EAR INFECTION or Otis Media: When to Call the Doctor for that Earache (2019)

Are you worried about an Ear Infection? Do you have a history of otitis media? Learn about what symptoms would make you want to go to the doctor and when it may be o.k. to wait when you or your child gets ear pain or that earache.

So when we talk about ear infections it's important to know that there are several areas that can get infected: the outer ear canal, the inner ear or the most common that we are going to talk about today the Middle Ear. The official term for this is Otitis Media.
IN CHILDREN we tend to see symptoms such as
• Ear pain, especially when lying down
• Tugging or pulling at an ear
• Difficulty sleeping
• Crying more than usual
• Acting more irritable than usual
• Difficulty hearing or responding to sounds
• Loss of balance
• Fever
• Drainage of fluid from the ear
• Headache
• Loss of appetite
Adults
Common signs and symptoms in adults include:
• Ear pain
• Drainage of fluid from the ear
• Diminished hearing
Ear infections tend to happen more after recent viral illnesses due to the swelling that happens in the middle ear creating fluid areas that are prime for infections to grow.
So when should you seek care?

For Kids:
If your child is less than 6 months and starts with fevers and pulling at their ears they really should be seen. The risk of them getting sicker is higher, and is more likely to be a condition that needs antibiotics to treat.
Over the age of 6 months it's going to depend a lot on the severity of symptoms. If they are having significant pain or fevers that you can't control with normal doses of ibuprofen or Tylenol then they should probably been seen.
If their symptoms are lasting over 48 hours without improvement then it's probably a good idea to go in.
If you are an adult, it's usually ok if you can control symptoms at home to give it a few days before seeking care. But if symptoms persist or get worse over 2-3 days then it's probably time to have somebody take a look at it. All of these symptoms are ones that your typical doctor's office or quick care can usually handle. So save yourself time and money and avoid the ER if at all possible. If you are unsure about where is appropriate to go the call your doctor's office. They usually have somebody on call that can help direct you to where is most appropriate.

It's important to remember that most ear infections start out being viral and can be cleared on their own. Most of the time your body is going do what it does best and fight it off on its own.

[danturner]

If you don't have an ear infection you are possibly the luckiest person alive

[Sanghelli]

Thanks for being realistic about going to the doctor or not. Most med websites tell you to go to the doctor for everything.

[heptaex]

Sometimes, it is not an infection. It can just be a clogged ear due to excessive earwax. I had acute pain and a clogged ear, and thought it was an infection. After using an eardrop (Similasan) for 3-4 times, today my ear started to drain and a big piece of earwax came out. My ear instantly became unclogged and I could hear everything perfectly. The pain both in my ear and jaw were also gone.
Drink lots of fluids, use ear drops. That did it for me.

[estellaeve]

The struggles when you have an earache and then you have to blow your nose

[tessaleeds]

UGH all I wanna do is sleep! My ear hurts so bad, and I want to sleep, but I can't!

[xiyuesanchez]

The pain wakes me up at night😭😭😭 until now. I can't sleep.

[KrispyKat]

My ear hurts so bad but I can’t go to the doctor cause the coronavirus 😢

[dreee]

Don’t ignore the signs I was given antibiotics for my middle ear infection and days went by with no change it was getting worse and my face started to swell my doctor told me the infection spread to my bone and could kill my bone leading to amputation of my ear. So scary and thankfully I went just in time before it was too late. The pain is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m still recovering I hope anyone that has this gets better and gets seen ASAP when it’s unbearable

[SelenaSecretShow]

Thank you for the helpful information I've been too scared to go to the doctor for this issue and my ears have been hurting ever since I went swimming at a public pool.
I looked up a couple of videos online and now I'm mixing olive oil garlic and tea tree oil together so hopefully this works I've been using earache drops and hydrogen peroxide and it hasn't been working the greatest but hopefully this clears it up.

Update: my earache got better and cleared up after I gargled sea salt water deeply several times. By deeply I mean opening your esophagus to get the place that is hard to swallow area where it feels like your throat opens up.
I heated regular water in a microwave for 1 min 30 secs.
I added sea salt and stirred for 1 min until the sea salt dissolved and the water cooled down enough to gargle.
I did this for about 4 days several times a day 1-3 times depending how much my ear hurt.
On the fifth day my ear popped in the morning and the swelling went down. I could hear normally. There was no more clog or heavy feeling in my ears.
If you are stuck with ear pain and dont know what to do next, gargle deeply with sea salt. The ears, eyes, nose and throat are all connected.

[ANA-ROMERO]

I’ve been feeling sick for 2 weeks going into 3. I went to my primary doctor and she told me that I have fluid in my ears, she gave me antibiotics. My symptoms are nausea, dizziness, loose of balance, shaky, no appetite and headache

[kimc.]

I have an ear infection right now. It is actually no pain involved just persistent itching. Also fluid that has a smell to it. I have actually been dealing with it and seeing doctors since December. I am 47 years old and this was my very first ear infection

[miro]

My left ear hurts so badly I can’t hear on my left ear but my ear is fine but my left is really in pain and sometimes it gets like vibrations and when I smile or open my mouth I get pain.

[chockontecohs]

I've had countless ear infections as a kid, and I've had a chronic ear infection for literal years, possibly over five (I've been dealing with this for longer than i can remember). I keep telling people I need surgery and no one will help me besides giving me useless antibiotics

[eudximoniia]

IT HURTS!! I’m sorry if I’m acting dramatic! My ear is rigging so bad rn!

[shawalahmad]

I had an ear infection from the end of October...then I do ear swab test and then this test shows which type of antibiotics is functional in my germs so I used it and I'm totally fine now alhumdullilah..but one thing keep in mind when ever you take shower put cutton cotted with vaseline and plug in your ear keep your ear dry until infection go away.

[quietmindspodcast]

Reading these comments it seems almost everyone has an infection in their LEFT ear. Mine is too. I’m curious, if yours is in your left ear, hit a like on this comment. 👂

[p.f.h.]

Currently on my second round of antibiotics as my ear infection hasn't went away. I started having ear pain when awaking up now. It's been almost two weeks with this ear infection! I just want it to end!

[aaronbrennan]

Have one right now I never knew this was so painful

[maxryder]

LEFT ear gang. All my homies hate right ear gang

[GuardGamingMMA]

Just go to the doctor guys im 18 just had one and the doctor said it was one of the worst ear infections they've seen in years and it only took 3 days to clear up with the prescribed medicine