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Signs of an ear infection
The everyday sign set
The signs below overlap across causes - allergies, yeast, bacteria, mites, a grass seed - which is why signs alone cannot reliably establish the cause. What you can do is recognize that the ear is inflamed and get it looked at.
- Scratching at the ear - occasional scratching is normal; frequent scratching, or crying while scratching, is not.
- Head shaking - repeated, vigorous shaking, sometimes with flapping sounds from the flaps.
- Redness and swelling - the canal opening or inner flap looks inflamed, or the skin around it is red or losing hair.
- Odor - a musty, sweet, or plainly bad smell from the ear is one of the reasons to ask your vet for advice.
- Discharge or debris - more wax than usual, or material that is yellowish, brown, or black. Dark, dry, coffee-ground-like debris is classically associated with ear mites.
- Pain and sensitivity - flinching, pulling away, or whining when the ear is touched; reluctance to be patted on the head.
- Behavior changes - rubbing the ear along furniture or the floor, holding the head slightly lowered on one side, sleeping worse.
Cornell's guidance on when to investigate: frequent scratching, crying when scratching, a held-sideways head, redness, or hair loss around the ear. Signs can appear in any combination and any order - there is no fixed sequence to wait for.
The emergency list: middle-ear signs
When inflammation reaches deeper, toward the middle ear, the picture changes. Cornell's canine health center lists these as reasons for an emergency vet visit: a persistent head tilt to one side, walking with a drunken, unsteady gait, vocalizing in pain, and scratching so hard it leaves visible marks or open sores on the face. Do not wait these out, and do not attempt home cleaning first - a possibly damaged eardrum changes what can safely go into the ear.
Why the vet visit is not a formality
It is tempting to treat a smelly, itchy ear with something from the pet store and see. The research argues against it. Cornell describes examining ear material under the microscope to look for parasites, bacteria and yeast, alongside an otoscopic examination. Over-the-counter mite products, Cornell notes, are not always effective and can themselves inflame the canal. The veterinary assessment is the right starting point, and it protects the eardrum: the vet checks whether it is intact before anything is prescribed, because some products are unsafe if it is not.
Chronic hints hiding in plain sight
Skin that has thickened, a canal opening that looks narrower than it used to, or ears that flare up again within weeks of clearing all point to an underlying driver - which your vet can investigate - rather than bad luck. That pattern is worth its own conversation with your vet; see chronic ear issues. To track what you are seeing between visits, use the ear-check routine log.