Since I was a kid I cleaned my ears with cotton swabs, every day after bathing. Now during mid-june of this year I ran out and forgot to buy more swabs for about a week. I tried cleaning my ear with a tissue a couple times, didn't seem to make much difference though.
Soon my right ear started to hurt. I wear closed-ear headphones quite a bit, as I work on my music at night. I suspected this was what did it, my ears sweat while the rest of my body is cool from air conditioning, which I can't turn off.

Anyway, the ent suctioned wax from my eardrum, suctioned and sprayed my nose, and told me never use cotton swabs, that I had pushed the wax in with them. He didn't ask me a whole lot, he pretty much assumed he knew. Prescribed neomycin & polymyxin b sulfates and hydrocortisone otic solution, 5 drops 3x a day for a week. I did so, going to see him at 9:30 this morning.

The trouble is that my left ear has started hurting after a week of not cleaning it. He did in fact check both ears when I was in, and showed me what a healthy ear looks like with my left ear.

What I suspect is that the original infection came from the week of not having swabs, not from the swabbing itself. I never clean too deeply because it says on the box of swabs, and my mom taught me not to stick the thing too far in.

Is this likely? Should I find another doctor, since following his recommendation got my other ear hurting?
Thanks.
Chuckk