Online doctor, ear infections
Earache or an Ear Infection Abroad? Talk to a doctor about it.
NHS guidance says most ear infections clear up within three days, though symptoms can last up to a week. Speak with an English-speaking doctor by video about your ear and get clear guidance on what to do next.
Three parts of a holiday account for most of these: the pool, the sea, and the flight. Which one it followed is one of the first things a doctor will ask you about.
- €40
- per consultation
- No insurance
- or local registration needed
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you where you are.
Ear Pain When You Are a Long Way From Your Own GP
NHS guidance describes the symptoms of an ear infection as pain inside the ear, a high temperature, difficulty hearing, discharge running out of the ear, a feeling of pressure or fullness inside the ear, and itching or irritation in and around the ear. Most clear up within three days, although sometimes symptoms last up to a week.
The hard part abroad is not the pain, which painkillers usually handle. It is not knowing whether this is the kind of ear that settles by itself or the kind that needs treating, in a place where finding out means a taxi, a language you may not speak and a clinic you have never heard of.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Talk it through in English, wherever you are staying
What Video Can Settle, and What It Cannot
This is the one illness where we should be blunt about the limits before you pay anything. Nobody can look inside your ear down a phone camera.
Where a video consultation genuinely helps
- working out whether this looks like an outer ear problem or something behind the eardrum
- how long you should reasonably wait before this needs someone in the room
- the warning signs to watch for tonight, so you are not guessing at 3am
- what to say, and what to ask for, if you do end up at a local clinic
- whether painkillers and keeping the ear dry are the whole answer for now
Almost everything that decides an earache is a question rather than a picture: how many days, whether hearing has changed, whether there is discharge or fever, whether it followed water or a flight, and who the patient is. Questions travel down a video call perfectly well.
What needs someone in the room
- looking at the eardrum, which needs an otoscope and cannot be done remotely
- removing earwax, or anything stuck in an ear
- any ear with swelling spreading behind or around it
- new hearing loss, dizziness or vomiting alongside the pain
- an ear injury, or pain that came on after a dive
Pomodoc connects you with an English-speaking doctor by video for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises, and no subscription.
If your ear needs looking into, a doctor will tell you that rather than talk you out of it. Knowing which of the two situations you are in is most of what you came for.
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How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us which country you are in and what is going on with your ear. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer.
Get clear guidance
Discuss your symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
Explain it in English
Describe when it started, what it feels like and what you have tried, in English, rather than miming it at a pharmacy counter.
Straight about what video can do
We will tell you when your ear needs looking into by someone in the room. That answer is worth having early rather than after three more days of guessing.
From wherever you are staying
No taxi, no waiting room, and no working out which clinic near your hotel is open.
One fixed price
€40 per consultation, whichever country you are in, with no insurance and no local registration needed.
Travellers who needed a doctor abroad
I was very happy to find this service
I was very happy to find this service! I was able to get a video visit with a physician promptly and get care.
Easy, competent, nice
Doctor was very nice and adequately thorough, explained everything very well. The whole process was far easier than expected.
Reliable and efficient
Reliable and efficient, able to provide medical support while you're away from home.
Reviews of Air Doctor, our medical partner, published on Trustpilot.
More About Ear Infections While Travelling
Outer ear, or behind the eardrum
NHS guidance separates an outer ear infection, otitis externa, from an infection of the middle ear. The outer one affects the ear canal, the tube between the outer ear and the eardrum, and NHS lists its causes as something irritating that canal: eczema, water, wearing earplugs, or a fungal or bacterial infection. The water route is why it has a holiday nickname.
The distinction matters to you for one practical reason. NHS says an outer ear infection may be treated with antifungal or steroid eardrops, which is a different answer from a middle ear infection, and telling them apart is part of what a consultation is for. It is not something to work out from a photograph on the internet.
Can telehealth treat an ear infection?
Partly. A video consultation cannot look at the eardrum, so it cannot confirm a middle ear infection. What it can do is take a full history, check for the urgent signs above, and help with the decisions that do not depend on the eardrum. NHS says most ear infections clear up within three days and sets out self-care: painkillers, wiping away discharge, and keeping water out of the ear. NHS also says an outer ear infection may be treated with antifungal or steroid eardrops. A doctor may prescribe where it is clinically appropriate and local rules permit, which is a judgement rather than a given.
Where telehealth stops is the examination. If the decision genuinely turns on what the eardrum looks like, or any of the urgent signs above appear, the right outcome of the call is being told to see someone in person, and where. Our article on whether a video consultation can diagnose an ear infection goes through that limit in detail.
What a doctor can and cannot see over video
Cannot: the eardrum. There is no otoscope on a phone, and no amount of good lighting substitutes for one. If the decision genuinely turns on what the eardrum looks like, you need an examination and a consultation will say so.
Can: almost everything else. How many days it has hurt, whether the pain is in the canal or deeper, whether hearing has changed, whether there is discharge and what it looks like, whether there is fever, whether it followed swimming, a cold or a flight, whether both ears or one, and what has already been tried. That is a clinical history, and it is the larger half of the decision.
Keeping the ear dry, when water is the point of the trip
NHS advice is direct and it is the part people ignore on holiday: do not let water or shampoo get in your ear, and do not go swimming while you have an ear infection. On a diving or beach trip that is genuinely unwelcome advice, and it is still the advice.
NHS also says not to put anything inside the ear to remove earwax, including cotton buds. Drying an ear means wiping away discharge from the outside with cotton wool, tilting the head, and leaving the canal alone.
Can you fly with an ear infection?
There is no medical rule against it in the guidance we checked, but the timing is worth thinking about. NHS guidance on ear infections and earache does not address flying at all. The CDC Yellow Book, CDC's guidance for travel health professionals, says travellers with ear, nose and sinus infections or severe congestion might choose to postpone flying to prevent pain or injury. That is advice, not a rule. CDC also mentions decongestants, but NHS guidance on ear infections says not to use decongestants or antihistamines, because there is no evidence they help with ear infections.
What changes the answer is your ear: how blocked it feels, whether it is getting better, whether there is discharge or fever, and how many days you have before the flight. That makes it a good question to put to a doctor before you get to the airport rather than after. Ear pain or dizziness that starts during or after a flight is a different problem, covered on our page about feeling dizzy after flying.
Children's ears, away from home
NHS notes that young children and babies with an ear infection may rub or pull the ear, not react to some sounds, be irritable or restless, be off their food, or keep losing their balance. That list is useful abroad precisely because a small child will not describe an earache to you.
NHS says to see a GP if the child is under twelve months old. It also says a pharmacist can offer the same treatments as a GP for an ear infection and can advise for children aged one to seventeen, which is worth knowing where a pharmacy is nearer than a clinic. We make no claim about which ages Pomodoc can consult.
Good things to know.
Can a doctor diagnose an ear infection over video?
Not by looking at the eardrum, and we would rather say so before you book. There is no otoscope on a phone. What a doctor can do is take a full history, which is how most of these decisions are actually made: how long, whether hearing has changed, discharge, fever, whether it followed water or a flight, and who the patient is. If it turns out your ear needs examining, you will be told that clearly.
How long should an ear infection last before I worry?
NHS guidance says most ear infections clear up within three days, although symptoms can sometimes last up to a week, and its ear infections page says to see a GP if earache does not get better after three days. Its earache page puts the line slightly earlier and more urgently: get an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 help if earache has lasted more than 2 to 3 days. So two to three days is a reasonable line to hold in your head. It is not a rule that overrides how you actually feel, and the urgent signs above apply from the first day.
Is this swimmer's ear?
It might be. NHS describes an outer ear infection, otitis externa, as affecting the ear canal and being caused by something irritating it, including water and wearing earplugs, which is why swimming is so often the trigger. It can look different from a middle ear infection and may be treated differently, and telling them apart is part of what a consultation is for.
Can I fly with an ear infection?
There is no medical rule against it in the guidance we checked, but the timing is worth thinking about. NHS guidance on ear infections does not address flying. The CDC Yellow Book says travellers with ear, nose and sinus infections or severe congestion might choose to postpone flying to prevent pain or injury. That is advice, not a rule. NHS guidance on ear infections says not to use decongestants or antihistamines, because there is no evidence they help with ear infections. Whether your own ear is ready for your flight depends on how blocked it is, whether it is improving and when you fly, which is a good question to put to a doctor by video before you travel.
Can I keep swimming or diving?
NHS advice is not to go swimming while you have an ear infection, and not to let water or shampoo get in the ear. On a diving trip that is a real cost to your holiday and it is still what the guidance says. Ear pain that came on after a dive is a separate matter: CDC says divers who suspect ear or sinus barotrauma should stop diving and seek medical attention, and that is better done in person, where the ear can be examined, than by video.
Can I get ear drops from a video consultation?
A doctor may issue a prescription where it is clinically appropriate and local rules allow it, and NHS notes that antifungal or steroid eardrops are among the treatments used for an outer ear infection. It is not guaranteed, some things cannot be prescribed remotely at all, and anything you buy at a pharmacy is not included in the €40.
Sources
- Ear infectionsNHSThe symptom list; that most ear infections clear up within three days and can last up to a week; the additional signs in babies and young children; the self-care advice on painkillers, wiping away discharge, keeping water out and not swimming; that a pharmacist can offer the same treatments as a GP and can advise for children aged one to seventeen; the reasons to see a GP including no improvement after three days, a child under twelve months and repeated infections; the urgent signs, including a very high temperature or feeling hot, cold or shivery, feeling generally unwell, a child under 12 months with earache in both ears, diabetes or a heart, lung, kidney or neurological condition, and a weakened immune system; that decongestants and antihistamines should not be used because there is no evidence they help; that otitis externa affects the ear canal and is caused by irritation including water and earplugs; and that antifungal or steroid eardrops are used for it.
- EaracheNHSThe self-care advice on painkillers and a warm flannel, and on not putting anything inside the ear or trying to remove earwax; that a pharmacist can help with earache; that NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if earache has lasted more than 2 to 3 days; and, by its absence, the statement on this page that NHS guidance on earache does not address flying or cabin pressure.
- MeningitisNHSThat a very painful headache, confusion, a stiff neck with being unable to look at bright lights, or a rash that does not fade when pressed are reasons to call 999 or go to A&E.
- Scuba Diving: Decompression Illness and Other Dive-Related Injuries (CDC Yellow Book)Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThat middle ear barotrauma is the most common injury in divers, and that divers who suspect ear or sinus barotrauma should discontinue diving and seek medical attention.
- Air Travel (CDC Yellow Book, 2026 edition)Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThat travellers with ear, nose and sinus infections or severe congestion might choose to postpone flying to prevent pain or injury.
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Not Sure Whether Your Ear Needs Seeing?
Speak to an English-speaking doctor by video and get guidance from wherever you are staying.
- €40, fixed price
- English-speaking doctors
- No subscription
- Prescriptions where available
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns, and an ear that needs examining needs someone in the room. In a life-threatening emergency, call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.