If you or your child is dealing with ear pain, pressure or other symptoms, you may be concerned it’s an ear infection. Should you head to urgent care right away, make a primary care appointment, manage symptoms at home or something else?
When and where to seek care for an ear infection often depends on how severe the symptoms are and how long they’ve stuck around, as well as a child’s age. Below, we’ll walk you through how to choose the right level of care at the right time.
Urgent care for an ear infection vs. primary care: When to seek care
Both primary and urgent care providers can diagnose and treat ear infections. But before you decide where to go for ear infection treatment, you need to determine if you should go since not all ear infections may need antibiotic treatment.
Get care if there’s any blood or fluid draining from your ears
Ear drainage is often a sign of an ear infection or injury, so it’s important to see a doctor – even if your symptoms have started improving. Drainage may be clear, yellow or sometimes slightly bloody, and may be accompanied by other symptoms like pain when you pull on your earlobe, or itchiness inside your ear.
Seek ear infection care if your child is under 2 years old
Younger children are at higher risk of complications from ear infections and may not be able to describe their symptoms clearly. So if your baby or young toddler is rubbing or tugging their ear, having trouble eating or feeding, or other symptoms of ear infections in babies, it’s time to see a doctor.
Get ear infection care if you or your older child’s symptoms aren’t improving after 2-3 days
Most ear infections don’t need to be treated with antibiotics as they’re usually viral infections, not bacterial. In fact, symptoms often start to improve within 2-3 days with home treatments for ear infections. But if your symptoms don’t get better or they’re getting worse, it’s time to get help. Symptoms to pay attention to include:
- Persistent high fever – Fevers can often be managed at home, but contact a doctor if you or your older child has one that lasts more than a few days, gets worse or keeps coming back.
- Changes in hearing – Sounds may seem muffled, distant or harder to understand. Kids might turn up the volume on devices, ask you to repeat yourself or seem less responsive.
- Ear pain – Pain can feel sharp, dull or throbbing. It’s often worse when lying down.
- Feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear – It may feel like your ears are “plugged” or “clogged,” similar to what you might feel while on an airplane.
- Itching – Itching inside the ear is more common with outer ear infections. There may also be redness, mild swelling or discomfort when you touch the outer ear.
- Mild dizziness or balance issues – The inner ear helps control balance, so ear infections can sometimes cause slight dizziness or a feeling of being off-balance.
Urgent care for ear infections or primary care: How to choose
You know you need ear infection care, but how do you choose where to go?
Choose urgent care when care can’t wait or primary care clinics are closed
Urgent care clinics usually don’t require appointments and are often open daily with night and weekend hours. This makes them a great option when ear pain and other uncomfortable symptoms can’t wait for the next available primary care appointment or primary care clinics are closed for the day.
At HealthPartners, you can check wait times at urgent care locations near you and use our Save My Spot feature to get in line to be seen before you even arrive.
Choose primary care when you can wait for the next available appointment
At HealthPartners, we often have same-day and next-day primary care appointments available.
Go to the emergency room for serious ear infection symptoms
While most ear infections aren’t serious, there are times when ear infections need immediate attention. This can be especially true when symptoms are severe, or you think your baby has an ear infection. Here are reasons to go to the emergency room for ear infection symptoms.
- Your young baby has a fever – Fevers in young babies should never be ignored. If your baby is younger than 2 months old, head to the emergency room immediately if they have a fever. If your child is between 2-3 months old, call your baby’s doctor. For older babies, learn more about what to do if your baby has a fever.
- Redness, pain or swelling behind the ear – With more serious infections, fluid can build up and spread to the bone behind the ear, making the area tender or swollen. In some cases, the ear may stick out or be pushed forward.
- Neck swelling or stiffness – Swelling, pain or difficulty moving your neck may mean the infection is spreading or causing inflammation in nearby tissues. This can make it uncomfortable to turn your head or look up and down.
- Severe headache, dizziness or vomiting – These symptoms may mean the infection is affecting the inner ear or nearby areas.
- Facial weakness – In rare cases, an ear infection can affect the nerves in your face. This can cause trouble smiling, closing one eye or moving part of your face.
- Symptoms that escalate quickly – If you or your child have symptoms that are rapidly getting worse, it’s best to seek emergency care right away.
When you or your child needs ear infection treatment, we can help
If you’re concerned about ear infection symptoms, don’t hesitate to get help. An appointment with a primary care doctor can be an easy way to find care that fits into your schedule, especially since same-day or next-day options are usually available. But head to urgent care if you or your child’s uncomfortable symptoms need immediate care to get you feeling better.