Middle Ear Infection and Lack of Coordination

[HarrietLouise]

Hello, 

I am a first time poster, but I often lurk the forum when I am searching for cases that are similar to my rabbit. The forum in general has been a wonderful resource when late-night emergencies strike and my rabbit-savvy vet is unavailable at 2 or 3 a.m. To provide a little brief background: 

My sweet rabbit, Harriet Louise, an all-black French Lop who is a special needs gal, was rescued from my local House Rabbit Society. Harriet has taught me to be extremely intuitive to the quirks of a special needs bun. She has to have regular tooth trims every 3.5 weeks, as she never eats hay and has no way to file her teeth down naturally. She also gets chronic ear infections. The latter of the issues is what has brought me to the forum today, after a year of reading about members’ experiences. 

Yesterday evening, I noticed that sweet Harriet was a bit uncoordinated. I should preface this by saying her poor coordination is only when she tried to binky, or is shaking her head (which is usually the first indicator she has ear trouble). Anyways, I contacted my vet, who is an angel and tries to stay in constant communication regarding my sweet bun, and she is concerned it is a middle ear infection. Harriet has no signs of head tilt yet, just the lack of balance when she binkies, or shakes her head, or scratches her ears. 

Although my vet is out of town until tomorrow, she has prescribed antibiotics (given she has experience with Harriet’s ear infection), as well as pain relievers and will complete her tooth trim tomorrow. But my reason for posting on the forum is that I’m wondering if anyone else has seen the same sort of course of symptoms in their bun from a middle ear infection? How did your bun recover? Did your bun always have poor coordination following the ear infection? Or did a full recovery occur? Do you have any tips for preventing ear infections (I know this one is tricky given lops get chronic infections, due to their facial structure). 

Thank you for any insight you may have. 

Merci, 

Harriet Louise’s Mama

[Luna]

Hi! That’s awesome that you adopted her from a rescue, and especially took on the needs of a special needs bun! When Luna had an inner (though not middle) ear infection, she didn’t show any symptoms until the infection got worse (the ear drops she was prescribed weren’t working). The only symptom that developed was head shaking, and some weight loss. Luckily, a different course of ear drops cleared everything up. I’m sure if it had progressed, lack of balance could have followed.

For lops, you can mitigate the chances of ear infections developing by keeping the humidity levels at below average in her room or the house. Ear cleanings may or may not help – I’ve read that in some cases it can help but in other cases it can irritate the ear more.

[LittlePuffyTail]

What antibiotics has she been prescribed?

My senior lop, Bindi has had chronic ear infections for years, although, thankfully, they’ve never progressed to the middle ear. In my exerience, ear cleaners were not helpful. They left the ear wet and more vulnerable to bacteria. Also, the more I cleaned the gunk out of his ears, the more gunk they created.

Has your vet ever done a culture of your rabbit’s ears?

[Muchelle]

My bun had a bad inner ear infection following the loss of 80% of one ear after a dry necrosis. His case is different since we knew what he had and there was no need for bacteria tests or such, but I can tell you his lack of cohordination got progressively worse over the span of a week. He already was on baytril, so vet decided to wait it out a bit, and then we had to bomb him with a cocktail of antibiotics and antiflammatories. He took a while to get back on his feet (I literally had to teach him how to walk again) because of his whole medical condition, but we saw the first improvements within 48 hours from the first dose of his cocktail.

So, long story short, with the right mix of medicines balance should start to come back pretty quickly. Be on the look out for sores under her feet, because wrong posture may cause them even if she’s staying on padded flooring.
Sending best wishes to your sweet baby <3

[HarrietLouise]

Wow, thanks everyone for the response. Currently, Harriet is on the cocktail bomb of antibiotics prescribed by my vet and double-checked by experts at Davis:

1. Injectable Penicillin
2. Septra
3. Marbofloxacin

She’s also on meloxicam and tramadol for pain, as with her, any pain doubles her over begins a fast downhill tumble into GI stasis and loss of appetite.

My vet did a small mammal blood panel and is also checking for E. Cunniculi just in case. But two vet opinions say it’s an ear infection, especially since Harriet is not keen on anyone touching her right ear at all.

Muchelle, when your bum was on his antibiotic cocktail, was he especially lethargic and reclusive? Harriet is already a somewhat timid and shy rabbit, but now that she’s on all her meds, she’s especially quiet and withdrawn, sleeping long periods.

I’ve been syringe feeding her off and on the last few days—she’ll surprise me by nibbling a few greens when I’m not looking—but she also has chronic dental issues and needs surgery every 3 weeks to file molar spurs. She is due for her file any day now, but my vet is worried about anesthesia and the complications from the ear and balance.

For those who have buns with this kind of ear infection, how long did you syringe feed until your bun was eating on his/her own again? Obviously your buns probably did not have the same dental issues as Harriet, but just looking for an estimated time frame in relation to the loss of balance and/or any developing head tilt.

Thank you for being here and helping talk me through my anxiety and stress and worry!

[Muchelle]

Since she’s on tramadol (my bun was too), it can be she’s especially lethargic due to that. When it happened that he had to take tramadol (he’s the same, pain = severe GI stasis if not bombed immediately) I always pushed the vets to scale the dose lower as soon as possible because it makes him too sleepy/dazed.
If your girl isn’t moving much, check that she is able to change position on her own. if she can’t you should try to do it for her quite often to avoid sores under her heels. Also urine burn may be a thing if she can’t move away to pee and lick herself.

keep going and keep us updated. Sending you all my best wishes for you and your girl <3

[Muchelle]

sorry for double post, I’m on mobile and the forum is very clunky on my browser… my bun’s situation was different, but I think that the process of full force feeding (every 2 hours around the clock) to partial feeding to normal eating took us 2 months (last 20 days with ear infection)

[HarrietLouise]

Muchelle, Thank You! Harriet Louise is doing better–but recovery is definitely a patient process. She’s back to eating certain foods on her own–her beloved kale, mint and parsley–but is still taking it easy on stems and pellets, and I am sure that this is due to tooth sensitivity from the middle ear infection. Her E. Cunniculi test came back negative (phew), and her head x-ray indicated that she is indeed plagued by some ear issue. Since she has been on the antibiotic bomb, the condition has improved–her balance is so much better, and she isn’t as sensitive with her ears. I am still taking it easy and slow with my sweet girl, and I know she isn’t going to be 100% overnight. But I’m always so worried about her, especially since she is an elderbun and a special needs girl. I am super vigilant with my observation and monitoring of this light in my life–my sweet, sweet girl. Thanks for your kind wishes! They are certainly helping her <3

[Scampobun]

Soften the pellets in water first so they are softer to eat as the jaw joint is near the base of the ear so hard pellets will hurt. Did the vet give anything for balance issues? Injctable penecillian is great for ear infections. You are doing a great job.

[HarrietLouise]

Harriet Louise is now recovering from the ear infection–but is going through terrible GI issues. The antibiotic bomb absolutely thrashed her GI tract, and she had 2 days of bad diarrhea, poor appetite and lethargy. Per the vet’s instructions, we stopped the antibiotics (except for every-other-day penicillin injections), kept up with daily fluids, She is a bit more spry today, and definitely has her appetite back, however, NO POOPS. I’m going to chalk it up the fact that her poor GI tract is just slowly bouncing back. But I have cisparide and metaclopramide on hand in case I don’t get poops by late this evening.

Are there any other bunny parents who have had similar issues?

[Wick & Fable]

Can you get any probiotics to feed HL, replenishing her gut bacteria? I know the meds you mention are motility, but unsure if they contain bacteria that’d help if used regularly for a bit.

Wick’s vet always gives me a refrigerated powder to feed Wick twice a day when he’s on antibiotics. It stays in the fridge and I chuck it after 6mo because the bacteria in it starts to die and become less effective.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry to hear she’s having more problems. Some buns really don’t handle antibiotics well. I’ve been lucky. But my vet usually prescribes Benebac to be given at the same time as the antibiotics.

[Muchelle]

As of my terrible experience with K’s situation, I can tell you he resumed pooping (pooping properly, not passing a few micro beads or huge blobs of stuff) after a month, then for the following month he had misshaped poops but they were coming out consistently.
Antibiotics and toradol did it for him, they completely messed him up, and he had stuff to poop out cause he was on CC every 2-3 hours around the clock.

So, be patient, keep making sure she’s well feed (either by CC or by herself), well hydrated and is not having gas build up. Do massage her with her butt slightly lifted up if she lets you, so that if there’s gas clogging the situation it will get out. ***Personally*** I would wait a bit before giving probiotics, because they just caused a massive bout of “cow poop” and left my little guy exhausted and dirty. Vet said we probably gave them to him too early, so we waited for his intestines to be a bit more cleared out from the effects of the medicines, then proceeded with half a dose of probiotic powder after a couple of weeks.

I repeat, his case was peculiar and so this advice may not apply, but I felt like sharing it anyways. Always talk things through with your vet.

Also, remember to be careful about how she’s sitting/laying and make sure she’s changing position normally to avoid urine scalds and pododermatitis.
I send you lots of vibes and a huge amount of my best wishes. Keep being strong <3

[Boing]

Hi Harriet-Louise,

I am a little late to the discussion, but would like to add some tips on ear infections that cause balance problems. Please note, this is from human experience, not rabbit. As of the summer of 2016, I get ear infections that affect balance. Mine are viral. I had to literally learn to sit up and walk again.

Has anyone determined that the infections are bacterial? If not, there may be no point in stressing the rabbit with antibiotics. You should ask your vet about this.

In my experience, the only thing that really helps is sleep. Your bunny should be allowed to sleep whenever, wherever, for whatever amount of time. So if there is a TV or any such thing in the rabbit’s room, it should be removed as should any sources of stress. I can literally sleep for 15+ hours.

Humidity is a bit dicey. If the sinuses are involved too, and they can be, a little bit can help. A lot is very bad, as are changes in the weather. Drinking lots of water is very important. Maybe try fruit juice in the bunny’s water. Dehydration exacerbates balance problems like nothing else!

The balance is affected, because the crystals in the ear that help situate you in space are dislodged by the infection, either directly due to pus, etc., or indirectly due to the ear structure being swollen. So your ears think you are constantly in motion and your brain believes them over your eyes. I am not sure if there is a rabbit equivalent, but once the infection is under control, you should ask your vet about an Epley manoeuvre for a rabbit. It helps to put the crystals back. I can walk, run and drive thanks to it. Unfortunately, they will always be more loose once dislodged. I still cannot ride horses on account of this, because you never know what head position will trigger something and many such infections are painless, so it is not like there is a warning, and horses can move unpredictably.

Which brings me to watching for symptoms. Unfortunately, sometimes the only symptom is the balance issue. In fact, this is typical, at least in people. By the time anything odd is noted, there is already a raging ear infection.

Since it is an internal thing, ear washes will not help much. Ask your vet if something like Auralgan exists for rabbits. It is an external ear drop, but it helps to fix the pressure inside your ear, which the infection has a way of changing for the worse. This, then a bunny Epley should help immensely.

Please note, if there are any people on here reading this not for rabbit for for people info, do not try the Epley yourself! Go to a qualified professional. I do not care if other people have had success themselves. You risk breaking your neck, literally. It is not worth it.

I feel very badly for your bunny, because you cannot explain why binkies exacerbate this, but to anyone who has had it, it is obvious! Those kinds of head movements are precisely the sort that I never do even one at a time, let alone a whole bunch in succession. Give the poor thing a carrot for me, please. We need a carrot emoji.

[HarrietLouise]

Muchelle—

I have to thank you tremendously for your follow up posts. Your K’s condition sounds an awful lot like Harriet’s so I am taking your advice and learning to be patient.

I’m a nervous wreck about her being comfortable and pain-free. It seems like I am in the long haul for Harriet’s recovery.

She is still having soft and loose stools. Right now, my priorities with this are keeping her fed (CC and greens she likes, as she NEVER eats hay and is at the moment “off” Pellets), keeping her box clean because she does a lot of resting in her box lately (I *think* due to the loose stools), and keeping her clean with baby wipes and every 2 day butt baths.

I asked my vet about benebac, and she actually preferred to try and do a cecal transfaunation from a healthy rabbit (I haven’t done this yet) because she said the bacteria in the gut is sometimes too strong and wipes out the probiotic. I’m seeing her again on Tuesday, so will check one more time to make sure she hasn’t changed her mind about the benebac.

She has okay days, and she has poor days. Some days she’s eating her kale, parsley and carrot tops; other days it’s all CC and special love and attention.

I can see what you mean about helping her change position—because she’s not feeling well, she has periods of deep sleep and just loafs for awhile. I try to gently rouse her so she can move on her own; sometimes I have to move her and clean her bum as her loose stools are “loose” when she has long naps.

The one thing that totally helps are the Sub-Q fluids. Oh boy these are miracle waters. Since she’s had loose stools for almost a week now, the Sub-Q fluids have become essential. I call it her “buntorade”. I see her perk up a bit after she gets them (2 times a day, AM and PM).

Muchelle, when did K’s loose stools start to turn a corner? I know you said a month, but around how many days did you realize you were “out of the woods” as they say?

I love my little lady so much, and just want to make sure I’m doing everything right in this fight, and that I shouldn’t be doing something more to hurry along recovery. I know it’s going to take time and extra special love. And I’m here for it!

Thanks everyone for your insight and support. I don’t feel so alone in my care for my sweet gal, and it means a lot!

[Muchelle]

I’m so glad some good can come out of K’s problems. I’ve actually kept a timeline of the whole thing in this topic –> Literal Furball

I take him home at about page 2 of the topic and from there he develops balance problems etc. I have to warn you I am very distressed all through the first 4-5 pages (I was sleeping like 3 hours a day to feed him around the clock), so it may be difficult to read since you’re obviously very stressed yourself right now.

All considered, from the mushy poops and cow poops he probably took a couple of weeks if I don’t remember badly. But as long as stuff came out we were happy lol! 

When you pick her up for meds, do check her heels and front paws for pressure ulcers. The earliest sign is sort of like a hot pink button and you have to move around the fur to see it at first. Also check that the fur padding on the back heels is healthy and thick. If you see signs of lesions, you can ask your vet about ointments to help the skin not break. My vet gave me Hypermix oil, I don’t know if it’s sold overseas but it’s wonderful (and smelly!)

Keep pushing, you know by now I am personally feeling for you and your bun. I really hope she gets better soon <3

[Author]

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