Warning: Risk of Deafness from Ear Medications

[k9diabetes]

I think Dolly's dog Nikki might have had the Gentamycin treatment... I'll dig up her thread.

My understanding is that there would have to be direct contact with the inner ear itself for the damage to hearing to occur. But I do not feel comfortable that an intact ear drum is adequate to prevent this kind of problem because I don't think the many dogs I've been told went deaf right after having such a medication in their ears were likely all to have had ruptured ear drums.

So I would want to check it out thoroughly for any possible risk in advance. Our concern always was that the last thing a blind dog needs is to go deaf.

Jack had a yeast infection in his ear in January and we went with oral ketaconazole rather than put anything risky into the ear canal. I think the vet at the time thought I was nuts but it's a risk I would only take if there was no other option.

Natalie

[ozzi]

Thank you Natalie!

After reading this thread I really started to wonder about the gentamycin injection. I don't do inpatient at all but this thread reminded me of the risk of permanent deafness from giving IV gentamycin to a human. So I really want to be sure that an injection into the eye will not potentially cause deafness.

Kobi also had a yeast infection in his ear canal several months ago, which I treated myself with diluted vinegar (acetic acid), but I didn't get it in time, and while it got better, it did not completely clear, so he was given panalog, which has neomycin, but not gentomycin, which I don't believe is a risk for deafness. I never thought anything of it, but I will rethink it should it happen again and consider an oral med in the future myself.

I don't know for sure whether an intact or ruptured ear drum would make a difference in canines. I do know for sure that in humans, deafness is an adverse side effect of the medication itself, having nothing at all to do with the condition of the tympanic membrane or even direct contact with it.

I think this thread is a good reminder to all of us to check on what we're giving our pets and ask our vets about potential risky side effects and possibly alternative treatments when available.

Kevin

[Judi]

thanks Kevin & Natalie for bumping this thread up. I read it when I first found the forum but with everything else I never got around to checking Jenny's ear medicine. (she is prone to ear infections)

no surprise, it has it.

Thanks for reminding me to check.

Judi

[Patty]

Kevin,
Let us know more if you learn additional info on the eye injection. A valid concern.
Patty

[eileen]

Wanting to bring this thread forward as a friend of mine is currently experiencing the hearing loss with her dog following the use of this particular ear ointment containing, Gentamycin.

Once she told me the medication she was using I remembered having read about this here so searched, found this thread and forwarded the information to her which she shared with her vet.

Thanks again, k9diabetes forum for the information you provide to help us with our furry critters.

[Patty]

Was it the Otomax brand Eileen?

[eileen]

Hi Patty,

Yes, it was the Otomax ear ointment that was put into her boy's ear, for less than 1 week, before she noticed the hearing loss at which time she mentioned it to me.

[k9diabetes]

Adding a link to a discussion of this at the Canine Cushing's forum.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/show...ess+gentamycin

[Abby's Mom]

Mometamax is another brand that has Gentamicin in it as well. Abby was prescibed this in October, but I only used it 2x, and then started to use Zymox.

Barb

[ceruleanblue]

Piper had two two-week long treatments with Mometamax (several months apart). She seemed to start losing her hearing after the second treatment, and I think she may be almost completely deaf now. I had read this thread before, but forgot about it until we started noticing the hearing loss. The vet checked her ears after both treatments, so if there was a problem with the ear drum, the vet should've caught it...