How do you think of something different to talk about every single day?! And have for years?! You’re one in a million. Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge. ❤
I am so glad you brought that up. I am older 70+ and my audiologist said some of my wax built up had eczema mixed in. I now use Cetaphil Eczema gel just a bit on the tip of my finger around the inside of my ear and it has really helped.
today you talked about the most annoying problem I have and one that no doctor has bothered to tell me what to do I love you more and more than you can. imagine, thanks thanks for today
I’m literally walking on my treadmill and just touched my right ear and noticed it feels dry and you post this 😂😂 I feel attacked and supported all at once lol
Thank you so much Dr Dray! I submitted this question. You gave me food for thought: I have hyperhydrosis and extremely narrow ear canals which with the help of the video, I now wonder are what have led to fluid build up and chronic ear infections my entire life. The dry flaky skin I have is only around the inner rim of the ear and the conch and only started in my 40’s as my skin all over has become dryer with age. No doctor , PCP or EMT, has ever explained all this. That’s why I figured “let me ask YOU!” I’ll find a derm in my area and I hope they’ll be as thorough and helpful as you! Thanks again!!
I've been wearing hearing aids for years and only this year have been suffering with dry itchy ears. This video couldn't be more perfectly timed. Thank you Dr Dray 😊
At my last check up, I asked my doctor what was wrong with the inside of my ears. There’s no flaking, but definitely can feel the sensation of dryness. He told me I have no wax. I started using just a smidge of CeraVe healing ointment on my pinky tip and massaging it into the outer part of the ear canal and it’s made a huge difference.
I never knew this was a thing. I actually had flaking, itchy skin on my earlobes and the rest of my outer ear about a month ago. I felt like some kind of freak because I’ve never had this nor heard of it in anyone else. Luckily, I figured out that it was due to some headphones I was wearing, and I helped it heal by stopping the headphones and babying my ear skin with cetaphil cream, and now I’m fine. I’m glad I knew how to treat irritated skin, thanks to this channel.
I had a spot of Seborrheic dermatitis on my for head and the dry itching, flaking inside my ear. I thought the flaking in my ear was more of a dermatitis as I have a variety of dermatitis on and off. My dermatologist looked at my ear and said that it was more fungal-based. I tried prescription medicine nothing would help. I read about tea oil being a natural healing as it is a fungal reducer. I tried very small amounts on both spots in my forehead and my ears and it has controlled it very nicely. It actually can go totally away for a while and if it starts to come back, I immediately use the tea oil again. I’m very happy with the results with using the tea oil. I also have found using a soft microfiber towel, slightly damp on the part that is very flaky, will help take the flakes off without causing a lot of irritation. With reducing the flaking, it is also helped reduce the itching. I use this along with the tea oil. 👂🏻
I listen to audiobooks at night to help me fall back asleep using in ear earphones. I believe it is the reason for my itchy ears. eNT prescribed a few different treatments but nothing is completely curing it. It comes back after a few weeks….
Thanks for the mineral oil suggestion. Years ago I stopped using q-tips to dry my ears after showering, but the discomfort of wet ears after a shower follwes with very dry earwax and ear canal discomfort has always lingered. I've always been told by GP's "there's nothing wrong in there". Going to use the mineral oil to see if that alleviates the discomfort!
My mom was diagnosed with Lupus last year. She started with joint pain in her knees and shoulders. She is 55 years old. Since then, she has flakey ears lobes and ear canal. Already had two mayor ear canal infections with abscess and needed deep cleaning of her ear with her ENT.
I had really flaky skin behind my ears and used anti-dandruff shampoo to cleanse the area, as well as a salicylic acid cleanser (not in the same routine), and then applied The Ordinary Salicylic Acid Anhydrous Solution every day, twice a day and it cleared up! Yayyyyyyyy!
Thank you so much for this video!! I’ve had dry, very itchy skin in my ear canal for years now and doctors never take it seriously enough to do anything. I have autoimmune disease and have mentioned this as a possible cause for the itchy ear canals but have not been heard by medical professionals. This is very validating for me. Although when I say I heard from my doctor on RU-vid, they’ll write me off again.
I have never tried the warm mineral oil. I have heard many years ago warm olive oil was used to fight some ear infections. I have made my own mixture of 50% of a 3% hydrogen peroxide and 50% water. I put a few drops in my ear and I can hear and feel the wax breaking up and bubbling to the surface. I do caution that some ears are very sensitive and hydrogen peroxide if used to often is not good for the ear, so make sure it is diluted with water.
When i was a toddler my parents used to tell me that earwax is filthy and it constantly needs to be removed and let the ear be squeaky clean 😅 but when i went to high school that way of notion changed when i learned that earwax is extremely beneficial for the ear because due the tiny space in the ear there must be a lubricating substance in order to help the cell turn over of the skin there and have an overall aiding role supporting the skin's ph preventing bacterial infection and other bad stuff from happening 😊❤. So unless your earwax is super hard don't bother with it if yes there are also ear drop containing mineral oil or squalene or simple emmolient drops that help with the cell turn over and the overall natural and normal lubrication of the ear canal ❤. I loved how you approach every single matter with such delicate method 😊❤ Doctor Andrea.
I'd agree with leaving it alone most of the time. I remember being in school and health classes and hearing the stories about qtips puncturing the ear drum which cured me of using them except on the outside of my ear. I get a regular yearly checkup and the doctor checks my ears so I figure if something is amiss, she'll let me know.
I have eczema in my ear canal. It drives me crazy sometimes because my ear canal swells and drains. My dermatologist prescribed mometasone. It helps 100%!
Omgosh Dr. Dray this is crazy.. this has been happening to me!! I thought I had psoriasis.. I can just peel off the dry skin and it will come back within like an hour. This has happened this year.. I have never had this problem before.. my mom and sister have psoriasis so I just assumed I have it on my ears.. I need to see my dermatologist. Mine is on the tragus on both ears.
Thank you so much for this information!! Also, I bought one of those earwax removal probes that hooks up to my phone just so I can look inside my ear canal when something goes wrong. It isn’t good to try and use it for wax extraction, though. It would be way too easy to damage the ear drum, or lose the tip inside the ear.
I've had itchy scaly patches in and around the opening of my ear canal. I stopped using ear buds and it cleared up within days. I have been diligent about cleaning my ear buds, but they still caused problems. I switched to bone conduction headphones and no more itchy ears!
In 2020 I wore my raycons none stop for a year. Eventually I developed a yeast infection in my ears like swimmers ear. I’m guessing since the raycons had silicone covers on them that it helped hold moisture in my ear thereby aiding the yeast to grow. It was incredibly painful, took a year and a half to heal and required me seeing an ENT. Since then I developed almost like an eczema issue in my ears. Where they get real itchy and tender for no reason. Of course I’ll itch it which only makes the irritation worse and eventually leads to another infection in my ear. Now I have to use these oil drops in my ear every time I start to feel them itch to prevent further issues and infection. Allll because of some raycons! Now I stick to over the ear headphones or bone conducting headphones. It’s been a nightmare.
I listen to audiobooks at night to help me fall back asleep. I believe it is the reason for my itchy ears. eNT prescribed a few different treatments but nothing is completely curing it. It comes back after a few weeks
@@olgamcleod7831 yup same here. Everything feels good after a treatment and then within a week or so of stopping and then telling me everything looks good the slow itch will start again and get worse and worse. My ears also pop a lot at night when I lay on my sides which it’s never done before
I have to sleep with earplugs because of my noisy neighbors and i used to have flaky skin inside the ear canal be cause of that. I dont know if its a good idea but i started using Vaseline on my earplugs and things got better!
Omg. I've experienced this almost my entire life and never knew what it was from. I find it to be super embarrassing, not only just because of the symptoms themselves, but because I never hear ANYONE else having this same issue. And when things feel isolating they feel worse. I can literally get a dark colored T-shirt and wipe the inside of my ears and it will have a chalky/dry skin residue. Sorry if that's gross. It drives me nuts. The areas in the corner of my eyes and between my eyebrows get dry like this too
I get eczema around my left ear more than around my right. I get it behind my ear and all in the cracks and crevices. It's even near the opening of my ear on the inside. It gets red and itchy and flaky. And sometimes it bleeds. If I put on my steroid cream it clears it up for a bit but then it comes back. So it never fully goes away. It's very annoying.
Dr Dray ! Thank you so much for all you do for skincare community ❤️ Just want to know your opinion on Selsun Shampoo. I've been using it for a month and came across an article that says Selenium sulphide is carcinogenic. Please address this issue ! 🙏🏻
Look into ADI (acceptable daily intake) value. The recommended Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for selenium in adults is 0.4 mg/day. FDA has long list of Carcinogens. Basically it says to stop living life. But the most important thing is to look at ADI values of them. Normal basic routine things are safe if consumed or applied below ADI
Thanks for making a video about this. I too have this issue. I noticed someone asked this question and you only liked the comment. lol The funny thing is, my sister told me this morning that she have dry skin in her ear too. Now I have to tell her to watch this video.
I literally thought I was the only person with this weird issue the inside of my ears is always dry and flaky. It’s never on the outside or behind the ears only in the creases it’s so odd
I appreciate this so much !!! I’ve had this issue since menopause started and my doctor prescribed Eucrisa. It works but is very expensive when it runs out
You said not to use dandruff shampoos in the ear for seborrheic dermatitis. what would you recommend for seborrheic dermatitis inside of the ear canal?
I’ve had skin problems since I was a child. Now in my 20s I’ve had the yellowish dandruff, normal dandruff, even in my ears, around nose, head, eyebrows… I hate it!! Drives me insane
Glad I don’t have this issue at least yet but if I did I would blame it on my ears being the size of Vermont. They could double as kites 🪁 on weekend park visits! Great info!! ☕️🎃🤠👍🏻
There's plenty of content out there about treating hyperpigmentation. What about HYPOpigmentation? Dr. Dray, what are the best ingredients or treatments to help the pigment return after PIH?
Every otorhinolaryngologist I've seen has said I have eczema in my ear canals, but most of them prescribed me steroid ear drops, and one of them told me to use almond oil after I had completed the steroid treatment. The almond oil helps a bit, but it's not very nice to handle. Thank you for making this video Dr Dray.
Good evening Dr Dray. How, if in any way, does lupus effect the lips? I have a positive ANA. Having a hard time getting diagnosed. Been having ear problems for years. Couldn’t believe when that video landed in my hands. Thanks.
I can’t wait till your next dollar tree video! I NEED your review of their new global beauty care glowing vitamin c and collagen serums and facial creams. Love your videos so much and love you! ❤
I have been dealing with seborrheic dermatitis in my ear canal and scalp for years since last 25 years, it is getting worse in my ears especially and prescription ointments will calm as long as i use it and after 2 weeks it's the same. Gotten to tye point where i have flakes showing and it's embarrassing and i have to constantly scrape off the skin everydays to make it not look so bad.
Ever since I had (what I think was) an untreated ear infection years ago in college, I’ve had very itchy ear canals with built up skin 🤷♀️I can itch them raw some days. That of course makes the dry skin even worse as it heals…it’s a cycle. I have eczema elsewhere and never even thought about this potentially being eczema in the ears 🤯
I'm with psoriasis and every day I must clear my ear canals otherwise I literally can't hear 50% of times because of the build up of the flakes. What helps me is salicylic acid on a cotton pad.
Could you speak about lupus and the skin? And whether or not I can use my usual skincare on it? (Lactic Acid and Niacinamide to name a couple) Thank you for everything you do. I ❤you!
Thank you for this video. I have always had issues with my ears. But, please, what shampoo/conditioner, etc are you using now because your hair looks amazing!
A while ago my dad, in both ears in the end, but in the right ear first, had eczema. It didn't go with weaker corticosteroids, and so I gave him my heavier corticosteroid cream, called "Dermovate" in Belgium (I know, you're not supposed to do that but he was flaking all over the bed, sheets, living room; disaster for my mother who had to constantly clean this up). Anyway, it went away. Now we just maintain with a non-steroid cream, called Bepanthen Eczema. It's very nice! He does have seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp, but this was nothing like it. Examined multiple times by the GP, but he always got the weaker steroid cream and that did zilch. Often you have to just hit it with everything you've got.
Maybe you can do a video in dyshidrotic eczema. I’ve been having these annoying little itchy blisters that just cycle between blisters and dry itchy skin that flakes and peels. Couldn’t use my thumb and index finger for biometrics for more than a year now.
Can I use the cerave hydrating cream to foam cleanser while using differin?. I'm wondering because you mentioned in a past video that you shouldn't use a cleanser with salicylic acid and that's one of the ingredients in the cleanser
Does this type of dermatitis affect scalp also? I have always had flaky scalp that gets very itchy if I sweat or sleep with damp hair, and I’ve found a similar type of scabbing/flaking around the opening of my ear canal. I’ve been prescribed ketoconazole (sp?) and another topical, is there a non prescription version I could get and are those two things related? My ear and dandruff? It seems they can be but you mentioned behind the ear, and mine is in the ear. I wear ear buds for work bc I’m autistic, but I can’t stop doing that. Any thing would help, please and thank you ❤
I have this issue but have to wear hearing aids in both ears so the cycle of itching never stops. What can those of us who have to wear hearing aids daily do? 😢
