Dry Ears: What’s Causing It and What You Can Do

The first step to relieving your dry skin around your ears is to consider some of the potential causes. It’s nearly impossible to get an effective treatment without first understanding the initial cause. If you have doubts or concerns about the cause of your dry ears, schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider to get their insight, and hopefully, a diagnosis. You should also seek medical treatment if your dry ears begin to form crusts; start oozing blood, fluid, or pus; become red and inflamed; or become overly painful.

Review these causes and the symptoms commonly associated with each to see if they potentially match your personal experience with dry ears:

• Environment: Dry ears can be caused by an environment that is too hot, cold, or dry. For example, cold and windy weather during the winter can cause skin to dry out and contribute to dry ears. On the other hand, dry and hot weather during the summer can also cause skin to dry out. But your environment doesn’t just include areas outside of the home. Blasting the heat inside your home during the winter or the air conditioning inside your home during the summer can have the same drying effect on your skin.

• Sun exposure: Also related to the environment, sun exposure can also lead to dry ears. The sun can dry out any area of the body that doesn’t have proper protection from its powerful rays. One area that you commonly forget about when applying sunscreen is your ears! As a result, it’s not at all surprising to learn that ears experience high amounts of sun damage and exhibit a higher risk for developing skin cancer.

• Exposure to chemicals and other substances: Your ears are sensitive areas that can be negatively affected by chemicals and other substances. For example, swimming in a pool that’s heavily chlorinated can irritate your ears and lead to dryness. Cleaning your hair or face with harsh shampoos or soaps can also irritate your ears and contribute to redness and dryness.

• Hot water usage: Prolonged usage of hot water can contribute to dryness in the ears and other areas of the body. Hot water steals our skin’s natural oils and moisture, leading to dryness. Instead of using hot water for long periods of time when bathing or showering, it’s a better idea to use warm water for five to ten minutes.

• Dehydration: Not drinking enough water to hydrate the skin can cause dry ears. Our skin is made up of large amounts of water and requires substantial amounts of it to remain soft and healthy. Experts recommend that men consume about 15.5 cups of water a day and women consume about 11.5 cups of water a day.

• Smoking: The toxins in cigarette smoke can have a negative effect on the skin throughout the body, but especially around the face and ears. These toxins can dry out the skin and lead to the development of wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin.

In addition to environmental and lifestyle causes of dry ears, there are also chronic skin conditions to consider. Here are some common skin conditions that can cause dry ears:

• Eczema: Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema is a skin condition that appears as an itchy rash with cracked skin, scaly skin, or dry patches with a reddish-brown color. This condition can appear around areas like the ears, cheeks, arms, and legs and typically first develops during childhood.

• Psoriasis: Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder that appears as dry, red, or scaly patches on the skin that may also be itchy, painful, peeling, or discolored. This condition can appear in areas like the ears, face, scalp, palms, soles of the feet, knees, elbows, and lower back.

• Seborrheic dermatitis: Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition that appears as itchy white and crusty patches in areas like the ears, scalp, face, chest, and back.

• Contact dermatitis: Contact dermatitis is a skin condition that appears as a red rash with itchiness and scaliness after coming into contact with a substance. Essentially, it’s an allergic reaction. Incidences of contact dermatitis can be hard to predict and prevent, so it’s important to manage your existing triggers.