I am going to try the vinegar-betadine-alcohol recipe as well, but so far I've been cleaning Ede's ears with just plain vinegar mixed with water at a ration of 1:10 (1 part vinegar, 10 parts water). IMHO, commercial cleansers are very expensive and often overly aggressive -any ingredient I can't pronounce, I find troublesome.
If your dog has skin problems in addition to ear problems, it is a very strong sign of allergies and the best way to deal with the ears (and skin) is usually through diet. Ede, my 10 yo Border Terrier, had ear problems for 6+ years. They were so bad that the tissue lining his ear canals started ulcerating and these benign tumors needed to be removed surgically at least once a year. He would wake up at 6 am every morning (coincidetally, this time is also a very common time for astha flare-ups in humans) and literally scratch his head off. Last summer, I switched him to raw food (BARF) with no grains whatsoever, and he was removed from the smoking household where he'd stayed most of his life, and when he had his ears checked in May (one year after his last ear surgery) there were no tumors at all! His ear canals are still narrowed from all the scar tissue, and need to be cleaned every other day, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was.
I would strongly encourage you to pursue the ear problem aggressively, possibly with a holistic vet who will do more than just throw ear meds at you -Ede's condition was the end stage of a long series of ear troubles, and I wish it hadn't gone that far.
Good luck!
Ness
