little ear support?

hi,
chesters been shaking his head more often lately, so I took him to the vet a week ago. She gave him some drops for his ear, but couldn't see down it because he wouldn't let her. I have switched vets.
The new vet seems very knowledgeable....he looked in chesters ear without issue, swabbed it, gave him an anti inflammatory steroid. cleaned it, and gave me some pills and different drops to try out.
I had to cancel the swab, because it's an extra $80 which he says will only tell him exactly what antibiotic to use, and that it will need to be done again every time it comes back. He also said sometimes they come back negative, and we'll have to do one for sure if it doesn't clear up.
I don't know where this is coming from...he's indoor only, and just magically started shaking his head one day.

Is there anything else I should be considering? the vet says it's inflamed at the very base of his ear canal and he can't see any growths. Is he making the right recommendations? we've never had a cat with an ear problem.

WHAT is the cat eating???

Is this a reoccurence from about this time last year>>

the same dry (natural balance) and wet (authority) he's always been eating, with the exception of adding in some dental food in the mix.

And no, this is a first occurrence which we can't seem to get rid of.

What DENTAL food???

medi cal...it's been really helping with his teeth

does it have wheat ??? cellulose ?? barley??? rye or oatmeal??

yes, it has wheat gluten which NB does not...NB has barley, and oatmeal but like I said he's fine on it.
think it could be an allergy?
how do I tell if he's already on prescriptions for 10 days? (started his first antibiotic tonight)

yes wheat can cause ear issues if allergic... wheat gluten is the allergen part ... many who are allergic to wheat are to barley and rye

so what would you do about the meds/ possible allergy situation?
The anti inflammatory seems to have done a lot...I just rubbed his ear and he didn't lean into it like he usually does. The Doc said it'd work for around 24 hours...here's hoping it's actually the antibiotic doing the trick instead.

Sigh...i start drops again tomorrow. he hates them so much.

Thanks for your suggestions sharky...you know I always take great value of your opinions.

My Gigi is my allergy girl ... yes some meds made it worse other s covered it ,...in her case I muscle test ( holistic non invasive allergy test ) everything prior to giving it to her...

which antibiotic?

ok, the drops are tresaderm and the pills are orbax. they are both administered once a day. Checked with a rubbing this morning, and still no irritation in that ear. We'll see if that's true tomorrow this time though!

I have a plan, tell me if it works:
I've noticed Dynah shaking her head too, and since the vet has completely ruled out mites and she's still squirmy enough there's no way he'll be able to see in her ears, AND she's not showing discomfort I have left it as is....just figured I was imagining it.
They were on medical allergen formula for the summer because one of my mom's cats has bowel allergies....but I don't really like the food.
I know they do well on the Natural Balance.
I'm going to take the dental food right out of their diet, and continue on with the meds for chester. I will then keep an eye on Dynahs progress closely. If she stops shaking and he gets better, the dental food is out!
Make sense?
I don't know what else could possibly make them both have ear problems if it's not mites. What are the chances they're both allergic to wheat?