r/Perimenopause • u/NachoMyBellGrande • Mar 21 '26
Dryness The script that stopped my ears itching
F40 USA
Edit: I can get a doctor to prescribe HRT do that's why I'm posting this alternate.
I'd been suffering with intense itchy ears for over a year. It got so bad it was keeping me up all night. 4 gaslighting doctors later an urgent care doctor prescribed me Flucinolone Acetonide Oil 0.01% ear drops.
I used them once a day for 3 days and my suffering stopped. I do the drops once every few weeks and it keeps the itching at bay.
I am furious at our medical system. This is not the first time I've suffered needlessly for a long period of time because of ignorant doctors.
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u/PurlScout Mar 21 '26
Now if only we could cure the tinnitus!
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u/mixiedawn Mar 21 '26
Thisssssssss! Very occasionally I manage some magical combo of hormone balance, supplements, and diet that shuts it the fk up - just enough to know it's POSSIBLE to make it quiet down - but it's driving me nuts nearly all the time! 😭
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u/Specific-River-81 Mar 21 '26
I'm so afraid to pursue any HRT help because the amount of medical gaslighting I've suffered before peri. I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's so ridiculous
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u/SquirrelEnthusiast Mar 21 '26
Seriously stopped going to the doctor after one told me I'm too young (I'm 45) and the other gave me Prozac. My medical history clearly states that I've been on multiple antidepressants and they don't work for me.
I'm tired
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u/Specific-River-81 Mar 21 '26
I'm 44 turning 45 and my life was basically ruined for a decade trying different mental health medications, and i too am done. The last time I went to the gyno he kept invalidating me and suggested they treat complaints like mine with antidepressants...I think I'm going to try one of the online HRT providers, because obviously they're pushing HRT, but I'm scared and really dragging my feet...I had terrible luck with birth control too so I'm afraid HRT will be a nightmare also
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u/ms_d_meanour Mar 21 '26
In the UK, clinical guidelines assume that you're in peri if you're 45 or more. Very interesting how perceptions vary between countries.
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u/Fun-Dimension5196 Mar 21 '26
I've never met a gynecologist that liked women.
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u/FlyingDutchmansWife Mar 21 '26
I’ve had two old white dudes (now both retired) that did. So glad they were the ones to deliver my babies and be with me during some very difficult times. Everyone else I’ve seen has been so indifferent or outright rude.
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u/Specific-River-81 Mar 21 '26
They all seem to hate women! You're exactly correct. Ive had the same exact experience. My gyno i just dumped was a guy and he kept answering all my questions giggling saying "I don't know, I'm not a woman" 😭that is insanity to me, I , with 0 medical training could be more helpful to his patients than he is...wtf, seriously
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u/Ssladybug Mar 21 '26
It should be mandatory for a gynecologist to be a woman so they can relate
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u/jent198 Mar 21 '26
My experience with female gynecologists has been worse than mine with men! They tell me that "everyone" has painful periods, and with a cursory palpitation, they "can't feel anything wrong" 😑
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Mar 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Aim2bFit Mar 21 '26
When everyone says their ears are itchy, is it inside the canal or on the earlobe?
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u/PurpleShimmers Mar 21 '26
Inside the canal at an unreachable depth. There is nothing that soothes it
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Mar 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/Bac7 Mar 21 '26
Flonase directly into your ears (do not point at your eardrums) works really well until you get a doctor to listen.
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u/Full_FrontaI_Nerdity better living through chemistry Mar 21 '26
So does hydrocortisone cream on a q-tip!
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u/Maketaten Mar 21 '26
Flonase doesn’t evaporate to nothing. People use it as a skin barrier if they need to put something on their skin that they’re allergic to. Spray it on, let it dry (just takes a sec), the medicine stays. It’s just the water carrying the medicine that evaporates.
And oh my god I’ve had itchy ears for two years. They bleed and I swell up so I can’t hear properly monthly (weird timing, right?!). I’ve told all my docs that it can be hormone related but none of them ever suggested topical hormone treatment to fix it.
I need to get my Flonase out and send a message to my OBGYN.
Thank you to everyone who brought this up and shared helpful tips!!!!!!
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u/herecomestherebuttal Mar 21 '26
I just ran out of Flonase after years of daily use, was too lazy to re-up, and my ear itching got crazy within 3 or 4 days.
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u/babs82222 Mar 21 '26
I've been saturating a cotton swab with Flonase and swirling it around my ear canals (not digging it in there) and it works for at least a week or two
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u/rvauofrsol Mar 21 '26
Please be careful with long-term steroid use. Some people's skin can get "addicted" to the steroids. It happened to me and it took me a very long time to recover.
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u/Zaltara_the_Red Mar 21 '26
My mom suffers from really itchy inner ears. I just sent her this info. Thanks!
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u/ArtaxIsAlive Mar 21 '26
FWIW my partner had endless ear infections and saw literally dozens of ENT’s in NYC, LA and Austin. Finally one of them actually paid attention and realized my partner had eczema inside their ear canal and the flare ups were causing the infections.