Look Hear!
 An ear is an ear is an ear until it gets infected. Most folks know that other animals have such better hearing than humans. This is a distinct advantage whether in a wild wolf or a tame tabby but Mother Nature seldom gives something for nothing. Dog and cat ears may hear better but the shape of the ear canal causes nothing but problems when they get infected.
The pictures show the main differences between human and dog ears. Cat ears are very similar to dogs'. Figure 1 shows the dog's ear. Figure 2 shows the human ear. You can see how our ear canal is very short and runs downhill towards the outside. Dog ear canals run uphill towards the outside and have a long upright section. People have trouble keeping medicine in heir ears but pets have difficulty getting the "bad stuff" out!
 Looking from the outside you might be able to see most of the way down to a human's ear drum. In the unlikely event a person got a foxtail in his ear, you could expect to see it. But pets' ear canals are so long and deep that even something as large as several foxtails may be totally hidden. That is one reason why the operating otoscope is needed. Look at Figure 3 and you'll notice that not only does the otoscope let you look down the canal, but it also creates a path to treat the ear, maybe with an ear curette like in the picture.  So the otoscope helps your Doctor decide if your pet has just an infection, infections with a foxtail, ear mites, or maybe in injury (e.g. ruptured eardrum), tumor, or other condition. Remember, the wrong treatment (e.g. ear mite medication in a ruptured ear drum) can lead to permanent deafness so DO NOT EXPERIMENT!
Next time you pet needs his ears examined you might want to take a peek (your pet willing) down our otoscope and see what I see. The more you know, the more you can help your pet. |
