Two ear situations at my house

Question
Hello, Doctor! I originally had come here to ask someone a question about one of my other cats' conditions and saw your credentials on ears, and boy, do I have ear problems with cats.

First problem: One of my 3-year-old male cats had an ear infection in both ears, though to me it looked more like dirt or a case of ear mites, which I occasionally tried to clean (when he let me). Recently, he developed a hematoma in the left ear, and I had it treated by my vet. He drained it and placed a plastic tube in, and I keep the area clean, to drain serus (sp?). He tells me that eventually my cat will develop a boxer's ear, that it will end up curling/crinkling up. Is there any way to keep this from happening? Also, could another hematoma develop in the same ear, especially if it crinkles up and and is difficult to clean? I've been trying to get some Animax in his ear as well, per doctor's orders.

Second scenario: Have a 2-year-old male who has had two ear polyps over the last year in the same ear. The first developed almost overnight, was removed by the vet and sent for a biopsy. Results came back as an nondescript, polyp-type growth though not cancerous. He couldn't get it all out and warned me it could return, which it did. The second polyp was not as large, and this time, Dr. Kris was able to gently jiggle it out completely, tail and all; I heard he whooped in the operating room at being so successful. However, my cat has had a never-ending fungus-smelling infection in that ear ever since. It's been more than a year, and even with diligent cleaning and treating with both Animax and Ototmax, he still has the smelly, dark discharge. Dr. Kris has been having me use Animax so that he can get an opportunity to get a better look deep in his ear to see if another polyp is growing or it's still an infection. Can you shed light on this? I lost a foster feral cat to an ear infection not long ago because I could never get close to her to treat her; she developed meningitis, which tore me apart since it's such a treatable condition; she was so wild I couldn't even get within a foot of her. Many thanks for your attention.

Answer
In the first cat, once an aural hematoma heals is is unusual for another one to form becasue there is n space for a pocket to form.  

In the second cat DO NOT USE Otomax or Animax! They are both quite toxic to the middle ear.  In cats with polyps, they have no eardrum and these toxins can cause some severe problems (deafness and balance problems) if they get into the inner ear. These cats require anesthesia and a complete middle ear flush in order to get rid of the middle ear infection.  I always recommend using a topical steroid in the ear canal called Synotic in these cats to calm the growth of the polyp.  I also recommend an oral antibiotic called Zithromax, which is very effective at treating the infectious organisms commonly found in the cat's middle ear.