Cold and Flu Season: Are Your Ears Hurting?
It’s cold and flu season, and everywhere you go, it seems like people are coughing and sneezing. In fact, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, the 2025 flu season has impacted as many as 51 million people in the US. Oftentimes, common colds and the flu can cause ear pain or earaches, in addition to other symptoms. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first, let’s talk about how to tell the difference between a common cold and flu.
How do I know if it’s flu or a cold?
The flu is caused by a virus that spreads during certain times of the year — in North America, it often runs between October and May, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms tend to start quickly, within only two or three days after coming in contact with the virus, while colds typically take more time to develop.
Flu symptoms include:
- Cough
- Fever
- Muscle aches and pains
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Cold sweats and chills
While these symptoms are very typical for both the common cold and flu, they tend to be more severe with the flu, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. People with the flu have trouble getting out of bed, and tend to complain of body aches, fatigue, and fevers that last several days.
Does cold or flu cause ear pain?
Oftentimes people with common colds, sinus infections, or the flu experience ear pain. This is because eustachian tubes, which help equalize air pressure between the middle ear and back of the nose, can become clogged, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Clogged eustachian tubes can cause these symptoms:
- Muffled hearing
- Popping or clicking sensations
- Ear pain on one or both sides that sometimes feels like an ear infection
- A feeling of fullness in your ears
- Balance issues, and more
According to the Mayo Clinic, children are more likely to experience ear pain when sick than adults are. This is because eustachian tubes in children are smaller, making it more difficult for fluid to drain.
How to treat ear pain during a cold or flu
While antibiotics don’t work to treat viral infections, there are some treatments that can help shorten the duration of illness and alleviate some symptoms. For ear pain, earache relief drops can work wonders.
For fast, temporary relief, it’s important that you use ear drops with the numbing relief of maximum strength lidocaine. Eosera® EAR PAIN MD® is the #1 Doctor Recommended* brand of ear pain relief drops because its 4% lidocaine formula numbs and desensitizes aggravated nerves. Safe and effective for people ages 2 and up, eosera® EAR PAIN MD® is loved by parents and adults who deal with ear pain during cold and flu season. Simply tilt your head and put a few drops of eosera® EAR PAIN MD® in your ear canal, wait a few minutes, and then go about your day without throbbing, debilitating ear pain.
Keep your medicine cabinet stocked with all the ear care essentials
When it’s the middle of the night, and your child wakes up crying from an earache, make sure you have eosera® EAR PAIN MD® on hand for fast, temporary relief. When the pharmacy isn’t open, and you don’t feel like getting dressed and packing your family in the mini van anyway, it’s just better to be prepared.
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Based in Fort Worth, Texas, eosera® is a woman-led O-T-C ear care industry leader known for providing fast-acting solutions for humans with ears™ throughout the United States. With its innovative solutions to the issues of ear pain, ear wax buildup, and dry, itchy ears; and its vibrant culture of innovation, collaboration, and support, eosera® fosters an environment where any human can have clean, clear, and happy ears. eosera® products are sold nationally and online at CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, Albertsons, Publix, Amazon and eosera.com.
