Do curled ears have some sort of awful drawback I'm not aware of? Everything I've found says that they're pretty safe other than increased chance of ear infections, but I see some people treat it on the same level as folded ears so I'm wondering
There hasn’t been any evidence that curled ears cause additional issues elsewhere in the body, as far as we know the gene seems to do exactly what it says on the tin and noting else… curl the ears.
Cats with curled ears have malformed ear canals which are fragile and stiff, prone to highly excess wax buildup and chronic yeast infections are pretty much part of the deal.
Getting them accustomed to routine ear cleaning from a young age and learning how to do it properly yourself without damaging their delicate cartilage is important when keeping curled breeds.