Ear PAIN due to accidental ear touching and turning on speakerphone button

How can I keep the phone from switching to speakerphone because my ear touches the screen? This is the most annoying and painful thing EVER and has to be detrimental to my hearing!! I see this is common but I see no solutions. I read that 14.4 fixed the problem but that is what I am using. I'm updating to the new one now hoping they've fixed it this time. I've been using iPhones since #4 ...I'm on the XsMax now. I was considering upgrading soon but if this isn't fixed I'm changing brands. I can't tolerate this.