Strange sore in my ear :-(

OK, this is a bit of a strange one :-/. And apologies if it's slightly gross . . .

I have had a small kind of sore in my ear canal for probably almost a year now. It just feels kind of flaky, and I will often pick it off - it's not a scab as such, but more just a piece of dried skin. When I pick it, it doesn't bleed at all, and normally feels smooth again for a day or too, then it starts feeling dry & crusting again. Sometimes it will weep and I dry the area with a q-tip. Obviously, a lot of what's going on is guesswork as I can't actually see it! Recently I feel almost like my ear is closing up slightly and my hearing is affected, especially when I lie down (on my good ear) and I guess the lie of my face & ear changes :-/. I didn't pay much attention to any of this at first, but it's been going on for a long time now. It doesn't seem to be getting bigger, or spreading or anything, but is just always there! Is this a a lyme thing?? Does anyone else have anything like this?? Thanks.

Thanks so much celeste. How weird! I haven't paid much attention to it really, but have realised it's been there for a long time now . . . so just recently it occurred to me that it might be connected with the Lyme but I couldn't really believe it was . . . so it's interesting to know that you have a similar thing. So maybe it IS another lyme thing? It's bothering me at the moment in particular as it seems a bit irritated the last few days and my ear feels a bit tender in the canal, and yes, I can't hear anything if I'm lying on my good ear. Glad your hearing has resolved now.

Does anyone else suffer anything similar?

That's not gross at all, I've read grosser stuff!

My left ear is totally plugged, it's pretty much my last symptom to go and was my first symptom to come and stay and not leave. I had symptoms come and go for years before, but this ear thing is THERE.

I had so many ear infections when I was little, maybe they never really cleared out....who knows, but yeah, I think it's definitely Lyme/infections...

Let me know if anything helps..

Flossie - I have something similar - lots of flaky stuff inside my ears but mine gets very itchy too. My ear doc told me it was "like" exzema in my ears. I am of the opinion it is just another crazy Lyme symptom. Hoping it will clear up one day.

Flossie - I never did buy the whole "something like eczema" in my ears thing. I asked another integrative doctor about it later on and he said it was inflammation of the lining in my ears.

Again, I believe it must be Lyme related. I am sure it will clear up when everything else gets better.

My left ear canal is flaky, itchy and feels like rough scaly swollen skin inside too. It started the same time my Lyme symptoms started. Many doctors have quickly looked at it and didn’t know why, all they would say is my ear drum is fine and I have no infection. One doc said it was red and gave me some ear drops for eczema that did nothing. NONE of the doctors looked close with an ear microscope or did any kind a skin scraping. They just did not seem to care much to get to the bottom of it, not even the ENT I went to.

I had to take matters in my own hands to cure my ear and I have tried many things to get rid of it. Keeping in mind it could be fungal, parasite or bacteria I would try things that may help naturally, over the counter medicines and cleaners. I put fungal cream in my ear too which did not help. I never had eczema on any part of my body so I don’t think it is that plus the doctors ear drops did not work.

The only thing that works for me is Lemon juice. It clears up with lemon juice but then it comes right back after a few weeks/months. I am treating longer this time in case it is mites/hatchlings that are coming back. I get so desperate cause the itching is unbearable. It feels as if something is crawling around in my ear and sometimes I can hear the crawling going on. It’s such a creepy feeling.

I have been doing research for this ear problem and found a youtube video about human ear mites. Dust mites?!?! in the ear...YUK!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR4ZFHlX3c8

Could this be what I have? OMG! They say it’s rare but seriously if doctors are to lazy to look closely with a microscope in the ear then how do they know how many people may have mites in their itchy ears. I have been really saturating my ear canal to KILL what ever it is. The lemon immediately stops the crawling sensation and stops the itching so I just keep that up. It does sting a little but that is only for a few seconds then relief. I figure if it is mites then I must keep killing the hatchlings and keep treating with the lemon juice until I think I got them all or at least when I feel my ear canal skin is smooth again.

It’s another one of those crazy symptoms I have, it could be Lyme related too, Lyme can cause skin problems. I think I would need a skin culture test to confirm if it’s from my Lyme Disease? Idk I also use Neosporin antibiotic ointment in my ear to soothe and stop the itching too. If there is any mites the ointment will kill them also.

Post Edited (never-give-up) : 5/28/2015 6:22:42 PM (GMT-6)

I get something similar to this every now and then: a little bump that sometimes itches, sometimes hurts. I can't see it, of course, but it feels like a tiny hard pimple or whitehead. it's come and gone over the last few years.

Recently I've had the crawly sensation way inside my ear canal. Can't hear anything but it definitely feels like there's a tiny gnat or something stuck inside my ear. I can't reach it to itch it and haven't tried any liquid to see if that helps. Maybe the lemon juice...

Reading Never-Give-Up's description, I wonder if a dab of tea tree oil on a Q-tip will give any relief? It's anti-fungal and halts the few weird skin issues I've had over the years...

Thanks so much to everyone for the replies, and for all the info you shared never-give-up (and welcome to the forum!). It's really interesting and somewhat reassuring that other people are having ear issues too. And if eczema and psoriasis are both, as sarah says, immune related, then maybe it IS just another crazy lyme-related symptom. It really is a strange one . . .

never-give-up - I am being treated for Candida so thanks for that info. I will definitely try the lemon juice.

I really appreciate all of your comments on this. I think I am going to assume that it is somehow brought on or aggravated by the lyme then, and is yet another crazy lyme thing. I will definitely try the lemon juice never-give-up, so thanks for that . Is there no end to the havoc that lyme can cause in our bodies??

Ooh that's interesting happyjo. The term 'hydrogen peroxide' always scares me though and I've never used it :-/ - I have visions of pouring bleach down my ear/in my bath, although I'm sure it's a different thing entirely! ;-) I shall have to look into it . . . thanks x