Can Amikacin Otic ear drops cause deafness or balance problems?

Question

This is not a question. This is a reminder to pet owners and medical professionals. Not everything you are told is accurate information. I asked if Amikacin Otic can cause ataxia, deafness, and other side effects listed for the intervenous version of the drug. My vet and vets on here all told me no. My dog now has serious vestibular problems. She is deaf and no longer vocal. Respiratory distress as well. Pet's info: Dog | Beagle | Female | spayed | 12 years old | 33 lbs

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, I'm so sorry you are going through this with Scarlet. I have reviewed the previous exchanges you had with our veterinarians and I do have to agree with both of them and state that seizures as well as respiratory distress, which I can see that you also asked about, are not typical signs of amikacin toxicity. Definitely, deafness and vestibular signs can occur when an aminoglycoside antibiotic such as amikacin is allowed to enter the middle ear, which commonly happens when the tympanic membrane is ruptured. This is why it is so very important to ensure that the eardrum is intact before prescribing and using these preparations. Sometimes the TM cannot be visualized due to the high degree of swelling present in the canal or the amount of debris accompanying the infection, and when the drug is used in these cases this is often how the drug enters the middle ear and does damage. Unfortunately, sometimes we have very little choice in the way of antibiotics we can use to treat serious multi-drug resistant ear infections, such as those caused by bacteria of the pseudomonas species, which is when amikacin is typically used. If the seizures were in fact due to the amikacin, that would be a highly abnormal reaction to the drug as it was prescribed in Scarlet. It would be very important to me, were I her doctor, to rule out other diseases that cause seizures, specifically brain lesions like tumors, before concluding that this was indeed a drug reaction. If no other issues are found that could explain the seizures, I would urge your veterinarian to contact the manufacturer of the preparation and report this as an adverse effect.

Can Amikacin Otic ear drops cause deafness or balance problems?

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