Ciprofloxacin is approved for a non-intact TM, no harm in using it if the diagnosis isn't clear. My experience with answering ear questions online over 30 years is that the diagnosis is rarely correct. Sometimes, you need a microscope and suction to really examine the ear.
That having been said, treatment for a traumatic, dry perforation is dry ear precautions, no cipro drops needed. If the ear is draining, that suggests a middle ear process. Cipro can help, but if there is heavy drainage, it doesn't really get in.
If you are confident of the diagnosis of a draining perforation, generally systemic antibiotics are not needed initially (sometimes used for chronic drainage). And if you had pus coming out of the ear, no harm in using cipro drops if you have them (even though they may not work that well without cleaning).
Cipro can help, not with the middle ear process, but with the discomfort of the outer ear infection ("Swimmer's ear") that comes with having purulent drainage in the ear canal, so there is that!
And lastly, these are $25 on Amazon... put one in your dive kit, and you can send a pic, so we can help you better remotely next time! Just throw away the ear cleaning attachments...
Bebird R1 Ultra Ear Camera
