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Vestibular Disease...caused by ear infections???

kennyyoung
December 28th, 2007, 09:22 AM
Hi, my 6 year old dog Tye, a Golden Lab. who is 90lbs. had an episode last night where he became very disoriented and unable to balance himself... his eyes are moving from side to side constantly and he vomited 5 or 6 times. He does have an ear infection which is very common with him, therefore making me believe he has an inner ear infection causing Vestibular Disease.....I came to this conclusion myself by looking up information on the web. I got up this morning and he is basically in the same state with the rapid eye movement and the instability, so I called my vet ....he has an appointment for 3pm today. I am very scared for my dog and I was wondering, if he does have Vestibular Disease from the ear infection, will this disease go away if the ear infection is cleared up or is it perminant damage?

Thanks, Kenny

Longblades
December 28th, 2007, 09:40 AM
Going from memory from when my sister's BC had it a year ago so please bear with mistakes. Sis was told VD often clears up as spontaneously as it appears but it may take over a month before pooch is OK. He was left with a bit of head tllt which has more slowly resovled, almost completely. I know VD is often misdiagnosed as an ear infection but whether the two can be related somehow I don't know. Sis's pooch did not and never did have an ear infection. He will be 16 in May so hope that is good news to you.

diandpat
December 28th, 2007, 10:50 AM
Hi Kenny

My 13 yr old Golden had an acute episode of VD in September. She has only had one mild ear infection in the seven years we have had her. The truth is, even according to my vet, it is very difficult to find information on the disease because they don't really know that much about it.

I see you are bringing your pooch to the vet this afternoon and that is great. It sure is scary when it manifests. Don't know what kind of dog you have or how big but the only thing they prescribed for Ginger was Gravol for the nausea. Think of it as very severe sea sickness. Ginger has come back to about 95% since September but still has the classic head tilt associated with this disease. Actually, it looks kind of cute now so even if it stays I am good with that.

Just keep an eye on your dog, esecially if he tries to get up and move around. Ginger was very dizzy and would just fall over so we had to move the furniture out of her way and stairs were definitely off limits for about a month.

The good news is that even though it is uncomfortable they are not in any pain. I always took comfort in that. Please post back and let us know what the vet said and just keep up with the TLC. It does go away as suddenly as it appeared.

Good luck and Happy 2008

di

kennyyoung
December 28th, 2007, 12:41 PM
Thanks for the information, I am glad to hear that he is in no pain from this, but its sure hard to look at him laying on the floor with that sad and confused look on his face. I am hoping that when the vet treats his current ear infection, it will clear up the rapid eye movements and his stability. It's just hard not knowing what the outcome will be.....whatever is causing these symptoms, I just hope it is treatable. I'll keep you posted!!! Thanks again, Kenny

Sylvie
December 28th, 2007, 04:18 PM
Hi

My 13 year old Shepherd also had this disease and after treatment was 99% cured. Hope everything is O.K.

Please let us know.

diandpat
December 29th, 2007, 01:05 PM
Kenny, how did things go at the vet? Is your pooch showing any improvement today?

kennyyoung
January 2nd, 2008, 08:20 AM
Hi everyone, thanks for the help and concern. After bring Tye to the vet, it was exactly what I had thought caused the problem....ear infection. We found out, not only did he have one ear infection, but two and they were severe inner ear infections which affected his balance and eye movements. His blood work came back perfect, so I am happy to report that he has been on antibiotics, steriods and ear drops to clear up the infection and he is doing great. He had the head tilt for the first few days and it took him awhile to regain his balance, but that has cleared up and he is back to his playful self, happy and full of love.

Thanks again everyone.....Kenny and Tye

Sylvie
January 2nd, 2008, 02:18 PM
So Glad that everything is O.K.

I have been thinking of you two over the holidays.

kennyyoung
January 3rd, 2008, 02:39 PM
Thanks for the thoughts....Happy New Year!!!