Do you ever get the feeling your dog has developed “selective hearing”? You call their name to go for a walk, and… nothing.
But the split-second you whisper the word “cheese” or gently rustle a plastic wrapper from three rooms away, they magically materialise at your feet.
As dogs grow older, their hearing naturally fades—just like ours does. But if your dog suddenly seems hard of hearing this September, it might not be old age at all.
It could be Spring Allergies from Melbourne’s spring pollen season playing tricks on their ears!
September in Melbourne is beautiful, but as the weather warms up, the plants wake up and start pumping pollen into the air. In humans, allergies cause hay fever (sneezing and runny eyes).
But dogs are different. When a dog has a spring allergy (what we call an “atopic allergy”), it doesn’t usually make them sneeze. Instead, it makes their skin itchy—especially inside their ears!
When a dog is allergic to spring pollens, the lining of their ear canals becomes hot, red, and inflamed.
To understand why dogs get ear infections so easily, imagine their ear canal as a tiny, deep, L-shaped water slide. Unlike our ear canals, which go straight in, a dog’s ear canal goes straight down and then takes a sharp, ninety-degree turn inward.
When spring allergies make the ear canal hot and sweaty, it turns into a dark, warm, humid cave. This is the absolute perfect playground for tiny yeast and bacteria. They move in, multiply, and throw a wild party inside your dog’s ear!
If your senior dog is ignoring you, here is how you can tell if it is just natural aging or a painful spring ear infection:
If you suspect an infection, please do not grab the cotton buds from the bathroom.
Because of that sharp “L-shape” turn, shoving a cotton bud down your dog’s ear will just act like a plunger, packing the painful goop and bacteria tightly against their delicate eardrum.
Instead, bring them in to see us. We will use a special magnifying light called an otoscope to look right down to the bottom of the “L” shape.
We can identify exactly which “party bugs” are causing the trouble under our microscope and prescribe the perfect soothing ear drops to clear the swelling, soothe the pain, and get their hearing back to normal!
Whether your pet is having “senior moments” or shaking their head from spring itchiness, you don’t have to navigate these changes alone.
Schedule a spring wellness consultation today. Let’s make sure your furry best friend enters this beautiful Melbourne spring with clear ears, a happy mind, and the comfortable golden years they deserve!
