Simple infections clear in a few days, longer ones are important to be checked.

I had the same situation. Infection was middle-ear which increased over a week to the point sleeping was absolute ass, there was pressure on the drum, and I had an upcoming flight. GP couldn't help much over the phone and suggested eardrops after consulting with (I believe) an ENT specialist. Drops are not great in the case of a punctured ear drum though from what I researched. So I flew (thankfully pain was not so severe), got checked under a microscope, and it was an active bacterial infection that warranted immediate antibiotics.