Hi Everyone ,
My left ear sometimes gets supper itchy and I have to remove my hearing aid for it to stop. Any suggestions how I can overcome this ?
Thanks
One of my older docs suggested treating myself with a little moisturizer there to see if that helped.
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Have your primary care doctor look in your ear and just make sure there is no infection. If there is not then make sure you clean the aids regularly and try out the simple fixes above. Sometimes just removing and repositioning an aid can fix minor irritations.
I carefully clean my ear canals with a new Q-Tip wet with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Then use the other (dry) end of the same Q-Tip to dry the canals. Then I take another new Q-Tip and dip one end in mineral oil (I’ve read that olive oil works too), apply to the canals, then take the other end and remove any excess.
Hope this helps! Nick
I just recently developed itchy ears. Couldn’t figure it out then one day the light went on; I had been using a new liquid shower soap. Quit that and the itch went away.
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I have to remove my receivers several times a day to stick my finger in my ear. A Q-tip would probably be better, but they aren’t often around. I thought this was normal when you go around with something stuck in your ears all day. The above remedies sound reasonable to me.
First rule of ear care is to never stick Q tips in them. And the alcohol will dry the skin and make them itchy or make any eczema worse.
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My Doctor used peroxide to flush my ears and suggested I rinse my ears with it and clean my ear molds, at least once a week. I have done this for years and have used a light coating of zinc oxide on the canal to prevent the itching.
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@pilot85: so how does one flush his ears with peroxide? Isn’t cerumen (ear wax) supposed to be anti-bacterial on it’s own?
It seems to me that ears that are too-clean could be part of the problem!
It is a condition I’ve encountered from time to time for around 20 years. Years ago an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) MD prescribed the following cleaner:
Start with a fresh16 oz. container of Rubbing Alcohol
Discard 3 Tablespoons of the 16 oz.
Add 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar. These interact and do not need to be shaken or mixed (I am told). The resulting solution (a later MD told me) is a very mild antibiotic – or anti-something.
At any rate, when I get itchy ears, I swab them out with Q-tips dipped in the above solution and then with another Q-tip, applyan anti-itch cream. Relief is almost instantaneous.
The original ENT MD prescribed application of an anti-itch cream – in my case a prescription of Triamcinolone CreamUSP, 0.1%. To be applied as needed, VERY SPARINGLY, overnight, when the HAs are in their nice warm bed. There are OTC anti-itch creams but I’ve never tried them. The small tube has literally lasted me 4 years.
After eliminating the original itch, I now get an occasional itch, and have to do the above maybe once or twice a month - usually never more than one night, but occasionally two nights in a row. Sometimes I go for weeks without an itch.
Hope this helps.
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if you have earmolds, Westone has allergy free one you could check out! (worked for my issues)
I use an Australian product called AquaEar which drys up moisture and retards bacterial growth. It contains 63% Isopropyl Alcohol and 17% Acetic Acid-Glacial (pretty much Rubbing Alcohol and White Vinegar as recommended and used by Lee_a).
Swimmers Ear is caused by bacterial buildup from moisture remaining in the ear after swimming, showering, etc. In the case of hearing aid wearers, drying of the ear canal is inhibited by the presence of the dome in the ear.
Summer in hot sweaty humid climates is much worse that Winter in cold dry climates for the occurrence of Swimmers Ear. I live in a hot humid climate but vacation ski in a cold dry climate, know the problem well.
Type into google “swimmers ear drops” for your local brand and version of the Australian AquaEar.
This discussion has come up any number of times. One of our audiologist shared equal parts alcohol, vinigar, water. I substituted witch hazel which has long been used for the alcohol. I use one alcohol based as my after shave. It is cheap and practical. However, a drop or two of olive oil works and was recommended by my Internist.
The former is drying. I put it on a cue-tip and rub it against the wall of the canal not going in all the way. If you have swimmer’s ear, I’d also use it as drop at bedtime when the aid isn’t present. I do the cue-tip about twice a week and it often comes back discolored by wax. Overuse could cause further problems from over drying.
The olive oil solves the itch problem used sparingly. Apply just a drop or two on the dome. I actually used on old eye drop container. I don’t squirt it. I rub it on the domes and capillary attraction applies it quickly and easily.
KenP raises the subject of over-dry causing itchy ears.
Just checking Dr Google and this link seems to have pretty comprehensive coverage for all causes and treatment of itchy ears (click on “How to Treat Itchy Ears”):
When I was active in SCUBA diving, I was taught to mix a solution of rubbing alcohol, vinegar and baby oil. Shake the mixture up and put a couple of drops into each ear after each dive. The alcohol tends to dry things out, the vinegar prevents fungal infection and the baby oil will put moisture back into the skin of the canal. I still basically use the same formula today (30 years later) to prevent the itchiness that develops from wearing solid molds with my HA’s.
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