Ulcer in ear???

Ox and I have been battling a bacterial infection in his left ear off and on for years.

He scratches at the ear and it leads to a dried blood build up which I clean.
He dreads this and runs away when I approach with paper towels, qtips etc.
The medication while easy to apply doesn't stay in his ear long enough.
I usually have about 20 seconds of work time.

His right ear is perfect-isn't that odd.

Anyhow while "cleaning" it yesterday I don't know if its raw or worse.
I cannot get him to vet right away which is also a highly traumatic event for him. Due to his age I will see if one of the vets could stop in as they have several large animal vets in the area.

In the meantime I do have his Elizabethan collar from surgery years ago should I put that on him to prevent further scratching-I'm thinking the vets are going to recommend that?? But an antibiotic salve on area???

Any suggestions would be great!!

Hi - Has the vet indicated in the past what type of bacterial infection, or possibly running more tests to pinpoint exactly the type? I have been battling ear issues with my cat for many years also. Same thing... he will keep scratching at it, which leads to bleeding. I have these drops I use (Otomax), which clears it up for a bit, but then a month or two later it is right back. I've had one vet tell me he has an overgrowth of yeast, while my most recent vet has suggested doing a culture of some sort to deterimine exactly what it is. I'm confused... would be anxious to hear if anyone else has experienced these types of ear issues.

The collar would definitely keep him from scratching at it until you can get to the vet and see what they say.

I put the collar on him-he wasn't to happy about that!! But he is sleeping on the sofa-unfortunately I can't remember if I elevated the food dishes or put food in a dfferent bowl as its throwing him off trying to eat!!
When Neil comes home tonite I will try to use the Otis-cleans on his ear and let him shake it outside-thats a two people job. I think he just has a build-up of dried blood in it-this just has started up in the past couple of weeks-its was pretty good all winter.
I'm stopping at vet tomorrow to see if I can get an opinion before I attempt to bring him in.