How long do I try eardrops for before I give up and take dd to the doctors?

[raspberryberet]

Dd is six, and has been complaining of tinnitus and a bunged up ear since Wednesday night. I started putting drops in on Thursday morning, and she says it's still no better (she says her hearing is "misty", which seems a nice enough description of it!).

How long do I use the drops for before I take her to the GP? The packaging doesn't say, and I've never used them on either of my children before.

Go to the GP asap. she probably has an infection & if so, without treatment, her hearing will likely be permanently damaged.

I agree you should take her to the doctors but not that she will necessarily end up with permanent hearing damage without treatment. Has she had a cold recently?

Doctor ASAP - sounds like an infection and antibiotics will sort it out quicker than anything over the counter.

She hasn't had a cold or anything like that.

I don't think it's an infection - she's quite prone to them and they are always very painful. This doesn't hurt at all. Plus she has never had the tinnitus or felt bunged up when she's had infections before.

There is quite a lot of wax around her ears, which is why I suspect it's a build-up of ear wax.

The best thing to use is very slightly warmed olive oil - dd tends to get a build up of wax adn it usually works within 2 days, have some tissues etc to catch any drips of oil. (dd complains of popping and squeaking in her ears, plus she starts talking even louder than usual!).

If there is any pain then obviously take her to the GP

HTH

Thanks, Mercy. I bought some drops which are basically olive oil and eucalyptus oil, which I've been warming up to put in.

Hopefully it'll start to shift in the next day or so then.

Thank you!