weird/gross ear question

my ears have been itching for the last few days... mostly on the inner part. I know you are not supposed to put anything in your ears but I could not help cleaning them gently with q-tips. I do clean with q-tips normally on occasion, but definitely not as frequently as in the last couple of days and as a result of me tryign to relieve the itch, they are now sore. the weird thing is that they do not really have the typical soft waxy stuff anymore, but only 15-20 minutes after cleaning them, they have a LOT of either hard flakey wax stuff inside or it might be dry skin or something. I'm trying to just not touch them now but they are still very itchy. does anyone have any advice/suggestions?

I haven't been sleeping much because of finals and I am very stressed, but I dont know if that can have anything to do with it...if so it manifests itself very strangely

See doctor.

I've never had anything like that happen but occasionally I will get an itch/tickle in one of my ears and within minutes a perfectly pre-formed ball or oval of dry-ish wax will just drop right out from somewhere up in the inner canal.  No idea why. 

Probably seeing a doctor would be your best bet on this one.  Or does your college have a health clinic?  Maybe you could go there...?

You probably have an ear infection.  Seeing the Doc is a good idea.

Sometimes I get an itch very deep in my ear that's more related to my throat - usually means I'm getting a cold. When I swallow, it feels like I'm "scratching" the inside of my ear, if that makes sense (it doesn't to most people, but I know what I'm trying to say). Def stop cleaning, and if it continues, go to the doc/health clinic.

I am a was a sufferer of chronic ear infections.  I had the same problem your having, I would have an itch and would scratch it only to make the problem worse. Chances are you caused the infection by putting things in your ear. The finger is the worst thing because of the germs. So you can either wait it out. An ear infection will get better on it's own or go to the doc for some antibiotics and some numbing gel if the pain is bad. I did go through a period where I could not get rid of the pain and infection for anything. I even went to the ENT ( worthless ) but it just took a really strong antibiotic to kill the infection. Keep things out of your ear.

Ask the doctor what you can take for the itching. Benadryl works pretty good for itching. The wax problem is probably the infection casing some fluid to drain and build up. If I'm around someone who smokes I tend to get the infection, hence why I can't stand people smoking around me, but that's another tread. hee hee

you can drip hydrogen peroxide in your ear to help clean it out and if you have an ear infection. it tickles really bad, but it is meant to work. i have done it a few times. i just soak a cotton ball lay on one side squeeze the peroxide out of the cotton ball into my ear and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. then turn your head and let it drain out onto a wash cloth. i am warning you it itches, but it helps relieve the itching in the end.

i am someone who does not have health insurance so i look for a lot of homoepathic remedies. i don't know if i can promote another website, but i find a lot of helpful things on earthclinic.com

good luck with finals, and you should find a ways to manage your stress. i know that's not the easiest thing to do. but especially during finals, when we were probably half delusional anyway, my friends and i would sit around and just do really stupid things and laugh at eachother to the point of tears...it really helped.

I had the same thing happen to me, and suffered with it for months. Went to an ENT, and they tried all kinds of drops etc, and nothing cleared it.

Then I started to keep a food diary and found that there were foods I was allergic to, and it would flare up when I had too much wheat , aged cheese and different spices.

Since I eliminated these things it has been months since I have had that problem.

You may want to try and see if maybe this is the cause of your trouble.

Good luck!

Original Post by floydh77:

you can drip hydrogen peroxide in your ear to help clean it out and if you have an ear infection. it tickles really bad, but it is meant to work. i have done it a few times. i just soak a cotton ball lay on one side squeeze the peroxide out of the cotton ball into my ear and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. then turn your head and let it drain out onto a wash cloth. i am warning you it itches, but it helps relieve the itching in the end.

i am someone who does not have health insurance so i look for a lot of homoepathic remedies. i don't know if i can promote another website, but i find a lot of helpful things on earthclinic.com

good luck with finals, and you should find a ways to manage your stress. i know that's not the easiest thing to do. but especially during finals, when we were probably half delusional anyway, my friends and i would sit around and just do really stupid things and laugh at eachother to the point of tears...it really helped.

please be careful with straight peroxide, dilute it with water. Straight peroxide has been known to bubble too much and bust the ear drum. I'm not saying always but CAN. I was warned by my pediatrician about this. My youngest son has really waxy ears and they have to be flushed once a month. DILUTE please.

Google it cause I think it's a certain percentage of peroxide that you can use in your ear. I know I checked mine in the cupboard when I went through it, and it was safe but just to be sure, get several sources.

For me, the peroxide kinda dried out my ears so they were more itchy afterwards. So, I followed up with something that was made to clean out your ears. I think it was a store brand "Ear Relief" or something. It's got kind of an oil base so you would put about 10 drops in your ear, let it sit and then turn your head back and let it drain. It left them moisturized, I guess you could say and not itchy.

I have a couple of friends that swear by ear candling to clean out wax but everything that I read about it, says it's bunk. So, before you try it, research it first and see if you still want to do it.

If your pain persists, you might want to call the doc by the end of business today so that you can hopefully get in tomorrow. In the meantime, go check the pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist, they may have some suggestions.

Try a drop or two of olive oil to help soothe your ear canals ... sounds crazy but it works!

I had this problem.  Went to the ENT, I had a lot of dried earwax inside the ear.  Getting it out was quite painful.

Personally I wouldn't stick anything inside of your ears until you have a doctor look inside. I get itchy ears "like my inner ear" when I have moisture back there trying to brew into a ear infection. A lot of times sinus's bring them on, or sucking on things like hard candy or straws push moisture to the back of my ears (I suffer from chronic ear infections too).

They have things for swimmers ear, they have things to reduce wax buildup, but you might just need to take a decongestant and let it clear. If it's bothering you enough to want to stick things in it, see a doc. They just use that flashlight dealy and will tell you whats going on.

I had something like this before, it was not an infection, but like an excema (I don't know if you write that this way, but you know what I mean, right) I'd say I would not 'doctor' on it myself but go to see someone so they can diagnose properly and give you the thing you need for it. 

I sometimes experience an itch deep inside the ear, more like in my throat, or in between. This is due to food allergies, for example after eating raw carrot. See a doc to check if it is an ear infection. If not, monitor food intake, maybe it is allergies.

You probably have an outer ear infection. Schedule an appointment with your doctor, who will probably prescribe antibiotic drops for you.

Do not put anything in your ears smaller than your elbow.

Do not use hydrogen peroxide unless your doctor specifically tells you to.

Only a trained professional should clean the earwax out of your ears, and only if your doctor says that this is what is needed (there's a nifty little tool they use, and it's super gross, but afterwards, it will feel really good.)

Also, fun audiology/speech pathology fact:

Outer ear: pinna (your earlobe and the actual ear that sticks out of your head) and ear canal, up to the ear drum

Middle ear: Nearly everything on the other side of the ear drum: 3 little bones (incus, malleus, stapes) and the air surrounding them - most people get this infected or filled up with fluid when they have a cold. A normally working middle ear will be drained of fluid or pressure by the eustachian tube (the thing that 'pops' on airplanes) into your throat.

Inner ear: Your cochlea and semicircular canals. If this is infected, it is BAD NEWS. It causes deafness due to damage to the hair cells inside your cochlea (a snail-like organ which lets you hear)

Those of you saying your 'inner ear' itches probably mean your outer ear or your middle ear, though sometimes the itch can seem like it's coming from deeper in. Because if it IS your inner ear, you have more serious issues than q-tips and hydrogen peroxide...

Allergies could definitely be a cause: The pain or the itch which is actually sourced in the throat could be referred to the ear (theres a lot of overlap with the nerves)

Again: Unless you are a doctor or acting on doctor's orders: NOTHING SMALLER THAN YOUR ELBOW GOES IN!!!!

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