Foreign body in a dog's ear – symptoms and removal

Overview

The ear is involved in both hearing and balance. It has three parts: the outer, middle and inner ear.

The ear canal and ear flap belong to the outer ear. The canal carries sound to the eardrum, so disease there can also affect hearing.

The air-filled middle ear contains the small hearing bones. The inner ear contains the cochlea, involved in hearing, and structures that regulate balance.

A grass seed may enter a dog's ear while they move through long grass. A foreign body can trigger otitis externa, inflammation of the outer ear, even in a previously healthy ear.

Similar ear symptoms may also result from allergy, a parasite or an ear canal tumour. Besides removing the object, an ear infection that has already developed may need separate treatment.

Grass seeds may also be found between the toes or behind the eyelids, for example.

Causes

Plant material and ear canal anatomy

A sharp grass seed can pierce tissue and travel deeper into the body. Dense hair around the ears can collect and retain seeds.

A dog's ear canal bends into an L shape. Only a small part is therefore visible to the naked eye.

A loose hair entering the canal may also act as a foreign body. An insect or tick may also enter the ear.

From irritation to infection

Inflammation caused by a foreign body may later involve bacterial or yeast overgrowth. Small numbers of bacteria and yeasts also occur in healthy dogs' ears.

However, changes in conditions within the canal can favour their multiplication. Inflammation causes swelling and may narrow the canal.

Excessive cleaning can also worsen an already abnormal ear. Repeated symptoms may be caused by atopy or food allergy rather than a foreign body.

Risk factors

Running through long grass exposes a dog to seeds catching in the coat. Grass seed risks were investigated using British patient records from 245 practices between 2014 and 2020.

The following figures concern plant foreign bodies anywhere in the body, not just the ear. July–September accounted for 74.3% of diagnosed plant foreign bodies.

July alone accounted for 42.7% of cases. Plant foreign bodies were more common in spaniel-type dogs than retrievers, with an odds ratio of 7.7.

Dogs in that study had an average age of 5.5 years when a plant foreign body was found. The median age, the middle value in the age distribution, was 4.7 years.

Dense hair around the ears and paws is one feature that helps seeds become caught. However, plant foreign bodies were diagnosed in every month of the year.

These British figures do not establish the frequency of ear foreign bodies in other populations.

Typical symptoms

A grass seed in the ear may mainly appear at home as vigorous scratching and head shaking.

• Your dog repeatedly shakes their head.

• Your dog scratches the ear more than usual.

• Your dog yelps while scratching the ear.

• The ear skin is red or looks swollen.

• There is discharge or a bad smell from the ear.

• Touching the ear appears painful.

• Your dog holds their head to one side because of pain.

• Hearing appears reduced if there is a middle ear problem.

• Opening the mouth hurts if deeper ear disease is present.

Drooping on one side of the face or abnormal blinking may involve effects on nerves in the middle ear. An inner ear disorder can also cause unsteadiness and involuntary eye movements.

Symptoms do not reveal what is in the ear: the same finding may involve inflammation without a foreign body.

Complications and consequences

If irritation continues

Vigorous scratching can also damage facial skin and cause open wounds. Shaking and scratching may rupture a vessel in the ear flap, causing an aural haematoma, a collection of blood.

An aural haematoma appears as a soft swelling in the flap and may be painful. Untreated, it can leave the flap scarred and crumpled.

Persistent inflammation can narrow the canal and change its glandular tissue. Chronic ear disease may also involve tissue calcification.

Outer ear inflammation can spread through the eardrum to the middle ear. Untreated middle ear infection can then progress to the inner ear.

Inner ear inflammation can affect both hearing and balance. A grass seed migrating through tissue can cause inflammation or an abscess.

A promptly removed seed generally has less time to cause problems. Finding and removing a foreign body are often possible at the first appointment.

Diagnosis at the vet

Examining the canal and eardrum

The vet asks when symptoms began and about previous ear problems before examining the ear. The flap and canal are palpated for pain, thickening and swelling.

An otoscope illuminates the canal and allows examination of the eardrum. It can also help locate and remove a seed.

A video otoscope magnifies the view and makes assessment of the canal and eardrum easier. Severe pain or a deeply lodged seed may make sedation necessary.

Discharge may obscure the eardrum, requiring cleaning before reliable assessment. The eardrum is checked for changes including rupture, bulging and altered colour.

However, an apparently intact eardrum does not rule out middle ear infection.

When are samples or imaging needed?

An inflamed ear is sampled before cleaning. Discharge is spread on a slide and stained for microscopic examination.

The microscope is used to assess bacteria, yeasts and inflammatory cells, for example. Ear mites and their eggs can be sought in a separate microscopic preparation.

Dark discharge may involve yeast, parasites or bacteria, so colour does not directly identify the cause. A sample helps select suitable medication for any remaining infection.

Inflammatory cells containing engulfed bacteria support a diagnosis of true bacterial infection. Concurrent skin signs may prompt investigation of allergy or an underlying hormonal condition.

A persistent blockage of one ear canal may require a biopsy to rule out a tumour. Severe, longstanding or poorly responsive ear disease may need CT or MRI.

Ordinary X-rays often do not show a grass seed within tissue. Imaging may instead look for the inflammation it has caused.

Treatment

Removal under direct visualisation

The vet prescribes treatment and any medication according to the ear findings. A seed in the canal is removed with suitable instruments under otoscopic visualisation.

The vet may grasp the lodged object with forceps, with sedation if necessary. Video otoscopy can be used to flush the ear and remove foreign bodies.

A seed that has migrated deep into tissue may require surgery. Treatment of canal inflammation also addresses pain, itching and swelling.

Anti-inflammatory medication can make handling and home treatment easier. Heavy discharge and wax may prevent topical medicine from reaching the canal skin.

Pus can also reduce the effectiveness of some medicines. Bacteria and yeasts trapped within discharge may maintain or restart infection after treatment.

For bacterial or yeast infection, the medicine group is chosen according to the ear sample. Otitis externa alone does not usually require oral or injected antibiotics.

Suspected middle ear involvement may change this treatment choice.

Healing and safe ear preparations

If a foreign body has caused acute bacterial or yeast infection, treatment often takes 2–4 weeks. A longstanding infection may take months to settle.

Recovery is confirmed by examining the ear and repeating the cell sample if necessary. Eardrum condition affects which preparations can safely be put into the ear.

Some ear medicines can damage the hearing or balance system, particularly if the eardrum is ruptured. Vinegar mixtures and other irritating home remedies can worsen canal swelling.

Powders placed in the canal may form irritating clumps. During follow-up care, the cleaning solution is selected according to whether the ear contains wax or, for example, pus.

Avoid ear cleaners containing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Home cleaning of a severely inflamed ear may only begin once pain and swelling have improved.

A protective collar can reduce further injury from scratching during treatment.

Prevention

Avoiding long grass reduces opportunities for seeds to catch, especially in dogs previously affected. Check the coat for seeds after walks through long grass.

Include the spaces between the toes, armpits and around the eyes as well as the ears. Thick hair around the ears and paws can be trimmed to make seeds less likely to catch.

This means grooming the surrounding hair, because the benefits of plucking hair from inside the canal are disputed. Consider moisture as a predisposing factor for ear inflammation in a dog that swims.

A healthy ear does not need continual cleaning unless dirt or discharge is visible. Changes in the flap skin's colour, moisture and temperature help identify an emerging problem.

Preventing recurrent inflammation also requires control of the underlying cause.

Important for dog owners

Record when head shaking began and whether your dog had been in long grass beforehand. Mention previous ear problems, cleaning and ear products you have used.

A cleaning tool inserted into the canal can push discharge deeper.

Do not probe a painful ear or try to grasp a deeply lodged object at home. The practice will tell you whether cleaning is allowed and which product to use.

Pressing a cleaning bottle tip tightly into the ear and squeezing hard can damage the eardrum through pressure.

Pain during vet-approved home cleaning is a reason to stop and contact the treating vet.

If reduced hearing, dizziness or a head tilt develops during ear medication, stop it until the dog has been examined.

After removal, monitor whether scratching stops and ear care is possible without pain. Persistent symptoms or a new balance problem are reasons to contact the practice again.

Frequently asked questions

Can I remove a grass seed from my dog's ear myself?

A deeply lodged seed or one trapped in a painful ear may require sedation and examination of the canal with a scope for removal. Only a small part of a dog's canal is visible externally, so the object's position and eardrum condition cannot be assessed reliably at home.

Is sedation always needed to remove a foreign body?

Not always. A vet can sometimes find and remove a seed while looking through an otoscope. Sedation is more likely when the ear is very painful or the object lies deep in the canal, making safe removal otherwise difficult.

Do ear symptoms stop immediately after a seed is removed?

If the seed has caused an ear infection, that also needs treatment after removal. An acute bacterial or yeast infection often takes 2–4 weeks to settle, with recovery confirmed by veterinary examination and, when necessary, another sample.

Are grass seeds only a summer problem?

British patient records identified plant foreign bodies in every month, although most cases occurred in summer and early autumn. Checking a dog after long grass is therefore useful beyond the hottest summer weeks too. Check between the toes and in the armpits as well as the ears.

Does a head tilt always mean a foreign body?

Ear pain can make a dog hold their head to one side, but a tilt with unsteadiness may indicate a problem with the inner ear's balance system. The vet then assesses possible deeper ear infection too, rather than deciding the cause from head position alone.