4
Answers Home
» Health & Wellness
» Illness & Disease
Could hypothyroidism cause ear pain and difficulty breathing in dogs?
I myself am a nurse, but obviously I'm not too clear about canine anatomy. My dog went to the vet yesterday. He is 11 and they did a senior wellness with all kinds of lab work. The vet called and said his thyroid results were very low.
Now backing up, when I took him in I told them that he's had some watery nasal drainage and has had a bit of shortness of breath. Not a lot different, but different. Also he would sometimes begin coughing when barking. They kind of waved those symptoms off and said he looked fine at the time.
Now that I'm hearing about his thyroid, I'm inclined to believe that this is what was causing that, since the gland is next to the larynx. They're running a second test to be sure, but I'm fairly certain he'll have it.
I've not seen it listed as a symptom, but I'm fairly certain it's possible. Does anyone know?
Finally, there is no ear infection. They scoped his ear yesterday.
Asked by
Sam
on Apr 7th 2009
Tagged
in Illness & Disease
Status
- This question is closed.
Best Answer
How long has the coughing when barking been going on?
It's definitely possible for an enlarged thyroid (as in hypothroidism) to cause a bit of extra pressure in the neck causing some heavy breathing or a coughing reflex.
With all the nerves that run through the face and neck, a tickle from the cough reflex or anything enlarged in the throat and pressing on a nerve could definitely set of ear discomfort. Is he scratching at it and rubbing it on the floor? Perhaps it is irritation or tickling rather than pain?
My other thought here is a simple, mild case of kennel cough. The watery nasal discharge and coughing when barking are classic symptoms of kennel cough. So is the shortness of breath, but it's better described as congestion rather than shortness, just like we get with full sinuses and mild bronchial irriation from colds or flus.
Hope that helps! Good luck with him. Let us know what his tests show!
Jack answered on Apr 7th.
