Ear infections - when will I hear again!

[Levanna]

Hi, I've had an middle and outer ear infection which came on last wednesday. I can't hear anything with that ear, does anyone know how long the deafness will last?
TIA!

Depends on a million things Levanna, but quite often, the deafness is as a result of ear wax building up in response to the infection and your practice nurse will need to syringe that for you, when the doctor is sure the infection has gone completely
If its just a result of the fluid from the infection, then you'll be able to hear as soon as its cleared - but you say it started on Wednesday, so I would think even the most tenacious infection would have been zapped by the antibiotics by now.
You can clear ear wax by various means other than syringing, but since you don't know thats what is causing the deafness, I wouldn't try any of them without being examined by your gp
HTH

Hi Levanna - I had an ear infection a couple of years ago which ended with a burst ear drum - ouch! I was deaf I that particular ear for about a month. It's worrying at the time though.

Thanks Lisa and Tinker. Still deaf on one side, though I think it's probably as irritating to my family as to me! (The repetition of anything they say is driving them slowly up the wall ). I think it's the middle rather than outer ear infection that's causing the hearing loss, and apparently (I've found out today) it's not unusual for the eardrum to burst before hearing returns so, looks like I may have similar to you Tinker. As it's the middle rather than outer, it's not wax so syringing wont help, it's fluid behind the eardrum as you mentioned Lisa, so there's not a whole lot I can do. Thanks though, it's good to know it'll return eventually!