• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Specialist Mystery ear pain, considering leaving it alone?

Dilly's Piggies

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 27, 2016
Messages
834
Reaction score
656
Points
525
Location
Lincolnshire UK
It all started when Harriet got a piece of hay stuck deep in her ear canal 3 months ago, she was put under to remove the hay but the first try was unsuccessful, so we resorted to flushing the ear with Epiotic ear cleaner for a week. She went back for a check up, seemed much less painful and the hay wasn't visible so they assumed it had gone, case seemingly closed. A week later she had to go back again due to the pain returning, it was found she had an ear infection, she was given antibiotic ear drops to use for a week. A week later we go back, the infection hadn't cleared so she was changed to oral antibiotics, baytril, for a further 7 days and also to continue flushing the ear with saline solution instead this time due to wax build up. We go back a week later because her pain was still no better and she was put under sedation again for a further investigation, they found her ear drum was missing so diagnosed a perforated ear drum and took a sample of ear wax to culture. They switched her ear cleaner to TrizAural which is safer to use with a perforation and we had to use that for a further 10 days.

We got a call back 2 weeks later to say that her culture was normal and there's nothing nasty growing in there, also at this point Harriet seemed all clear, she had no pain so we informed the vet and no further action was needed. It has now been 2 weeks since then, and Harriet unfortunately has this severe pain back again, I have no idea what to do. I've spent about £500 on this so far and I'm struggling for money and patience now. They will probably want to take scans of her which requires another sedation, the last sedation she had she did struggle to come around, it was a very scary time but thankfully she pulled through, because of this I am very reluctant to put her under again, even though it's just a whiff of gas, she didn't tolerate it very well last time. She has to be sedated for the vets to even look in her ear, she screams at the top of her lungs because the pain is so severe and it's heart breaking.

I'm at the point where I'm thinking about leaving it be, she has always been her normal self, never been ill with this or lost weight, it only hurts when touched, and since the vets can't figure out what it is let alone fix it, why am I spending hundreds of pounds for nothing and also risking my pigs life by putting her under all the time? I'm at a loss, does anyone have ideas on what this is and what I should do? I'm hitting my head against a brick wall here. Harriet has also been deaf from birth, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with her issues now, a defect or something. Both myself and Harriet are just under a lot of stress with all of this, at least we have each other! :hug:

9Sysa92 (2).webp
Cute picture of my baby <3
 
Oh my goodness, so sorry for the both of you. I can only imagine how really frustrating this is. I can't add so much to this but tagging @Wiebke for help when she is able to.

Most fervent hopes for a better time of it for both of you and hugs. Hopefully your sweet little one can start to feel better soon.
 
That’s certainly a cute picture of your baby.
What a terrible situation.
You just have to go with your gut on what’s the right thing to do, if she really is in no pain then perhaps she is better off being left alone for now. But if she is suffering in any way, well then something has to be done but always with her quality of life at the forefront.
You’ve done an amazing job coming this far with her and I’m sure you will make the right choices for her wellbeing. Sending Harriet healing vibes :hug:
 
Aw poor girlie and poor you. As already said, if she's in no pain then I would leave her alone but if she is in pain, then I'm just not sure. But you have to go with your gut instincts.

I am sending Harriet lots of healing vibes that she is feeling better soon xx
 
@CavyConnoisseur How do you know she's in pain? What are the signs?

I ask because if she's acting normally and not showing any signs of illness then it might be okay to leave her be.

I know I've had pigs in the past and have one at the moment who don't like to be handled and will scream.

Screaming isn't always an indicator of pain. I had one pig that screeched every time he had his nails cut and I never once hurt him.

Could she just be being sensitive knowing it used to hurt?
 
@CavyConnoisseur How do you know she's in pain? What are the signs?

I ask because if she's acting normally and not showing any signs of illness then it might be okay to leave her be.

I know I've had pigs in the past and have one at the moment who don't like to be handled and will scream.

Screaming isn't always an indicator of pain. I had one pig that screeched every time he had his nails cut and I never once hurt him.

Could she just be being sensitive knowing it used to hurt?
When you touch around the ear she will tilt her head and give a little cry, it might be possible it's just itchy or like you say, it's psychological? I have noticed her head tilting whilst eating hard foods, like big hay fluffy tops for example, but it's rare and doesn't stop her eating...

The vet has had multiple looks at her teeth throughout this also as we did consider it can be a tooth issue also, but they're in perfect condition so I don't think the ear issue is making her chew on one side or causing wonky jaw balance etc, I'm looking out for slanted teeth lol.

My gut is telling me to leave her alone at the moment and just give her pain meds when she needs it, if she shows signs of illness like weight loss, picky eating, constant signs of pain or an ear infection returning then I will take her back, I'm reluctant to take her back there for further tests whilst there isn't anything obvious to treat...

It's certainly a tricky one, especially when we aren't sure exactly what's causing this... It does seem to come and go too, like today I've touched around the ear and she's not as sensitive today as she was yesterday, but tomorrow it can be painful again. Hmmm!
 
Back
Top