Is there an ear doctor in the house?

There is just no making me happy when it comes to Erik's demeanor. Generally, he's so busy, active and loud, I would do anything for him to just sit still and be quiet. Now, several days into the cold that won't go away, he's rather sedate. It's so unlike him, that I just want him to feel better and return to his usual self. Can't win. We've been repeatedly asking him to tell us if his ears hurt, since it seems like he gets ear infections a week or so after a cold sets in and never says a word until his temperature spikes and he's in agony. This time, he's been telling us his ears hurt, but there's no fever and, until today, he's been acting like himself. Of course, he could just be congested. That plugged up feeling had him whimpering and not sleeping much last night. So the lethargy could be a simple case of the tireds or it could be an ear infection ramping up. Right now we're in wait-and-see mode since he's mellow but not miserable. Nothing like trying to figure out if and when to take a child to the doctor to make me feel like an inept parent.