10/13/2026
Ear Cleaning and Maintenance
Are you doing it right??
One of the most common issues we see in veterinary medicine is ear problems. Whether its dirty, itchy, swollen, red or smelly we always ask clients "when was the last time you cleaned their ears?" Most owners don't know when the last time was or respond saying the groomer usually does it. Cleaning your pets ears is a simple way to keep their ears healthy and let's you see what is in them normally so you know when there is an abnormal amount of wax or debris that might mean there's a problem.
First thing you need is an ear cleaning solution for your specific type of pet. There are retail ear cleaners available labeled for dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and exotics. Most have a drying agent that helps ears dry out after water exposure but those ingredients might hurt if used on an irritated ear.
Secondly, you will need clean cotton balls. There are various sizes of cotton balls available and we find that cats, exotics and dogs under 20 pounds usually need the small cotton balls and anything over 20 pounds needs the large cotton balls. You will use these cotton balls to carry the cleaning solution to where you need it. Thoroughly soak 2 - 4 cotton balls with the ear cleaning solution. Have another 2 - 4 dry cotton balls available for the next step. Place 1 wet cotton ball into the left ear ca**l and squish it down into the ear ca**l hole at least 1/2 - 1 inch deep (bigger pets can go deeper). Gently massage the outside of the ear and down the side of the neck below the ear base for about 1 minute. Remove the wet dirty squished cotton ball from the hole and wipe the sides and crevices of the ear flap as you see any debris. If you cannot reach the cotton ball any more to retrieve it, allow your pet to shake their head and they will get the cotton ball out. Follow this with another wet cotton ball if there was a tremendous amount of brown or yellow debris on the first cotton ball. If the first one was pretty clean, then put a dry cotton ball into the ear ca**l hole and massage for another minute to help dry everything.
You may elect to use a cosmetic round or a wet wipe style ear cleaner to get the wax or debris out of the ear pinna (flap) folds of the outer ear after cleaning the ear ca**ls.
Repeat this entire process on the right side after the left side is finished.
The goal of cleaning the ears is to get to the parts of their ear that you cannot see down below the ear flap where problems start to fester before turning into infections. Q-tips and cosmetic rounds will not reach where we need to be cleaning in the lower ear ca**l. Liquid will. This also loosens up the debris and allows the gross bits to float on the liquid and stick to the cotton ball.
Most dogs and cats need a simple ear cleaning every 1-2 months. If your pet is outdoors or goes swimming or gets their head wet (dock diving, duck hunting, just inspecting the pond out back, etc), then the ears should be cleaned after every water exposure.
ONLY use pet ear cleaning solution! Do NOT use water, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, hand sanitizer, saline, soap/shampoo, or anything else!
NEVER stick the bottle directly into the ear unless it is a single use little mini bottle of ear cleaner. Sticking the bottle into the ear ca**l contaminates the nozzle/opening with whatever bacteria or fungus is in the ear and then spreads the contaminants to any ear you use that bottle on next. If you have put the ottle tip into the ear directly we advise that you toss out that bottle and get a new pet ear cleaner and keep it clean.
So, are you cleaning your pets ears correctly?
