Ignoring the early signs of an ear infection can be costly to you and extremely painful for your pet.

The build up of pus within the ear canal can rupture the ear drum and cross over into a middle ear or even an inner ear infection.

When this happens animals will have a head tilt, lack of balance, unusual back-and-forth eye movements, and/or paralysis of the facial nerve.

Additionally, constant shaking of their head leads to hematomas of the ear pinna (the ear flap). This is a result of damage to the capillaries. The cappillaries rupture between the skin of the ear flap and begin to fill it up with blood. This will cause a large mass to form within the ear flap.

With either situation, an owner is faced with sedation and possible surgical treatment to repair the ear and treat the underlying ear infection.