First question is do you have cats? Ear mites can be transmitted between animals and when this happens, if you don't treat all the animals, you never get rid of the problem. I like Hilo Ear Remedy as an over the counter medication. I also have my favorite home made remedies, but am hesitant to recommend them to others for ethical reasons. I formula isn't an exact one, and the patent medicines aren't that expensive. The Hilo for cats is the same product as for dogs and vice versa. Get which ever is the least expensive for the quantity. You MUST treat the entire ear canal, and also the entire ear inner flap. Cleaning out the ear canal with a Q tip is a good idea, but if you don't treat immediately after-wards, you have just spread the mites around for greater problems. Many dogs won't even allow you to treat their ears, because they are so painful. In these cases, the veterinarian will anesthetize the dog, clean the ears and treat. Then it is up to you to continue treatment till the infection is eliminated. When you believe that the mites are gone, continue to treat for an additional 30 days. Mites are killed by coating them with an oil based product. One of the problems with using things such as olive oil is that it could become rancid and cause other problems. When putting the drops in the ear, you must massage the ear to make certain that the entire ear canal is treated. If it is a long eared dog, such as a Bassett Hound, Weimeraner, etc., they can develop other problems just by the flapping of the head back and forth. I have seen dogs develop hematomas as a result of this violent flapping. (A localized swelling filled with blood resulting from a break in a blood vessel.). If it were my dog, I would have the vet check the dog and recommend a regiment of treatment. The red colored "wax" that you remove is the dried blood that the mites secrete. The mite lives just under the skin in the ear. Most of the patent medications also include a insecticide to kill the mites upon contact, a soothing agent to quell the pain of the infestation and possible infection, and the oil to prevent future infestation. I have also known of dogs that were never completly cured. Just treated for life to keep the problem under control.
Here is a
web page that will give you more information. After typing this, I have read the web page and have learned some things about mites that I wasn't aware of, such as living in the enviorment or on the dogs skin. In the past, this was not recogonized as a concern. I do know that the Hilo works, but also realize now that there is more to treatment than just the ears.