Ear infections scare me

Ear infections. My kids have a lot of them. Too many. It is my fault. Bad genes. I had ear infections constantly as a child. The taste of amoxicillin is like a familiar friend, thick liquid comfort. Jeffrey has had dozens, seven before he was even a year old. Owen and Paige had less. They all had tubes. After Jeffrey I was paranoid. Why did he lose his hearing? Did he ever really have it? Some of the Dr.'s blamed it on genes, some blamed it on the ear infections, some admitted they weren't sure, probably a mix of both. And I just felt guilty. Why didn't we catch it sooner? Was there something we could have done? Why? So after nine years I am like the third batch of doctors, the ones who aren't really sure. Maybe this, maybe that, who knows. But I do think we could have done something to prevent it from getting as bad as it got. Something. And now we are there again. Brooks is on his 4th antibiotic in 2 months. We are running out of antibiotics to give him. Running out of diapers from a solid month of diarrhea. He woke up yesterday with a ruptured eardrum, blood and goo all down the side of his face and ear. This is how it all started with Jeffrey, one ruptured eardrum that led us to dozens of ENT's with no answers. So we spent yesterday at the pediatricians office, he is out of answers. Thursday we'll hit up the ENT, see what he has to say. And it all makes me scared. Scared that I won't be able to stop it this time either. Scared that another one of my babies will have to go through what Jeffrey went through. Scared that Brooks won't be able to hear. Tired and scared. And perhaps a teensy bit paranoid too.