l woke up this morning and could not hear at all ididnt have any pain at all untill about an hour ago its a little painful in my ear and wondered if its the start of an infection l got some drops from the chemist to help

Sounds more like impacted wax to me. home care is not the best care, so see an ear doctor as soon as you can.

Check out the link below - but first, l should advise u that u will not know for sure exactly what, if any, infection u might have, until ur doctors looks inside ur ear with that light thing they use.

Peforated ear drums r common & they fix eventually but can be painful. Keep using the drops etc.

Check some of the links below in this Google Search - ear infections

http://google.com/search?q=ear+infections+in+adults&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GEUA_en-GB

Meanwhile, some music to sooth the soul.

Maestro Violinist, Sir Yehudi Menuhin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=21fPNI9sPBc

If by ''chemist'' you mean what we here call pharmacist it may seem like the best thing for you to do right now, but even if it is only accumulated wax, please have this checked by doctor. If it is an infection he will prescribe adequate antibiotics, etc., and if it is only wax he or his medical assistant will clear it up for you.