Inner ear infection, Treatment for an ear infection and dry itchy skin in the ears

Since the ears are extremely sensitive, dry and itchy ears can be due to a wide number of reasons. Dry, itchy ears can be caused by ear infections, trauma to the outer ear or even an allergy. Itching can also be caused by an allergy to the plastic of hearing aids or when the hearing aid gets wet, trapping water between the aid and the inner ear.


Similarly "swimmer's ear" can cause irritation and itching of the ear and lead to infection when the water gets clogged in the inner ear.

Other causes include irritation from chemicals in hair products or over-enthusiastic ear cleaning. Compulsive ear cleaning dries the ear by removing all the natural wax which is important to keep the ear lubricated.


Flakes of dry, dead skin tend to accumulate in dry ears, leading to itchiness. If you have naturally dry ears, you can keep them lubricated by applying a few drops of vegetable oil in your outer ear. Psychological reasons also cause people to scratch their ears in stress and nervousness leading to dry and itchy ears. If you suffer from skin diseases such as allergic dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis then you are likely to experience dryness and itchiness in the ear as well. Treatment is the same as for these skin conditions affecting other parts of the body. You can apply a vegetable oil like olive oil to the outer ear every day or two to prevent the ear from becoming dry and leading to itching. It is also important to protect your ears from water, products such as shampoos entering them and not to clean them aggressively.