Can you go swimming with permanent sutures in your ear?

Yes, generally speaking, patients who have had otoplasty surgery (and have permanent sutures in place)  areable to swim and get their ears wet.  Given your history, there may be something else going on; suture removal may be indicated. Your plastic surgeon will be your best resource when it comes to more specific assessment/advice. Best wishes.

The sutures used to fold the cartilage back are placed under the skin.  When the skin from the incision has healed the risk of infection should be very low.  I would normally allow patients to return to swimming at 2 weeks.  If you are getting infections recurrently that are problematic then it may be worth considering removal of the sutures.

Unless you have had a previous issue with your incisions, if the wounds are sealed, the risk of infection overall is low. If you have had issues, then the fixating sutures often can be removed to prevent further issues. Best wishes.