Does an ear infection cause a runny nose and chesty cough trying to get mucus off the chest? chest clear, throat fine.

No--however: This pattern of symptoms/problems are often linked to a triggering virus. The virus moves into the airway and structures of the head and causes an accumulation of fluid behind the eardrum.Germs invade the ear through the drainage tube to the throat (Eustachian tube) causing a bacterial middle ear infection as a secondary event.The extra symptoms result from viral irritation to the airways.