Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 8/24/2008

Question
My dog was shaking her head and scratching her ears but appeared to be hearing fine.  My vet gave me Mometarmax to use. I was using it in just one ear but she seems to have complete hearing loss.  I stopped using it a couple of days ago.  Will her hearing return?  I read on your site that this medicine can cause hearing loss in a small number of dogs but it's reversable but the article didn't mention what needed to be done to reverse this.  Please help me and my Akita, Jet.  Thank you.

Answer
The antibiotic, gentamicin, in Mometamax can be toxic to the cochlea.  Fortunately, if you stop the medication, the hearing should return in a couple of weeks or sooner.  Also ask your vet if your dog may have a middle ear infection causing the hearing loss.