Hello Lori Hall, you haven t mentioned some useful clinical details, like if you have fever or other symptoms, or any medical history at all. Sore throat and cough are usually caused by viral illnesses of the upper respiratory tract although other etiologies cannot be excluded without careful clinical examination. Sometimes the ears get affected too (particularly in children when they have a runny nose) and otitis may occur. If you have fever and ear pain then you should definitely visits an ear-nose-throat specialist (or your general practitioned if he can) to check your ears for otitis. If otitis is the diagnosis and you have fever then you should take antibiotics to prevent hearing loss and other complications. Please keep in mind that a sore throat can sometimes cause ear pain without direct ear involvement and that otitis sometimes can get better without antibiotics depending on its cause and severity. I understand your money problem but your health comes first and if possible you should seek help from volunteer doctors or any doctor network that helps people who are in need but can t afford their services. I hope you get better soon! If you have any more questions on this subject, I ll be glad to answer. Kind Regards!