What's my next move on this ear infection?

Look at your ear. Does that mean your doctor friend actually had the right instrument that looks in your ear? He is a GP or an ENT or pediatrician, or something similar?

When you were taking the antibiotics was it better, and then once you stopped within 72 hours it went back to bad? That means it was not the right antibiotic or not enough of the drug.

Were you taking straight amoxicillin or amoxicillin clauvanate?

Go back to the doctor and they can recheck the ear then if its still infected put you on a stronger antibiotic… they can also drain it and test it to see if it is drug resistant however that would take going to an ent but your primary care would make that call. I am sure they would try putting you on something stronger first.

@JLeslie 1. Yes 2. GP 3. It went back just a little, maybe even got a bit better after running out of antibiotics. 4. Amoxicillin straight.

@creative1 Thanks, I emailed her… I’ll let you know the outcome.

You must take antibiotics exactly as prescribed and finish the course of treatment. If you don’t treatment can be ineffective and anti biotic resistance can build up. Go and see the doctor again and this time follow his/her advice.

Stop poking your ear for a start, the tissues inside your ear canal are very sensitive & will become inflamed & very saw if you persist in poking your finger in there……… sounds similar to a problem I had a few years ago, wax build up…. I left it for far too long then had to have the inside of my ears scrapped out at hospital :-/
Very painful indeed… I could have simply used a counter remedy for wax build up, follow all instruction to the letter, ears are not to messed with lightly…… Pardon? :-/
I’m now partially deaf in my left ear as a result…..

Dd you take the antibiotics well as @flutherother pointed out? Three times a day means every 8 hours, not three times during your waking hours.

I don’t think it has anything to do with you playing with your ear, I don’t think you are causing it to stay irritated. If it got better and then worse again I think you need another antibiotic. You say it was better when you ran out, and then how long til it felt bad again?

The antibiotics were to be taken twice daily at 10 ml/dose. I get a stomach ache from Amoxicillin tablets so I always request the pink liquid. It’s ok to laugh… This liquid must remain refrigerated. I did travel with it, but I kept it on ice during the traveling between two cities. If I missed a single dose at the appointed time I would be very surprised. In fact I would say I am nearly certain I did not. And even if I missed one, it was one dose, and towards the end. But I don’t think that occurred, or it might have occurred just an hour or two late.

@JLeslie it was getting “drier” as I ran out. Then AFTER running out it got driest for a day or two, but still even then there was a teeny weeny click if I fiddled with it. Then it stayed the same or the click got more repetitive for a few days until now, I wake up, and there is a little bit of a rustle, but then after being up and about for a bit the rustle is not as bad if it exists, and we’re back to just a click, and only if I wriggle my ear with gusto.

Thanks for the follow up q’s!

:)

A click or a rustle doesn’t sound like an ear infection to me. I had that once and there was a hair stuck on my eardrum which the doctor took out. Before self-medicating, I would take it to the doctor.

You’re not in grave peril, but I wouldn’t mess with my hearing becomming impaired either.Your ear drum is sensitive and if infection is building, you could rupture it by pressure.

You could have a bug in your ear too…

*Gross.

I’m not a medical professional, but don’t ear infections cause pain? It may be tinnitus.

@GabrielsLamb, I though of insect too, when I had my episode it did feel like something was crawling around in there :-/ very plausible IMO…….

I think you should see an ENT, forget the GP’s. It does sound like the antibiotics was working and then didn’t quite finish off the infection, but since you keep describing a specific noise I think @janbb‘s comment makes sense too,

A piece of hair, dust, sand, dried blood or whatever stuck to soft earwax can drive you crazy. Don’t poke in there and whatever you do, never put alcohol drops in the ear in case you have an eardrum puncture. A doctor can look in your ear with light and see if you have scabs that are pulling away from the lining, wax clumps or something else. Sometimes you can put warm drops in with the idea of melting and draining whatever is built up but if you’ve messed with the ear enough for the lining to swell then don’t try it.

Ear infections sometimes do not succumb to the short courses of antibiotics that doctors tend to prescribe these days. I am on my second course of antibiotics and now ear drops for one that I have had for more than a week.

Your next step is to go and see an ENT specialist. An untreated ear infection can go into your mastoid bone requiring surgery.