Often called ‘OTITIS’
‘TAKE A WHIFF’–a sour smell isoften the first indication of Otitis. Also, shaking and scratching at the ears with associated redness.
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The general term otitis refers to inflammation of the ear. The ear consists of three regions: the outer ear, the middle ear,and the inner ear. Inflammation of these specific areas is termed otitis externa, otitis media, and otitis interna respectively. Of these three, otitis externa is by far the most common and treatable.
Inflammation of any of the regions (otitis) can predispose a pet to developing an earinfection. The outer ear is also the most commonly infected region of the ear.The ear canal can become colonized and infected with bacteria, yeast, or both.This infection, in turn, can increase inflammation and the clinical signs of otitis. This vicious cycle, if left untreated, can lead to significant pain,scarring, and loss of the normal ear canal anatomy and hearing.
IMPORTANT FACTS:
Inflammation of the outer ear canal, or otitis externa, ranked as the second most common disease affecting dogs and cats.
Since 2006, otitis externa increased 34 percent in cats and 9.4 percent in dogs
Last year, 15.8 percent of dogs and 7.4 percent of cats were diagnosed with otitis externa.
Some pure bred dogs predisposed to the disease include the basset hound, beagle,American and English bulldog, golden retriever, Labrador retriever, Lhasa apso,all sizes of poodle, pug, Shar-Pei, and English springer spaniel.