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Why does my dog's painful, swollen ear infection keep returning?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Male | neutered | 5 years and 7 months old

My Jack Russell has a continual swollen inner ear red with discharge giving him pain. Have washed it out daily with ear cleaner. Vet has seen him numerous times but it come back.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By David Darvishian

Veterinarian

Published on September 29th, 2017

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to hear about Arnie. Recurrent ear infections (usually otitis externa or external ear infection) are usually due to allergies, either seasonal or non seasonal, among a few other things including foreign bodies, anatomical problems, and even growths/tumors. All of this is most likely due to allergies- Atopy or inhaled allergies, flea allergy, and food allergy are all possible and ear problems (especially recurrent) are almost always associated with allergic skin disease. Your vet can take a sample from the ears and look at it under the microscope to diagnose the infection/cause in the ears. That's usually yeast, bacteria, and other causes such as ear mites. This will address the ear problem and your vet can present a sound treatment plan. As for the allergies, there are skin tests and blood tests to help determine the source of allergies. Again, diagnostics and treatment are often based on severity of signs, duration of signs, etc. Your vet can discuss this complex problem and advise many forms of treatment including ear meds, antibiotics, fish oil, allergy shots or oral drops to treat allergies, antihistamines, steroids, and others. If this is recurrent and severe, maybe it's time to talk with your vet about allergy testing. There are skin tests and blood tests to assess allergies. Some vets refer these cases to a skin specialist known as a veterinary dermatologist. Allergy shots or oral preparations can then be used to hyposensitize the immune system and dampen down the response to the allergens. Treatment involves oral antibiotics, anti itch medicines, ear treatments, immune modulating drugs, special diets, fish oil, allergy shots/oral drops, etc. I would advise checking out the following for fish oil and a skin supplement. http://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/?petcoach=1977951 Check out the Omega benefits and Cutaneo TruBenefits Good Luck!!!

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    Answered By Mirissa Duncil, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 26th, 2017

    Goodness, poor Bella. Ear infections can be very painful and difficult to heal if not treated appropriately. This will likely require a trip to your veterinarian, as the ear canal will have to be examined with a special scope, as well as a check to make sure the tympanic membrane (or eardrum) is intact. Many medications are not safe to use if the membrane is ruptured and can make your pet very ill and have unwanted side effects. After examining the ear, your doctor will likely do a cytology (or exam on a microscope slide) of the discharge and debris-this will determine what kind of antibiotic your pet will begin and for how long. As aforementioned, ear infections are very painfil-if you've ever had one you know this already. Your vet will likely also prescribe some medication for pain for Bella. Please don't put any water or other subtance in the ear before you have it checked out, as many of these things can actually worsen the infection. I hope this helps, and that Bella gets well soon!

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    Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 26th, 2017

    Oh my, that does sound like he is suffering from a major infection. With ear infections you have to be very careful, because things can look ok from the outside, but the inner ear canal could be full of debris that has just gotten pushed down in there and is harboring bacteria, yeast or both. Your pet needs to be seen by a veterinarian for this and the ear examined using an otoscope. It also sounds like he has a major infection and inflammation now that has traveled to his muzzle causing pain and discomfort. He needs to be placed on both antibiotics (prescribed by your vet) and pet friendly anti-inflammatory medication. Also a culture of the discharge may be needed as well, depending on how badly the ear looks in person and its response to the antibiotics. For future ear infections you almost always have to have not just an ear cleaner, but also an ear medication prescribed by a licensed veterinarian. Just using a cleaner isn't enough.

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