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Ear Itchiness, Drainage, Muffled Hearing, No Pain

Hi there, I'm a 21 year old female. I have very itchy ears. I have a really hard time not scratching them, and when I do it only makes them itchier. This has been a recurring problem for years, but I have noticed that over the last couple years it has been getting worse. It will occur in one or both ears. I have noticed that when I wake up in the morning, or sometimes throughout the day, my ears are wet. It seems like really watery earwax that is coming out. I've also noticed that ever once in awhile, not very often, a small ball of earwax or some skin will fall out of my ear during the day. They also seem to get peely, but not small flakes, they are large and have to scrape the inside of my ear with my fingernail to get them out - I know I need to stop doing this but it is so hard to stop scratching! I tend to have a lot of earwax but I clean my ears out with ear cleaning oil fairly regularly. Another thing that concerns me greatly is that for several years I have had muffled hearing/a stuffed feeling in my ears. This has really started frustrating me in the past 2 or 3 years, and has been happening with the itchiness, although the itchiness sometimes lets up, the muffled hearing does not. It is odd because when I clean my ears with the oil the muffled/stuffed feeling goes away for a few seconds and then returns. I do not have ear pain, although I had ear aches as a small child. I have had nothing happen to me that would cause hearing loss (as far as I know). Do these things, the hearing problem and the itching, sound like they are related? What can I do about them?
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and hope you are doing well.

The symptoms described by you could be due a skin disorder called eczema. This itches so much that all the scratching makes it look like 'shoe leather' (or 'elephant hide'). People who suffer from this disorder should avoid contact with triggering factors like soaps, cosmetics, jewelry, clothing, and detergents. Sometimes sweat, changes in temperature and psychological stress are known to trigger these episodes. So, the best way to prevent attacks is to identify those substances which you are allergic to and avoid them. Consult your  primary care physician for therapy. If the need arises he may refer you to a dermatologist.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.
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Avatar universal
I should also add that I do not get vertigo, although I am sometimes unsteady on my feet (but never dizzy, nor do I randomly fall over). I figured that that was just me being clumsy. Also, migraines somehow got tagged but I do not get migraines.
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