Nola ears used to be the nasty, gunky, smelly, yeasty, etc. We we were constantly cleaning them with a 50/5-0 alcohol and water mixture. His ears really cleaned up when we switched him to a grain-free diet so we figured our problem was food allergies.Â
There is something called the Blue Power Ear Wash which you can make. I got this info from MastiffWeb. The archives are still open even though the board shut down. You can do a search to get even more info especially the fact that this is blue and can stain. The ear wash is supposed to greatly help.
Here's an ear wash recipe that works better than anything I've ever had. I've been using it on both mastiffs and you cannot believe how clean and pink their ears are now.
"BLUE MAGIC EAR WASH:
*16 drops of Gentian Blue Solution, (also known as Gention Violet) found at pharmacies in dropper bottles
*4 Tablespoons of Boric Acid Powder, (also found at a pharmacy)
*16 ounces of Isopropyl Alcohol
Mix all the above ingredients well....... shaking it works well..... pour into a large squirt bottle, (like a large water bottle with the pop-up squirt top, try to get a bottle that will hold the entire amount you have made). And this is very important: SHAKE IT WELL before every use, so the boric acid powder is distributed in the solution before you squirt it out. I squirt a very generous amount onto a thick baby wipe, (like Huggies naturals, non-scented wipes), I put enough on the wipe to make a big circle and it is sopping wet with the blue solution..... then I wipe the outer ear flap first, until the dog gets used to the coolness of the solution, and then proceed to working deeper and deeper into the ear canal, gently swabbing it out, and removing the brown build-up,.... I never squirt this solution straight into their ears.... if you have the wipe soggy enough with this solution, it will be enough to coat the inside of the ears just fine.... do not wipe it out, leave it dry in their ears .......
This can be done every couple of days for a week or so, then once a week, then once every two weeks, until you only need to do it once a month until you see no build up any more...... (this may take several months if there is a really bad ear infection), but eventually you will only have to wipe their ears with this every 3-6 mos...... it seems to put a very nice balance back into their ears..... and over cleansing for too long, can actually cause some problems.... so once the dog has clear ears, I back off and let their body take care of itself..... there should be a little waxy build up which is normal and healthy and protects the ear canal...... (of course I don't mean the gross black/brown fudgey stuff, that isn't normal in large amounts....). OK, I hope this works for you, as well as it has for me! I love it! You can also use this on skin abrasions.... little fungal infections on the skin .... it works good for that too!
(another tip: I typed the recipe on a piece of paper and taped it to the bottle it's in, so I have the recipe right in front of me the next time I need to make it, but it lasts forever, so you don't have to make it often..... and it's sooooo inexpensive! Also, place a big "SHAKE WELL" tag on your bottle too.... you must shake it well before each use, even between squirts!)