Mulder's dirty ear!

[JenFid]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can help me figure out what might be going on with one of Mulder's ears! His right one, specifically.

It's quite strange really...his left ear, I think I've maybe cleaned twice since I got him. It is always sparkling clean, no joke! I thought maybe it was Ponzu cleaning it, but why wouldn't she clean both? Also she was gone all day yesterday and still not a speck of wax.

Now his right ear, that's a different story. The past couple weeks, I'm cleaning it every couple days. Here are some pics:

The shiny and clean left ear

The right ear, after I had just cleaned it.

I took those two pics on Tuesday night

Now see below, the right ear early this morning (it looked like this last night too, so just 2 days later). It's already flecked with wax. I know when I go to clean it tonight I'm going to have a couple very dirty Q-tips. I wasn't intending on using this pic for this question but I was looking at it and noticed how dirty his ear already was.

So I'm not sure exactly what's going on. Is this normal? Can one ear just produce more wax than the other? I know people here generally clean ears 2 times a week, so maybe that's accurate (the right ear gets cleaned about 3 times a week now). I use Zymox for the ear cleanser, no particular reason beyond that we already had it when we got Mulder. Usually I soak a cotton pad with it and swipe around a couple times just to get the surface stuff off, then I soak Q-tips with it and use those to get the nooks and crannies.
I feel like his right ear wasn't always this bad though, but we've had no changes to anything food/litter wise :/

Any tips or insights would be much appreciated. Is it possible the Zymox is drying his ear out too much, thus causing more wax to be produced?

 

[Xandria]

My guess?

He's probably right pawed, meaning that he scratches his right ear with his right paws more than the left. Paw nails collect dirt which transfers to ears.

I also find that Max's right ear tends to be a little dirtier. My thoughts about that were the whole dominant paw theory but I could be wrong.

 

[Yoda mom]

@JenFid , so strange.. Perhaps Ponzu is grooming one ear

When I got my adoptees ,( they had waaaaay dirty ears than Mulder , I put Zymox Plus in the red /white box on a qtip for a few days( instructions say do not use any other cleaners at the same time ) their ears cleaned up nicely
http://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/zymox-plus-otic-hc-enzymatic-solution

I keep the zymox plus on hand for Any flare ups on dogs too and it is amazing!

Then I used what used to be available only thru an Rx prescription - triz ultra plus keto-
It is for bacteria and anti fungal and does not sting-

Recently tried vibrancy epi otic advanced but 8 oz out of stock everywhere
http://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/epi-otic-advanced/variation-600

So I am going g back to tried and true Triz ultra plus keto-
It can be used elsewhere too on skin

http://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/trizultra-keto

 

[JenFid]

Hmm @Xandria you may be on to something there! It makes sense to me.

The only reason I doubt the Ponzu theory right now is that I've actually watched her groom him...she doesn't lick more than a few times before she latches her arms around his head and starts biting, lol! And if he tries to groom her the same thing happens. So I don't think she has the patience to clean a whole ear before the biting starts, haha.

The spot that seems to accumulate the most gunk is that little space on the lower corner of the ear. After just a couple days there is enough to cover both ends of one q-tip!

I'm going to order a bottle of the Triz ultra plus keto and give that a try. Maybe I should try flushing the ear too before going in with the q-tips and pads, maybe there's a pocket that I can't get that's dirtying up the rest of the ear more quickly? The last time I tried that he shook his head so hard the Zymox spattered all over both of our faces :yuck: But it might be worth trying again.

 

[Hairless Blessing]

Put a couple of drops into his ear or ears and rub them around
then, let him shake his head.
This will bring a lot of it up, if it's deep in there. Do it at least
once a week when you clean his ears. One of Izmae's ears get's
dirtier than the other.

 

[Yoda mom]

@JenFid , these are my new favorite! They have in my local grocery store too!

I wet these cone shaped tapered qtips with the ear cleaner and gently twirl in that small outer Lower ear pocket flap
Very good for tiny crevices especially in my tiny Claire Bares ears

http://www.qtips.com/product/detail/115035/precision-tips

 

[JenFid]

Oooh nice! I will definitely have to pick since of those up tomorrow

 

[Toa and Ross]

I'll go with the idea of @Xandria! Both my boys have one ear that's always more dirtier then the other ear (although no ear is ever without wax )!

 

[Xandria]

View attachment 58917 @JenFid , these are my new favorite! They have in my local grocery store too!

I wet these cone shaped tapered qtips with the ear cleaner and gently twirl in that small outer Lower ear pocket flap
Very good for tiny crevices especially in my tiny Claire Bares ears

http://www.qtips.com/product/detail/115035/precision-tips

Those are awesome! I love them for getting into those hard to reach areas. I always have a few of those and regular q-tips on the counter when cleaning Max's ears.

And... just because and to show off Max's dirty ear!!!

 

[BusterTheCat]

@Yoda mom I need some that are good for the crevices! It's hard to reach into certain areas where the wax hides

 

[Yoda mom]

@BusterTheCat , I also like the dual ended flat and coned pads to add to my ear cleaning arsenal

*Note The tips of these are harder than the qtips brand precision tips
I wet these with ear cleaner too and
Turn the flat end sideways for the other hard to reach shaped crevices

 

[BusterTheCat]

@Yoda mom Thanks for the advice! I'll look around for some

 

[Salth2o]

Fiona had dirty ears and my vet diagnosed ear mites....I am not convinced that was the case as much as he just wasnt used to Sphynx and didn't know how dirty their ears can get. Anyway he gave me a bottle of Tresaderm to use after he treated for the mites. Have to say this stuff really has her ears clean now. In fact I cleaned them tonight before her bath and there was nothing to clean out! This is not a long term use stuff as it has steroid in it too, but if it is bad and could be fungal or yeast may be worth looking in to. Also the Trizultra + Keto sounds interesting. I am going to look into that