deafness

kersh · 01-05-2005, 07:54 AM

i have a female white cat who's about 10
i know some white cats are born deaf but ours has always had perfect hearing.

a few weeks ago the vet said she had an infection in her outer ear and administered some drops
upon returning home not only could the cat not keep her balance but she was stone deaf.

we then went to seek a 2nd opinion
they sedated her and after investigation said that both ear drums were perforated however everything in the inner ear seemed fine
they were of the view that if antibios could clear the infection in the outer ear then this would give the perforations chance to heal

i pressed the 2nd vets for an opinion as to whether they felt the first lot had done anything wrong but they wouldn't comit themselves
they maintained their view that the cat might need to be on medication for weeks/months so as to get rid of the infection which was inhibitting the healing of the ear drum

i've had a look round the net for more info on this but can't find much at all!!
can anyone help?

emrldsky · 01-05-2005, 08:30 AM

I don't know about cats, but I've had both my eardrums burst on me before (it was painful and I couldn't hear well), but it took a least 2-3 weeks for my hearing to come back fully. I will never forget that. I also had motion sickness (which could be the cause for loss of balance in your cat) seeing as the drums help with balance.

Seeing how cats ears are more sensitive than humans, I would go with the opinion that once the infection clears up, and the eardrums heal, she should be fine. If you're still feeling uncomfortable with the diagnosis, maybe see another vet?

Good luck and I'm sorry to hear about your poor baby being sick.

coaster · 01-05-2005, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kersh

i pressed the 2nd vets for an opinion as to whether they felt the first lot had done anything wrong but they wouldn't comit themselves

well, of course, they're going to cover for each other. sounds like the second vet had a better handle on the problem, and you should go with the treatment the second vet recommends.

Tim

kersh · 01-05-2005, 08:45 AM

cheers for the replies

her balance is not helped by the fact she only has one eye
(yes she has been in the wars of late)

will perserve with the medicine (penicillin and an other) and hopefully it will make a difference

as the weather is cold at the moment she's not too bothered about going out but that may change as we get into spring
we live pretty close to a main road so i don't want her going anywhere near that especially if she's deaf!!

vanillasugar · 01-06-2005, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kersh

as the weather is cold at the moment she's not too bothered about going out but that may change as we get into spring
we live pretty close to a main road so i don't want her going anywhere near that especially if she's deaf!!

yes it is VERY important to keep a deaf cat COMPLETLEY indoors. No exceptions.

Hopefully the medications help her to heal and she regains her hearing! I'll be thinking about your kitty!

RarePuss · 01-06-2005, 01:18 AM

I have heard that white cats ear drums have to be very carefully maintained and if at all possible an infection or any puncture, injury or even water must be carefully avoided.

when we bathe marsh, I always make sure to never, EVER get anything near his ears

myfamilia · 01-06-2005, 05:39 AM

Hi Kersh,
I have a 14 year old cat who was in perfect health, as far as I could tell, until a vet decided a slightly red ear warranted a thorough cleaning. Had the vet performed pre diagnostic test, the discovery of a cronic inner-ear problem would have resulted in not doing the flush cleaning that permanately damaged my cats hearing, among other dibilitating things.
My cat suffered from severe vestibular disorder (dizziness) for 6 weeks, had to be hand/forced fed more than a month, was on antibiotics for nearly 3 months and he's still not well. Nor will he ever be the healthy cat he was before the careless vet neglected, well in my opinion, do his job properly.
I would do some research on antibiotics (pros and cons) and vestibular disorder to help with understanding what can happen with a cats ears.
There are things, other than infection, that can create problems in cats ears. Virus, mites and foriegn objects like foxtails. In my cats case there never was an infection. The ears weren't even dirty enough to be needing a cleaning. The bones in the inner ear showed thickening and was probably metabolic related do to an overactive thyroid.
I hope the intibiotics help your kitty get better. If it were me, I would not be able to sit still without knowing more of what happened. But, of course, I'm not over what happened to my best friend. It changed our life so much.
If you want to read Bugs story Something might have poisoned my cat and He did it! Bugs ate on his own in Heath and Nutrition
Sorry, I don't know how to make the post into links

kersh · 01-06-2005, 08:17 AM

Myfamilia

Sounds like we've encountered similar problems?
Our cat went to the vets for it's annual injections and it was the vet who decided that "her ears need a bit of a clean"
As the cat is white her ears always look dirty in any event
Since that day she's been unstable and totally deaf!!

Having changed vets they diagnosed perforated ear drums. I pushed them on the "what could have caused it" point but i suppose fellow professionals stick together?

We are now perservering with the anti-biotics which is bad enough as the cat puts up a real struggle when we try to administer them
She's always been an outdoor car and is constantly crying which is not nice at the best of times but certainly not at 3am

All we can do is hope that the medication does something as my limited research leaves me to believe that once an eardrum is perforated it may never fully heal, which is very upsetting indeed!!

coaster · 01-06-2005, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myfamilia

Sorry, I don't know how to make the post into links

here's how I do it: I launch a second instance of Internet Explorer -- this is done so as not too lose your current page in the Cat Forum -- then in the second IE you navigate to the thread you want to copy the link to, copy the link in the address box, and then paste into the message you're composing. Of course you can do the same with any web page you want to post a link to.

myfamilia · 01-07-2005, 03:11 AM

What really helped make 'dosing' alot easier for me was having treats to give after each and every time. Then the real problem was, since meds had to be given at the same time every time, my cat quickly learned how to tell time.
I had to be much slyer than my kitty thought I could be. Like get meds ready ahead of time, pretend to be doing other things(brushing hair, picking up dirty clothes, fluffing pillows) while sneeking his dose in at the same time.
It's very sad and disturbing to watch a cat that suddenly cannot hear like he used to. There is no adjustment time and everything startles them because they can't see what they thought they heard and not knowing what it was or which direction it came from is traumatizing in itself. My kitty's stess level is high range most of the time now.
Ahhrrrgggg!! I am so angry about it, I don't want to get started cause I can't stop. Writing all the letters it took before I felt I it to be the one to send to the Calif Board of Vet Med did help some. But I will never really be 'OK' with the state my cat has been made to 'adjust' to!!

a couple other things you could ask for would be x-rays of the head, and a culture taken from the ear to be tested for bacterial/fungus problems. If there is no bacterial infection there's no need for the antibiotics as it can create other problems. Maybe you could talk to the vet about these other test and see how/what she thinks about it. I'm not sure about perforated ear drums and if they heal up ok, but I, too,wonder about that one.
Are you keeping kitty inside now?

01-05-2005, 07:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
kersh Kitten Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7	deafness i have a female white cat who's about 10 i know some white cats are born deaf but ours has always had perfect hearing. a few weeks ago the vet said she had an infection in her outer ear and administered some drops upon returning home not only could the cat not keep her balance but she was stone deaf. we then went to seek a 2nd opinion they sedated her and after investigation said that both ear drums were perforated however everything in the inner ear seemed fine they were of the view that if antibios could clear the infection in the outer ear then this would give the perforations chance to heal i pressed the 2nd vets for an opinion as to whether they felt the first lot had done anything wrong but they wouldn't comit themselves they maintained their view that the cat might need to be on medication for weeks/months so as to get rid of the infection which was inhibitting the healing of the ear drum i've had a look round the net for more info on this but can't find much at all!! can anyone help?

01-05-2005, 08:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
emrldsky Cat Addict Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: West Lafayette, Indiana Posts: 2,354	I don't know about cats, but I've had both my eardrums burst on me before (it was painful and I couldn't hear well), but it took a least 2-3 weeks for my hearing to come back fully. I will never forget that. I also had motion sickness (which could be the cause for loss of balance in your cat) seeing as the drums help with balance. Seeing how cats ears are more sensitive than humans, I would go with the opinion that once the infection clears up, and the eardrums heal, she should be fine. If you're still feeling uncomfortable with the diagnosis, maybe see another vet? Good luck and I'm sorry to hear about your poor baby being sick. __________________ Jade, Scotty, and Oscar

01-06-2005, 05:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
myfamilia Tom Cat Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: california desert Posts: 501	Hi Kersh, I have a 14 year old cat who was in perfect health, as far as I could tell, until a vet decided a slightly red ear warranted a thorough cleaning. Had the vet performed pre diagnostic test, the discovery of a cronic inner-ear problem would have resulted in not doing the flush cleaning that permanately damaged my cats hearing, among other dibilitating things. My cat suffered from severe vestibular disorder (dizziness) for 6 weeks, had to be hand/forced fed more than a month, was on antibiotics for nearly 3 months and he's still not well. Nor will he ever be the healthy cat he was before the careless vet neglected, well in my opinion, do his job properly. I would do some research on antibiotics (pros and cons) and vestibular disorder to help with understanding what can happen with a cats ears. There are things, other than infection, that can create problems in cats ears. Virus, mites and foriegn objects like foxtails. In my cats case there never was an infection. The ears weren't even dirty enough to be needing a cleaning. The bones in the inner ear showed thickening and was probably metabolic related do to an overactive thyroid. I hope the intibiotics help your kitty get better. If it were me, I would not be able to sit still without knowing more of what happened. But, of course, I'm not over what happened to my best friend. It changed our life so much. If you want to read Bugs story Something might have poisoned my cat and He did it! Bugs ate on his own in Heath and Nutrition Sorry, I don't know how to make the post into links __________________ It's easy to understand what cats want, just listen to what they say...MEeee NOWwww In loving memory of Bugs, forever I will miss.

01-07-2005, 03:11 AM	#10 (permalink)
myfamilia Tom Cat Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: california desert Posts: 501	What really helped make 'dosing' alot easier for me was having treats to give after each and every time. Then the real problem was, since meds had to be given at the same time every time, my cat quickly learned how to tell time. I had to be much slyer than my kitty thought I could be. Like get meds ready ahead of time, pretend to be doing other things(brushing hair, picking up dirty clothes, fluffing pillows) while sneeking his dose in at the same time. It's very sad and disturbing to watch a cat that suddenly cannot hear like he used to. There is no adjustment time and everything startles them because they can't see what they thought they heard and not knowing what it was or which direction it came from is traumatizing in itself. My kitty's stess level is high range most of the time now. Ahhrrrgggg!! I am so angry about it, I don't want to get started cause I can't stop. Writing all the letters it took before I felt I it to be the one to send to the Calif Board of Vet Med did help some. But I will never really be 'OK' with the state my cat has been made to 'adjust' to!! a couple other things you could ask for would be x-rays of the head, and a culture taken from the ear to be tested for bacterial/fungus problems. If there is no bacterial infection there's no need for the antibiotics as it can create other problems. Maybe you could talk to the vet about these other test and see how/what she thinks about it. I'm not sure about perforated ear drums and if they heal up ok, but I, too,wonder about that one. Are you keeping kitty inside now? __________________ It's easy to understand what cats want, just listen to what they say...MEeee NOWwww In loving memory of Bugs, forever I will miss.

01-05-2005, 08:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
kersh Kitten Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7	cheers for the replies her balance is not helped by the fact she only has one eye (yes she has been in the wars of late) will perserve with the medicine (penicillin and an other) and hopefully it will make a difference as the weather is cold at the moment she's not too bothered about going out but that may change as we get into spring we live pretty close to a main road so i don't want her going anywhere near that especially if she's deaf!!

01-06-2005, 01:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
RarePuss Cool Cat Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Garden State Posts: 1,371	I have heard that white cats ear drums have to be very carefully maintained and if at all possible an infection or any puncture, injury or even water must be carefully avoided. when we bathe marsh, I always make sure to never, EVER get anything near his ears

01-06-2005, 08:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
kersh Kitten Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7	Myfamilia Sounds like we've encountered similar problems? Our cat went to the vets for it's annual injections and it was the vet who decided that "her ears need a bit of a clean" As the cat is white her ears always look dirty in any event Since that day she's been unstable and totally deaf!! Having changed vets they diagnosed perforated ear drums. I pushed them on the "what could have caused it" point but i suppose fellow professionals stick together? We are now perservering with the anti-biotics which is bad enough as the cat puts up a real struggle when we try to administer them She's always been an outdoor car and is constantly crying which is not nice at the best of times but certainly not at 3am All we can do is hope that the medication does something as my limited research leaves me to believe that once an eardrum is perforated it may never fully heal, which is very upsetting indeed!!

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