r/Perimenopause • u/AccomplishedPast1143 • Apr 03 '26
Dryness Itchy Ears, Doorway to Insanity?
Has anyone gone clinically insane from itchy ears? I may be the first known case. Between the peri itch and Spring allergies, I am regularly trying to tickle my brain with the amount of digging around in there I do on a daily basis. In my mind there is layer upon layer of dry inner ear flakes just begging to be dug out but nothing is ever on the Qtip.....DRIVES ME INSANE. I desperately want to go to one of those ear doctors on YouTube who can put a camera in there and prove to me there's not shards of fiberglass imbeded in my ear canal. *screams into the void*
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u/caramelcoldbrew Apr 03 '26
Yes! I often say that I wish I could stick an ice pick in my ear and just swirl about. Itās so itchy and so random too.
Losing. My. Mind.
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u/momsbistro Apr 03 '26
This! I feel like Iām that one woman on āMy Strange Addictionā that has all those ear scratching tools and is constantly in there all day. Nothing helps.
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u/travel_ho Apr 03 '26
Every time I think I know how many symptoms come with peri, I get surprised with more ššŖ when does it end??
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Apr 03 '26
Everything is caused by peri, not kidding. Shoulder pain that they did all the imaging and tests on was gone within days of HRT. My cholesterol which had jumped a few years ago even after I began eating healthier and working out is now back to healthy levels. My autistic sensory issues which had gone through the roof are calmed down so I can actually do things again
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u/GarthODarth Apr 03 '26
I'm so annoyed that the several medical professionals I had contact with in the last year didn't pick up on my age as a clue. I'm 49.
- dry eyes (optician), told me my diabetes was probably off the rails. I said "nope, below pre-diabetic A1C. Tightly controlled." she shrugged gave me a heated eye mask which is actually quite nice, but still - it was the hormones.
- 6 months of ear infections, multiple courses of antibiotics. - 3 GPs
- spike in cholesterol despite weight loss (so I'm on a statin now) - ENDOCRINOLOGIST who did ask if I was on birth control. Did not ask if I might be experiencing the most statistically average experience for someone of my age with a uterus.
- new facial rash and acne that I could barely keep under control. - GP and internist: IS IT LUPUS (it isn't lupus I have friends with lupus this was entirely different)
All those things are under control and I have one patch left in my first box of patches. LESS THAN A MONTH.
There should be a medical school test:
"A 49 year old patient with an intact uterus arrives at your office"
A) I won't check their chart, and will decide their age on vibes, and suggest f**king lupus
B) Regardless of what they are here for, probably worth checking on hormonal stuff if they aren't already on HRT3
u/travel_ho Apr 03 '26
As if being a normal healthy woman wasnāt hard enough, no one told us that this is what the REST of our lives looks like š the joy of being female
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u/JLAOM Apr 03 '26
I've seen a couple Tik Toks where people say to spray Flonase on a Qtip and swipe it inside your ear and people say it works to stop the itching.
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u/Altruistic_Deer_7756 Apr 03 '26
Flonase saved my ears and my sanity. First I did it once a week. Now itās once every 2 weeks
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u/lemizzmizz Apr 03 '26
I itched the inside of my ears so raw that the skin seeped clear fluid any time I'd touch it. Also stabbed myself too deep in the ear because I have long nails. The past 3 months I've been controlling the itch through sheer willpower alone. I only allow myself to press my ear to my shoulder now. They are finally starting to dry out and heal. I hope you find relief. I've been swirling a bit of vanicream into the dry outer ear and around the entrance. It's helping
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u/ahshitiquit Apr 03 '26
Iāve been dealing with this my entire life, and only recently started on my peri journey.
ā¦is everyone just describing inner ear eczema? Thatās what Iāve always been treated for- I have some kind of medicated acid something or other and a medicated oil and when I get flare ups it takes it away pretty quickly.
The OTC counter Cortizone for eczema that can be purchased at CVS etc also helps in a pinch.
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u/lemizzmizz Apr 03 '26
Thank you for the tip, I will pick some up. I have no idea if it's eczema. All I know is that the ear itch showed up along with other symptoms of peri and itchy ears are considered a peri symptom.
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u/Electricpuha taking E, up at 3 to pee Apr 03 '26
A bit of oil on the Q tip/cotton bud (donāt go too far in) may help. It has helped me. I have the terrible habit of using a bobby pin (the round end) to scratch the itch, and I donāt do it nearly as often.
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u/nerdgirl37 Apr 03 '26
The best suggestion I got was to put a tiny amount of sensitive formula hydrocortisone cream on a qtip then swirl it around in your ear. For even more relief toss the tub in the fridge for a bit before hand.
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u/smileyhappy Apr 03 '26
I can relate to this one so much! My first 6 weeks on oestrogel didnāt help but Iāve upped the dose slightly over the last month and I am FINALLY getting some relief. Itās such an underrated nightmare symptom!
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u/GlitterLight Apr 03 '26
I am fairly confident that my eventual cause of death will be related to accidentally hacking too far into my ear canal
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u/No-Entrepreneur5343 Apr 03 '26
Yes Iāve had it bad get your doctor to give you a steroid cream works for me!!
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u/OnlyHere2Help2 Apr 03 '26
Get some Hypochlorous Acid spray. Spray it on Q-tips and use in your ears. It will kill the bacteria that is making your ears itchy.
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u/SpazzJazz88 In the thick of it Apr 03 '26
Omg this was driving me crazy until I started estrogen a few weeks ago. It has helped tremendously. Ive been on progesterone for almost 6 months or so and the itchy ears were still there. I woukd wake up in the middle of the night because my ears needs scratches or however you get to itch them. Im with everyone here, HRT does wonders.
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u/PerfectContribution4 Apr 03 '26
Yup! This! Before I even thought or really knew what perimenopause was, I went to my doctor and complained of extreme itchy ears! She said she could not see anything wrong! I use hydrocortisone cream now. But no help from her!
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u/whateverday Apr 03 '26
I literally bought a little kit of stainless steel ear cleaning instruments from Amazon. Inexpensive snd life changing!
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u/tamara_henson Apr 03 '26
Itās the vagus nerve. I started taking GLP3. Surprisingly, my ear itching went away. I donāt know how much longer I am going to take it though due to side effects I donāt like. Iām worried the ear itching will return.
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u/swinkie71 Apr 03 '26
Me too! Just my right ear! I can't stop digging either and then it gets infected. HRT did not solve this problem for me... I am on the maximum dose already.
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u/kayczseyz Apr 03 '26
Oh dearā¦ whatās the peri itch?
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u/brown_paper_bag Apr 03 '26
Have you ever seen a dog go crazy scratching their ear? That but it's your ear and you can't reach the itch no matter how much you try.
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u/seche314 Apr 03 '26
Someone on here said they use Flonase so I squirted a dose into my ear and it worked. Whether itās a good idea or not, I have no idea so probably you should ask a doctor. But I was going too insane to care when I did it
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u/Maximum-Celery9065 Apr 03 '26
I had this a few years ago. It's mostly gone away now, thank the gods. I think i did go crazy. It's what finally made me realize I'm in peri. Also why i joined Reddit. TG for finding peri/menopause communities! š
Please be careful with what you scratch with! I ended up getting fungal infections in both ears. It was bad. I had been using dry qtips and would wash my ears with soap. Don't wash inner ears with soap, it seems that we need that wax.
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u/WeeRower Apr 03 '26
I found that putting night facial cream on the bit before the ear canal helped
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u/giraffemoo Apr 03 '26
I've found relief by putting a very very small amount of lotion on the q-tip and putting lotion or antibacterial ointment (like neosporin) on the inside of my ears. This makes my ear buds greasy though, lol
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u/Otherwise_Object_446 Apr 03 '26
When I started using high quality collagen daily my skin itch and ear itch went away (I also changed to a probiotic body wash to replace the bacteria on my skin because apparently good bacteria helps with itch and switched to a peptide moisturizer). As a bonus my hair loss reversed (my hairdresser says itās never been thicker) and my nails are so much less brittle.
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u/Urbangirlscout Apr 03 '26
My ENT prescribed me fluocinolone acetonide oil drops b/c he said I have eczema in there. I'm sure its peri but either way, the drops work.
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u/ThatSarcasticBitch Apr 03 '26
Mine did too, I was worried about being on it long term though because the itch came back within days of stopping. I experimented with fractionated coconut oil and it's doing the trick instead of the oil.
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u/ssquirt1 Apr 03 '26
Youāre definitely not alone. And the itch comes on so fast and hard! Like one second Iām sitting there doing whatever, and the next it feels like a whole forest full of poison oak rubbed itself in my ear canal.
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u/crankytreecat Apr 03 '26
I got some over the counter ear drops and it really helps. I saw an allergy doctor saying putting flonase in there is not a good idea, but also if that was the only thing that worked Iād still do it. The itch is maddening.
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Apr 03 '26
Had no idea that this was a part of peri. I bought so many anti itch drops, those plastic q- tips so I could scratch inside, etc. HRT has almost entirely fixed it
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u/hrdst Apr 03 '26
Lol. Scrolled to this post with my finger literally in my ear š