It is now almost August but back in early June I caught a mild cold that went away in about a week. However my left ear has very muffled hearing and am now experiencing a strong ringing in my ear. One day it cleared up almost completely ( that day before my hearing came back, I could her a 'fluid-like' noise in the ear as though it was draining slowly). My hearing came back for a day, until I took a shower that evening. I got water in the ear and now I have the severely muffled hearing loss again. I'm not in any pain, and the ear doesn't feel irritated or sore. I do not have a fever and feel healthy otherwise. Just a persistant muffled hearing loss in my left ear, and a ringing which has recently gotten louder. I've tried earwax removal drops but they are not working. Do I have an ear infection or am I not using the drops properly? Should I see a doctor?