2 days ago i started having a sharp pain in my left ear. also my throat feels swollen. very painful in left side of throat and left ear when swallowing. is there any otc medications that could help?

Sore throat-earache: Pain in the ear can arise from 3 different sites in the head--(1) from the ear itself with either a middle ear infection or an outer ear infection (swimmer's ear); (2) a severe toothache in upper posterior molars can feel like a toothache; and severe sore throat with tonsillitis can cause pain in the ear. Pull on your ear lobe, if it hurts its swimmers ear and you can treat that with vinegar drops.

Supportive care: Drink plenty of fluids, take a multivitamin, try zinc lozenges under your tongue. Some lozenges that contain menthol, Benzocaine can numb your throat up. First read the directions and talk to your doctor. If it doesn't get better in a week, or if you get rapidly worse, you need to see a doctor. It is usually viral but can be bacterial or even fungal if you have other medical problems.

Eustachian tube dys.: You could have an ear infection or eustachian tube dysfunction. Try salt warm water gargles every 2-3 hrs. You could take some over the counter pain killer also for some relief. If you don't see any improvement, please see your doctor for detailed evaluation.