Inner Ear Infection - Cat

Question
After a week of being off colour and off his food, my cat suddenly could not keep his balance and his eyes kept darting from side to side and he couldn't seem to focus.  I took him straight to the vet.  She said he presented as having an inner ear infection  He has been there 4 days and they are so busy that I can only ever seem to get to talk to the receptionist.  She tells me they are keeping him there because he is dehydrated and they are waiting to see if the antibiotic will kick in but I can't seem to get an update to find out how long they intend leaving him off balance and stressed because he can't focus on anything.  No one can seem to tell me if he is in the same condition.  How long should my cat be left waiting for the antibiotic to kick in before giving him an ear xray.  I am starting to concern about his mental well being if he is in no better condition than when I dropped him off.  Thank you so much - stressed pet lover.

Answer
If I were you, I would DEMAND to speak to the doctor.  YOu are paying the bill, so you have a right to that information.

Middle and inner ear infections can take a while to resolve.  Unfortunately, antibiotics may not be the answer.  Most anitbiotics have little effect because of the poor blood supply to that area and the types of organisms inthe cat that cause the problem.  They are hard to kill with common antibiotics.  I recommend one called azithromycin (Zithromax).  The ear canal needs to be examined and if there is fluid pressure in the middle ear causing a bulging eardrum, the eardrum may need to be punctured (myringotomy) to relieve the pressure.