How long to wait before going to GP about possible ear infection?

[Twelvety]

Google tells me it might pass in a day or two. Any advice? I have a bit of pain and can't hear well in one ear, but the wax has been building up anyway - I had planned to get them syringed in the next week or so anyway, so the hearing isn't necessarily linked, iyswim.

They can't syringe your ear if you've got a active infection. What makes you think it's an infection rather than pain due to the ear wax? Have you taken pain killers?

Are you using anything to soften the ear wax? You'll need to use something like olive oil for a week before stringing.

Thanks for reply. I don't know if it's an infection tbh, I've never had pain from wax before so I just assumed. I starting putting olive oil in and the pain has only come since then.

How painful is it? It could be that the olive oil is starting to shift the wax so it's causing discomfort.

I wouldn't wait too long before seeing a doctor if it's very painful. Ear pain is horrible.

Don't wait too long. I went with a sore ear and the GP said the drum was close to perforating. I felt like a toddler going to the doc with a sore ear but I did the right thing!

Do you think it's worth adding more oil tonight then? It's very on and off at the moment, sometimes it gets bad and I think I'll take a painkiller but then it eases off.

It could also be a build up of pressure from mucous - you could try nose spray for a day or two to see if it improves

If it's still bothering you in the morning I'd see if you can at least get an appointment with the Practice Nurse - ear pain is such a horrible sort of pain, and it can go from bearable to agony very quickly.

Thanks all. Shall I add more oil tonight or leave it?

If you think it's infected, leave the oil tonight.

Not to frighten you but after what happened to Catthiefkeith, I suggest a doctors appointment as soon as possible.
Though it's 99.999999999 recurring % it's just a plain old ear infection you have got.

If it's general discomfort, I would leave a day until it's really hurting. I just had horrendous ear infection for four weeks, which I didn't think could even happen. I went to the Dr four times during this period and it was all a waste of time - until they did a swab and gave me accurate medicine rather than the previous three lots of 'stab in the dark' ABs which did nothing. It was bad though: nurofen and paracetamol were having no effect and I wouldn't sleep for the pain.

Sorry, I didn't mean 'wait until it hurts', I meant, if you're not in pain, it may go away in the next day.

Thanks again. Ok I will leave the oil, see how I sleep tonight and what the pain is like in the morning and then decide about GP/nurse etc.

Don't leave it too long. I ended up with a perforated eardrum once. Never felt so much pain in my life! It took a good few months/a year for my hearing to return.