A Hearing Test Known Has A BAER
In general, we practicing vets don't have a fancy scientific test for pets who we think have impaired hearing. Usually this is a problem noticed by the owners and we simply make noises behind the pet to see how they react. The more sophisticated of us use tuning forks or pitched whistles to test the degree of deafness.
But, while most normal practices don't have fancy equipment, it does exist. It's a neurod test called a Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response or BAER. It's usually used by a specialist to determine if a young pup or kitten is congenitally deaf.
I don't know the details of the test other than that is is done under sedation or anesthesia and can also be used to help determine brain damage if present after trauma.
Aural Hematomas (Swollen Ear Flaps)
by Roger Ross, DVM
Introduction
This is a fairly common problem, especially in Retrievers. For reasons that aren't exactly clear (much like nose bleeds in humans), the blood vessels in the ear flaps rupture. This causes the space between the skin and the cartilage to fill up with clotted blood or serum.
Often, but not always, there are underlying ear infections, ear mites, excessive wax, foxtails, porcupine quills, or chronic allergies that help explain why there is more than normal vascular pressure and irritation. Frequent head shaking (due to itchy or painful ears) seems to be an underlying cause.
If left untreated, the ear will be painful and to different degrees is likely to scar up in what is referred to as a "cauliflower ear" or sometimes as a "boxer's ear" This refers to human boxers (fighters), not the K-9 type of Boxer.
Treatment Options
Medical or Conservative Treatment
Medical Treatment often fails but there's not much harm in trying before going to surgery. Possible treatments your vet might try include:
1. Topical solvents like diluted DMSO that help draw out the fluid from under the skin. The DMSO is often mixed with antibiotics (gentocin) and steroids (dexamethasone). We vets are used to using this unapproved treatment quite successfully for snake bite swellings, but it doesn't seem to work all that great for ear hematomas.
2. Injecting cortisone directly into the ear flap works in a percentage of cases. The injection is usually repeated weekly for 1- 3 times til better. If not much improved withing a few weeks, then surgery is recommended. This treatment is often combined with oral prednisone for about 10 days.
3. Underlying ear infections, mites, etc, if present are treated at the same time. Also expect your vet to send home medications to ease the pain and irritation. Your vet may also consider putting your pet on acepromazine (tranquilliers) for a short period for two reasons: to stop your pet from shaking his head so violently giving the ears a rest...and because one of the mild side effects of this particular tranquillizer is to lower the blood pressure to the extremities (in this case the ear flaps) which helps the problem to resolve.
4. Exotic Treatments. There are some off beat treatments for ear hematomas out there they just might be legitimate, but I'm dubious. These include high tech and low tech stuff such as laser therapy and message therapy which share in common the goal of improving circulation health to the region and thereby allowing the clot and problem to resolve.
Surgical Treatment
If medical treatment fails...or if the hematoma is too large to expect medical treatment to work well, your pet will need surgery.
There are quite a few different, and sometimes creative, techniques for this surgery, but all involve getting the clot out through slits or perforations, devising some sort of drainage, and suturing or tacking the ear flap skin down to the underlying cartilage until healing takes place. I usually leave the drains in place for 2-4 days and remove the sutures 10 days after that. I also treat these patients medically post surgery with antihistamines, short term prednisone, and Rimadyl in addition to treating any underlying ear infections etc.
Expect at least some scarring of the ear flap. but at least your pet will be comfortable again.
Also, don't be surprised if the other ear flap gets a hematoma within a year or so. This occurs about 5-10% of the time (I made this "statistic" up as an honest guest so don't quote this as scientific fact,)
Lest We Forget
September 11, 2001
Fly Strike
This is only an occasional problem in dogs and cats, but if your pet has this problem, they'll be miserable and painful.
Fly Strike is simply where biting flies have targeted your pet's ear flaps. Perhaps because of a minor cut , wound, sunburn damage, or the attracting smell of an ear infection. Once the flies start biting the problem becomes a viscious cycle with the irritation, ooze, and dried blood from the fly bite wounds attracting more flies. The pet then scratches the ear flap causing further irritation and bleeding.
The Solution is also fairly simple:
1. Clean and treat the ear flaps. Your vet will prescibe a soothing and medicated ointment or cream or suggest using a "human" product that you may already have at home.
2. Stop the irritation and itch cycle. This usually means using antihistamines, short term prednisone (steroid), and maybe some pain medication (but not aspirin (prevents clotting) or tylenol (toxic to cats and not all that safe in dogs either))
3. Treat the underlying problem of ear mites, infection, etc if present.
4. AND GET RID OF THE FLIES. The best way is to move your pet inside or to a different area if possible. If not, then clean up the yard, the garbage, and the stools that attract fly populations. If that's not easily done, such as around barn yards, then use fly repellents twice daily on the ear flaps until they are well healed. Avon Skin So Soft Lotion or Oil works fairly well as do most of the pyrethrin based fly repellents made for horses.
If you don't know about Avon Skin So Soft, it's a brand of women's skin moisturizer that just happens to be a fairly good insect repellent for humans and pets. It seems to work well diluted about 1 part Avon SSS oil to 9 parts water or any brand of water based skin lotion. Or you can apply it full strenght, but then it's a little greasy. Or you can simply buy the Avon SSS Lotion ready to go. It's what I use for mosquitos when fishing or out in the field and it works well for about half a day. It's lightly scented, so you might have to explain the perfume smell to your wife. At any rate, it's gentle, soothing, and effective on cat and dog ears for repelling flies and other biting insects.
The most common causes of skin flakiness around the ear margins are sarcoptic mange mites, seborrheic ear margin dermatitis (a condition that occurs for no known reason, most commonly in dachshunds), vascular disorders (cold hemaglutination, immune mediated disorders, insect bite hypersensitivity) and hormonal disorders (hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism). Normally ear margin dermatitis is not a
major problem for the ears themselves but the association with so many systemic problems makes it worth checking for underlying causes. As you and your vet work through the possible causes of the overall condition it is likely that you will discover the cause of the ear margin dermatitis.
On This Page:
Additional Ear Information to come as I get around to it:
Injuries to the Ear Flap
Canker
Frost Bite and Sunburn
Ear Problems in Other Pets
Notice to people who visit my home:
1. The dog lives here...you don't.
2. If you don't want dog hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
3. Yes, he has some disgusting habits. So do I and so do you. What's your point?
4. OF COURSE he smells like a dog.
5. It's his nature to try to sniff your crotch. Please feel free to sniff his.
6. I like him a lot better than I like most people.
7. To you he's a dog. To me he's an adopted son, who is short, hairy, walks on all fours, doesn't speak clearly, and I have no problem with any of these things.
8. Dogs are better than kids: they eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about whether they have the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and if they get pregnant you can sell the pups.
9. Same applies to the cats, except they will ignore you...until you're asleep.
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising
every time we fall."
Nelson Mandela
Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to
recognize a mistake when you make it again.
TAXES
"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has."
"Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is quite as satisfying as an income tax refund."
"Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut save you 30 cents?"
If you think taxes are too high and the government intrudes too much into your life, be thankful we don't get all the government we pay for!!!
April is a difficult month. Even if your ship comes in, the IRS is there to help you unload it.
If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, he should see how bad it is with representation.
Don't think the government doesn't know what it's doing. First it taxes liquor, then it makes the tax laws so complicated, people are driven to drink. *
On death and taxes: First, they tell you that you can't take it with you. But then, they charge you for leaving it behind!
Ever wonder why it's called a 1040? It's because for every $50 you earn, you keep $10 and the IRS gets $40!
I'm proud to be paying taxes in the US But, I could be just as proud for half the money
"There are just two rules for success: 1. Never tell all that you know."
-- Roger H. Lincoln
