The ear canal hair should be plucked, especially to discourage ear infections.
This is why your vet would have been checking the neck area, but I can't imagine one pounding on the chest:
Dogs with tracheobronchitis often cough when their trachea is palpated
(touched) during an examination. This is also true of dogs with collapsing
trachea. Sometimes, it is possible to palpate the weakness in the trachea,
when the problem is occurring in the portion of the trachea that can be
felt running under the skin of the neck. Both conditions cause intermittent
coughing, so this clinical sign is not very helpful in distinguishing
between the problems.
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtrachea.html