German Shepard with ear problems

Question
Hi,

My German Shepard has been scratching her inner ears now for months.  Whenever I see her over-scratching herself, I tell her no and try to get her to stop!  My husband and I recently (because the problem has gotten worse in the last month or so) took a look inside and noticed that they were very dirty.  Looks like a combination of ear wax, blood, dirt, and maybe even parasites we can't see.  We have started cleaning them on a weekly basis, but the problem persists.  It seems that whatever she has is starting to develop more rapidly than before (meaning that her ears are getting dirty much faster between cleanings).  I usually use Hydrogen Peroxide on cotton pads to clean everything out.  My husband has taken her to the groomers and even had them clean her ears (who knows what they used) and within less than a week they were clogged back up and she was repeatedly scratching them again.  We have also purchased Ear Wash with Tea Tree Oil by NaturVet to clean her ears.
Nothing seems to be helping to keep them consistently clean.
Is this maybe a yeast infection or some type of mite?  If so, what do you recommend using to get rid of the problem?  Does she need antibiotics?  After reading your page I realized that she has had this problem for more than 6 weeks, so she might have a "middle ear infection," right?  What should we do? Please help.

Thank you for your time!

Answer
You are going to need to take your dog in to the vets and get her ears cleaned out. She might have to be put under since this has gone on so long.

She could have ear mites, a yeast infection or chronic inner ear infection. She might have overactive glands in her ears as well.

Once these infections get a hold sometimes it takes a LOT to kill them off.

The ONLY way to deal with this is to have the vet clean them out, and then start a course of treatment from them. If she has mites, the vet will either give you drops or use an injection to get rid of them. If she has a chronic ear infection they will send you home with antibiotics and a few ear cleansers.

If it's yeast they should look at it under a microscope (same for mites) and determine what to treat that with.

We all mean well when we take care of our pets but remember that Knowing WHAT to treat is really important!! At least you got her used to having her ears cleaned out- that is IMPORTANT for proper treatment following her visit to the doctor.

So call the vet and make an appointment for her today if you can. She doesn't need any more misery!!

Please let me know what the vet finds in there.