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Facial paralysis and middle ear infection advice/experience

T

trixibelle

Young Bun
My rabbit has been diagnosed with a chronic middle ear infection diagnosed from X-rays taken due to facial paralysis.

I've seen the X-rays and it looks awful- it has destroyed the ear drum and I have no idea how I didn't know. I've heard it is very painful and she has been off her food the odd day but always bounced back- I've had 2 house moves in the last year so if she has acted a bit quiet I have put it down to that.

My questions are- how long must she have had this for to destroy the ear drum and nerve?

Secondly, I am injecting her daily with antibiotics but with no obvious symptoms of the infection how will I know if it has cleared?

She is eating fine and her balance is fine. I'm just so sad thinking about the pain she has been in and so scared she will slowly deteriorate

If you have had a similar experience please could you share?

Holly x
 
trixibelle said:
My rabbit has been diagnosed with a chronic middle ear infection diagnosed from X-rays taken due to facial paralysis.

I've seen the X-rays and it looks awful- it has destroyed the ear drum and I have no idea how I didn't know. I've heard it is very painful and she has been off her food the odd day but always bounced back- I've had 2 house moves in the last year so if she has acted a bit quiet I have put it down to that.

My questions are- how long must she have had this for to destroy the ear drum and nerve?

Secondly, I am injecting her daily with antibiotics but with no obvious symptoms of the infection how will I know if it has cleared?

She is eating fine and her balance is fine. I'm just so sad thinking about the pain she has been in and so scared she will slowly deteriorate

If you have had a similar experience please could you share?

Holly x
Click to expand...

Peoples' experiences on here will be many and varied. My own rabbit had multiple ear infections which left him deaf by the time he was unwanted and therefore came to me. I shudder to think of the repeated pain he must have been in with the infections being untreated. I think you realise that when a rabbit 'goes quiet' there is often pain involved.

It's impossible to say how long your rabbit had the problem and how much pain she was in. I think as far as whether the antibiotic is working and when the infection clears, you will have to talk with your vet and possibly have a follow up X-Ray.

Is she on any pain relief? Metacam is usually what's prescribed (forgive me if you already know all this!). Now that you have her on antibiotics, I hope her condition will improve, albeit slowly, as ear infections are damned difficult to eradicate!
 
Thanks for your reply! Yes she is on metacam and have been given a lot more today! I just don't know how I will know if it is getting worse or better! She seems fine at the moment and I'm just so sad and devistated
 
trixibelle said:
Thanks for your reply! Yes she is on metacam and have been given a lot more today! I just don't know how I will know if it is getting worse or better! She seems fine at the moment and I'm just so sad and devistated
Click to expand...

Be hopeful for her!! Try not to send out sad vibes, because you're doing everything you can for her. Be positive that she will get better and that there will be a good outcome.

It's normal to feel sad, but it doesn't help you or her ..... if you get my meaning :wave:
 
MightyMax said:
Be hopeful for her!! Try not to send out sad vibes, because you're doing everything you can for her. Be positive that she will get better and that there will be a good outcome.

It's normal to feel sad, but it doesn't help you or her ..... if you get my meaning :wave:
Click to expand...

Thankyou 💜
 
My Cheeky had this. She was misdiagnosed by 2 vets and was being treated for mites. I still carry the guilt although she was my first rabbit and I knew no different. So it wasn't until her head tilted and face skewed on one side that we were referred to a specialist who took x rays and started us on the correct treatment. By then the infection had also permanently damaged her ear canal.
Because of the tilt I did see the improvements but it was 3-4 months of intensive treatment but totally worth it to see her pain free and happy afterwards. It's hard to say how long it takes for the damage to occur as each rabbit is different but for my girl I'd guess at about a year.
Hoping your bun recovers quickly x
 
bunslave said:
My Cheeky had this. She was misdiagnosed by 2 vets and was being treated for mites. I still carry the guilt although she was my first rabbit and I knew no different. So it wasn't until her head tilted and face skewed on one side that we were referred to a specialist who took x rays and started us on the correct treatment. By then the infection had also permanently damaged her ear canal.
Because of the tilt I did see the improvements but it was 3-4 months of intensive treatment but totally worth it to see her pain free and happy afterwards. It's hard to say how long it takes for the damage to occur as each rabbit is different but for my girl I'd guess at about a year.
Hoping your bun recovers quickly x
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply! Did you manage to get rid of the infection? It is so hard to not feel guilty and it makes me sad that it is hard to know what is making them ill without full X-rays until it presents as serious physical issues. What made them think it was mites? X
 
It may well have started initially with mites as first vet pointed out mucky ear and I'd seen her scratching at it and gave me treatment for them although looking back I can't remember him actually using an octoscope.
The correct treatment from the specialist did sort her out but, because of the damage done and length of time incorrectly treated, she was left vulnerable to secondary infections.
The guilt has just made me try and learn as much as I can about my rabbits and their health and make sure I don't let them down like I did her. It's a steep learning curve :D
To be honest, with your bun showing no symptoms until the facial paralysis and her balance being ok, I think it's been caught far sooner than my bun's was so you should be optimistic for a full recovery. :thumb:
 
My bun has an ear infection (not confirmed by x rays but she has a head tilt so ruling out the other options and the fact that a long course of antibiotics is helping this is the most likely diagnosis). She has a head tilt that was quite bad, but is now improving after 5 weeks on baytril. She also had a problem with one eye, it had an ulcer in it which may or may not be linked but this eye was not blinking at all, the vet suspected nerve damage, probably linked to the ear. Last weekend she started to blink again. It's not a full blink as her eye does not fully close yet, but it is nearly there. We ere so please as though she had got a bit of paralysis but it seems to have healed as her head tilt has improved. Good luck for your bun and hopefully the paralysis will get better as your buns ear is treated.
 
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