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If you notice your dog has crusty lesions on the edges of his ears, or on any part of his ear, he may have what is known as ear margin hyperkeratosis. This condition is characterized by thickening of the skin on his ears, excessive head shaking, and scaly or greasy plugs on the ear margins. Your veterinarian will be able to diagnose his condition by ruling out other possible conditions and by taking skin samples and examining them with the microscope. If your dog is diagnosed with ear margin hyperkeratosis, there is no cure but there are ways to manage it and keep your dog happy and comfortable.
Ear margin hyperkeratosis affects the outer edges of your dog’s ears. If you notice crusting or greasiness on the outer edges, it would be a good idea to take him to his veterinarian for an evaluation.
Symptoms of this condition may include:
Types
Ear margin hyperkeratosis can also be known as ear margin seborrhea or orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis. It is characterized by abnormal thickening of the outer layer of skin. This condition is commonly found to affect dogs with pendulous ears such as Dachshunds and Cocker Spaniels. As the condition progresses, the scaling often moves from the edge of the ear to the entire ear.
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This condition can be a side effect of hypothyroidism in some dogs. In other cases, it may be from the absence of follicular atrophy. Most commonly, hyperkeratosis of the ears is regarded as a primary keratinization defect. This means there is no cause to the condition; it is the condition. As a primary defect, there is no underlying illness you have to worry about treating; you just have to treat the ears.
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When you arrive at the veterinarian’s office, she will start her diagnostic process by collecting a verbal history from you. For example, she will want to know what symptoms you have seen on your dog and when you first noticed the development of his symptoms. She will also want to know how fast each symptom has been progressing and if it seems to impair his daily routine. She will then proceed with performing a full physical exam. While it may be obvious the lesions are on his ears, she will want to check him over entirely for other symptoms that could be indicative of an underlying cause of his condition.
In cases of suspected ear margin hyperkeratosis, your veterinarian may need to rule out other possible medical conditions first. For example, fly bite dermatitis in dogs causes very similar symptoms as to those of ear margin hyperkeratosis. Additional diagnoses she may need to rule out include scabies and solar dermatitis, to just name a few. In order to rule out these conditions, she may want to perform diagnostic testing. It would involve taking a skin scraping sample from the affected area of your dog. She will scrape a small sample from the superficial layer of your dog’s ear tips to examine under the microscope. This will allow her to evaluate the appearance of the skin cells as well as rule out external skin parasites.
Ear margin hyperkeratosis can be complicated by a yeast infection or bacterial infection. She will want to ensure your dog does not currently have an ear infection in his canal as well as on the surface of his ear pinna. This may involve taking a skin cytology sample from his ears. Often, the veterinarian only needs to take a piece of scotch tape, apply it to your dog’s ear lesions and then stain it with a special stain. She will then examine it under the microscope for the presence of bacteria or yeast.
Other testing may be requested by the veterinarian depending on your dog’s symptoms. If she suspects his condition is a secondary development to a different illness, she may want to perform diagnostic testing to determine the cause. Depending on what she suspects, the testing can vary.
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Many dogs with this condition respond well to medicated shampoos with keratolytic and keratoplastic properties. Examples would be tar, sulphur, salicylic acid, selenium sulphide, or benzoyl peroxide. Your veterinarian will be able to prescribe you this as it is not something that can be found over the counter. If you do find something over the counter, it may be similar, but the prescription shampoo is more concentrated and therefore typically works better.
Close clipping of the hair on the affected area is also helpful. This will prevent matting of the hair and accumulation of seborrhea within the fur. It will not necessarily prevent the condition from developing but it may slow or stop its progression.
Other treatments will be administered depending on your dog’s needs. She may send you home with an ointment or spray to apply to the ears. If there is a yeast or bacterial overgrowth, it is possible oral medications will also be sent home for you to administer over a course of time. If your veterinarian discovers there is an underlying cause to your dog’s symptoms, she will administer therapies in accordance to that illness.
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There is no cure for this condition but you can reduce how much it affects your dog. With treatments suggested by your veterinarian, you should be able to keep your dog comfortable. The medications should also help prevent or slow the progression of the hyperkeratinization before it expands further over his ear pinna. With the proper treatments applied, your dog’s prognosis of recovery or at least prevention of progression is good to fair.
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Ask a Vet
Golden Retriever
Four Years
Unknown severity
0 found helpful
Unknown severity
Has Symptoms
What is the crusty stuff growing all around his ears s as Nd how should I treat it?
Sept. 27, 2020
Owner
Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Thank you for your question. I am sorry for the delay, this platform is not set up for urgent emails. It is difficult to tell from your picture, without being able to see the area, but that may be a viral or fungal problem, or a bacterial infection or a parasite. It would be best to have him seen by a veterinarian, as they can remove the hair if needed, examine the area and see what might be going on, and get treatment for him.
Oct. 10, 2020
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Chiweenie
9 mo
Unknown severity
1 found helpful
Unknown severity
Has Symptoms
What could I get to help his ear
Sept. 26, 2020
Owner
Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your question. Dogs can get ear infection, and the bacteria or yeast is quite specific and needs specific medication to treat. Since I cannot see your dog, It would be best to have your pet seen by a veterinarian, as they can examine your pet, see what might be going on, and get treatment for them if needed.
Oct. 17, 2020
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German Shepherd
Seven Years
Unknown severity
0 found helpful
Unknown severity
Has Symptoms
She has been getting crusty I. Her ears with excessive head shaking. We clean the are with banix but it just goes right back to being this way.
Sept. 25, 2020
Owner
Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Thank you for your question. I apologize for the delay, this venue is not set up for urgent emails. Her ears look terribly infected, and are probably very painful. She probably needs different medications, topical and oral antibiotics. It would be best to have your pet seen by a veterinarian, as they can examine them, see what might be going on, and get any testing or treatment taken care of that might be needed.
Oct. 21, 2020
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herman
Shar-Pei Pitbull Terrier
2 Years
Mild severity
1 found helpful
Mild severity
Has Symptoms
my dog has some sort of crusty on the edge of his eat and on the top side of his ears there is also some hair loss he doesnt seem to be in any pain though sometimes hell flinch and yelp if i touch it
March 14, 2018
herman's Owner
Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your email. There are many causes for hair loss and crusting, including parasites, bacterial or fungal infection, or various conditions that can occur. If he flinches when you touch the area, it is probably bothering him, and it would be a good idea to have him examined by a veterinarian. They'll be able to look at the problem, determine what might be causing it, and get any treatment needed for you so that his problem resolves.
March 14, 2018
My dog seems to have this she's rat terrier I put aquaphor on it or any moisturizing cream it softens overnight and comes off, just need to keep her ears moist and no more issues! Coconut oil works well
July 26, 2018
Melinda W.
Well, Rich sure is a rude prick. Hey, Rich, if you have all the answers, then why are you bothering to read the site? Dr. King is nice enough to take time out of her schedule to help strangers on the internet, and you’re a prick to her because you didn’t like the answer? Screw you, dude. 🙄
March 26, 2018
Dr. S.
that whole paragraphs just says "see a vet" thanks for telling me what I already new but wasting my time.
March 25, 2018
Rich W.
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Patriot
Basenji
2 Years
Fair severity
1 found helpful
Fair severity
Has Symptoms
So, I was reading your article on hyperkeratosis. My dog seems to have it on the tips of his ear. I had adopted him with it, and have no prior knowledge to how long it’s beeen going on, though it takes up maybe .5-1inch up the tip of his right ear, and beginning to develop on his left. I was wondering if I was use a medics led shampoo with benzoyl peroxide would those reduce the current peopblem on his ear. I understand it is not a cureable Solution, but he has no infections of sorts. Just a crust. Thanks for your help. It doesn’t seem to cause him any discomfort if I put pressures on it, and generally doesn’t bother him. Though, as a pet owner it bothers me.
Jan. 19, 2018
Patriot's Owner
Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your email. It would be a good idea to have Patriot examined by your veterinarein to determine if there is any other condition going on that might be causing the crust on his ears. Many dogs with hyperkeratosis respond well to medicated shampoos with keratolytic and keratoplastic properties. Examples would be tar, sulphur, salicylic acid, selenium sulphide, or benzoyl peroxide. Your veterinarian will be able to prescribe you this as it is not something that can be found over the counter. Close clipping of the hair on the affected area is also helpful. This will prevent matting of the hair and accumulation of seborrhea within the fur. It will not necessarily prevent the condition from developing but it may slow or stop its progression. Other treatments will be administered depending on your dog’s needs. They may send you home with an ointment or spray to apply to the ears. If there is a yeast or bacterial overgrowth, it is possible oral medications will also be sent home for you to administer over a course of time. If your veterinarian discovers there is an underlying cause to your dog’s symptoms, they will administer therapies in accordance to that illness. I hope that everything goes well for him.
Jan. 19, 2018
Was this experience helpful?
Beau Amos
Mixed Shepherd
10 Years
Moderate severity
0 found helpful
Moderate severity
Has Symptoms
I greatly appreciate all of the information. I'm also "sort of" glad that my Beau isn't the only fur baby experiencing this. I've tried numerous things and as a "rescuer" with several vet friends that I drive nuts, I try to research many things myself and then pluck my friend's nerves. Initially, I thought Beau may have pemphigus foliaceus (I have knowledge of the pemph's after losing my lab to pemphigus vulgaris), but after reading all of this information I am inclined to think it may be something different. Can hyperkeratosis also be present on other parts of their head/body? Before the tips of Beau's ears got crusty, he developed a crusty round spot on top of his forehead. He has other medical issues and is not on any regular medication beyond benadryl and 81mg aspirin, and he receives daily supplements to help with his allergies and heart murmur. As of now, I clean his ears gently with sterile saline solution and I have tried using calendula gel, hydrocortisone cream, a coconut/mineral oil based ointment, and recently I have tried blue-star ointment. He has seen the vet 3 times and so far no diagnosis - but I think I may consult another vet with more knowledge of topical skin issues. I'm just concerned that what I am currently doing may be helping at all or doing more harm. He isn't experiencing any pain, nor does he scratch or dig at his ears. He lets me handle and touch his ears without any problems.
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