Kristin gave fab advice, per usual
. And I agree with her, some dogs may need some plucking, some not at all. I have 3 yorkies, and none of them have ever needed to be plucked.
I would elect to do a couple things if it were me: I'd clean the ears occasionally, but not overly much - especially since you already saw something positive doing this. I'd then treat the allergies immediately, bc if that indeed is the root (and I agree) -- *that's* what you want to treat...bc this will help mitigate all those other symptoms that branch out from that root. I'd recommend either Atopica or Apoquel unless the allergies are truly, truly seasonal only (this is not the majority, it seems). If the allergies were truly seasonal, then I'd probably try Temaril-P and see how that goes...it doesn't seem to be the best, most effective med for allergies, but it may help 'enough' (you have to decide what 'enough' is).
How long have the allergies been going on? Have you tried anything for them?