterday I noticed a sound like a clicking noise coming from her ear, I thought it sounded lke she had alot of fluid in it. Took her to the vet (new vet since we have moved) and he said her ear was clean and had no fluid in it. Noticed one tiny red spot but overall looked fine. He heared the clicking noise too but does not know what it is. He was her an anti-inflamentary shot and I am flushing her ear once a day and following up with a medicine. Doing for a week and will go see him again. Anyone every experience this?

A clicking sound-now that's unusual. It sounds as if something is bubbling inside her ear. I presume her eardrum is intact, and know they are hard to see due to the way a dog's ear canal is constructed. I would suspect a ruptured eardrum. Bob-O

Not sure if this is relevant or not but three of my kids have severe asthma that turns to pnuemonia easily.  I listen to their chests often and when they have fluid in their lungs it sounds like a definate popping noise. Like rice krispies, sort of.

I agree with Bob-O that there is very likely some pressure build up somewhere in the ear, meaning fluid and or inflammation. Again, it is important to have the bacteria and yeast identified, treat with only an antibiotic that will kill the specific organisms identified and make sure you keep her ears dry. As well, changing her food might help. I have forgotten what you said you fed, but often ear problems arise as normal bacterial counts present all the time are overwhelmed by other bacteria who are able to establish themselves with skin pH and/or bacteriocidal fluids are not present.

DesertRangers: My GSD also had terrible problems with his ears. Took him to the vet and had them professionally cleaned, but the yellow goo and yeasty smell would come right back. Took him to 6-7 vets who didn't help and even had phone apppointments with a vet in NY to try to fix the problems he had with yeast. After spending three grand on tests and treatments, no relief. Needless to say, I read as much as a could about the immune system and scoured the WWW for products that might help not only my dog, but future dogs I owned. When my other GSD got a clicking in her ear, I found that treating the ear first with Oticalm cleansing solution, then applying the product OtoMax to her ears was very helpful in clearing up the problem. Since then, another product for the ears I've found success with is Zn 4.5 Otic by Maxi/Guard. It's a natural ear care solution that's zinc-based that calms, clears and restores problem ears. Whenever my dogs ears get dirty and after cleaning them the dirt comes back, I always clean the ears with Oticalm, then apply these drops 2X daily. After about a week, the problem goes away and the ears are healthy again. I know how hard it is to deal with yeast-based problems. I subscribe to the Whole Dog Journal and their Feb 2007 issue has a whole article on canine candida and treatment options. It's frustrating that some of the things I would have done for my afflicted GSD 4-5 years ago I didn't know about until a year or so ago (and am still learning new treatments), but the best thing is to keep trying and hope you hit on something that will work for your dog. I'd also try changes in diet. Learning about foods that heat the body and food that cool the body helped my GSD tremendously when she developed a bad skin infection. Diet changes, combined with supplements, can sometimes make a huge difference in the health and quality of shepherds dealing with skin or ear infections. Good Luck! MomofBeckett

I wanted to add an additional note about the ear issue. I received my spring copy of the catalog Springtime Inc. (www.springtimeinc.com). It has a story in it about a GSD with chronic ear problems and after using one of their products called Longevity, the owner noticed an immediate change in the dog's ears, with the ears opening and the discharge, swelling and redness disappearing. This is a dog who had ear problems for over two years and had been on different types of food and medications. Don't know if it might work for you, but worth a look!

Thanks for all the input. This girl has been extremenly healthy all of her life except for this chronic ear problem that only occurs in one ear. Will be bringing her back to the vet at the end of the week and will let everyone know how it goes.