Vet Ears - when to see vet?

[4boipigs]

I didn’t see an ‘ears’ prefix so I went with the next best thing.

I noticed Talwar has some mildly dirty ears. I tried to get some good pics. He has spotty areas of debris in his ears and some little black ‘dots’. I did see him scratching his left ear but it is not bad by any means. His left ear is black so I can’t see any junk in there easily.

Should I book a vet visit or is this something to not worry about?

 

[ItsaZoo]

I would see a vet and get the ears cleaned and checked. I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but I recently lost Gidget to persistent ear infections and back-to-back URIs. She had a history of ear infections and was diagnosed with head tilt and permanent changes to her ear canals. Symptoms would start with a twitchy ear and quickly progress to inner ear infection and balance issues. A vet should check the ear canal, ear drum, and if they can’t see the ear drum, flush with an antibacterial and anti fungal to remove debris and make sure there is no pus or blockage.

 

[bpatters]

While you're at it, get the vet to show you how to clean the ears.

 

[4boipigs]

I checked Maple Leaf and Trishula, and they also have black gunk in their ears. I used qtips and went thru everyone's ears. Gungnir had a lot of reddish, thick build up in one ear. He is a teddie/sheltie and apparently ear build-up is common for them. I haven't checked my foster yet.