Some ear's problems

The most common medical ailment is "OTITIS. " The root causes of ear trouble can run the full spectrum from contact irritants such as occurs from soaps, pollens, grass or carpeting, to infectious organisms such as yeast and bacteria, to parasites such as fleas and ear mites.  Veterinarians further generally classify OTITIS as externa, media, interna depending upon which areas of the entire auditory system is affected. As a groomer you will see many cases of OTITIS externa and these will generally be either allergic otitis externa or microbial otitis externa.

Allergic otitis displays itself as reddened, inflamed ear tissues that feel warm (or even hot!) to the touch. These cases tend to be dry, and have only a mild odor with minimal build-up of wax, pus and debris.  An allergic ear looks red and inflamed.

On the other hand infected ears - microbial otitis - because of the damage the bacteria and yeast are doing to the tissues of the ear, the ear canal and other affected tissues become moist and purulent (the medical term for pus.)  That ear canal is a perfect incubator for microorganisms - dark, most, warm with a good supply of nutrients! If that ear canal sounds wet upon manipulation and has a foul odor, there is certain to be an infection present.

Always check with a veterinarian before plucking hairs from any ear structures that seem to be infected. Sometimes the ear problem requires sedation and cleaning.  And chronic, severe cases of infected and scarred ear tissues often respond well to surgery to open up the canal for better exposure to the drying effects of air.  Be sure to mention to the pet's owner to have the ears checked if you suspect Otitis is present. The longer it goes on, whether it's allergic or infectious, the more scar tissue forms and the more difficult it is to cure. And simple ear cleaners that work well to clean the waxy or oily ears won't touch an infection and may further irritate allergic ears.

Shaving the hairs close with a #40 blade can be of help (keep that blade flat to the skin surface - not at an angle!). If the ear structures have a buildup of crusts or debris, eliminating the hair prevents the hairs from trapping the exudate and allows better contact of medications and facilitates the drying effects of air.  So, in general, removing hair from infected tissues can be helpful. 

You can find more information on http://thepetcenter.com