Health & WellnessMy dog's ear hurts. Can I give him human or oral meds for pain?
Hello, thank you for using PetCoach.
Oral medications (ie: antibiotics) do not work well for ear infections. Any medication to treat an ear infection should be used topically (inside the ear). Oral pain medication would probably be helpful but you would need to get those from your vet.
In my opinion, if the ear is that painful you really should take him to your vet now for an examination so they can use the scope to look into the ear and also test the ear discharge to see what the infection is composed of (bacteria or yeast or both). They will also be able to see if the ear drum is intact. Some medications are contraindicated if the ear drum is ruptured.
Cyclobenzaprine is NOT recommended for use in dogs. It has a very narrow margin of safety in dogs (and cats) and can cause significant central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular (CV) adverse effects. You should NOT use it.
If you want to try to treat the ear at home, which I do not recommend, you can use this specific over the counter ear medication linked below. It is once a day and you do not have to clean the ear out first. It contains an anti-inflammatory (hydrocortisone) that should help with inflammation/pain. It is a small bottle so you will likely need at least 2 (if not 3) to do a full course of treatment. You must be sure to get the medication all the way down into the ear canal or it will not help much.
If you chose to do this and there is no improvement in 4-5 days then you must take him to your vet for an exam. If he does seem to be improving then continue once daily for at least 14 days.
( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-ear-solution-with-5-hydrocortisone-125-fl-oz-2399174 )
Hope this helps. Best wishes.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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