Generally they are diagnosed by otoscopy (looking inside the ear). These are treated in the same way that they are treated elsewhere in the body. Skin diseases such as allergic dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis can cause itching in the ear just as they do elsewhere. The solution here is to have the hearing aid mold revised. This can be irritating and cause itching. Hearing aids may have a bump which puts pressure on the ear canal. Keeping the external ear free of water is advisable. When hearing aid users get water in their ear, the hearing aids can trap the water in the ear causing irritation. Hearing aids of the "BTE" type, where the main processor is behind the ear, have far less issues as there is very little contact between the hearing aid and the skin of the ear. The polish can be removed or the hearing aid mold plastic changed. Sometimes the plastic of a hearing aid or polish on the surface of the plastic will cause an allergic reaction in the ears of the wearer. For people who compulsively clean out their ears, we advise scheduled appointments for ear cleaning, usually every 6 months, and avoidance of use of 'q' tips, or similar instruments in between. Dry ears tend to accumulate flakes of dry dead skin.įor people who just lack ear wax, occasional insertion of a few drops of vegetable oil can be helpful. Sometimes people compulsively clean their ears and dry them out by removing the natural wax. Some ears produce no ear wax which results in dry and itchy ear skin. Dry earsĪ normal ear has a thin layer of natural body oil. These can be very troublesome, especially if a secondary infection occurs, and are best handled by an ear doctor (otologist), and not a family doctor or nurse practitioner. Small children are sometimes fascinated by the possibilities of putting small objects in their ears, such as beads, pebbles or small beans. These can usually be easily removed by the ear doctor after making sure they the organism is dead (usually by using alcohol). We have seen interesting situations where insects found their way into the ear canal. These can usually be best handled by seeing a doctor who can clean the ear. Thus one cause of itching is loose skin or foreign bodies. The slightest accumulation of debris, even a hair clipping, may be felt as an itching sensation. Causes of itchy ears:Įar canal skin is sensitive. Here we will look at causes and treatment of dry and itchy ears. C fibers are responsible for pain, warmth and the itch. C-fibers) detect and signal itch information to the central nervous system. Studies in humans and non-human primates have demonstrated that slow conducting unmyelinated nerve fibers (i.e. Itching is usually due to a disturbance in the skin of the external auditory canal (see figure above). There is relatively little academic literature on the subject, and seemingly little interest by dermatologists to publish paper about this small pocket in the body. Many people complain that their ears itch.
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