The Itchy Ears-Perimenopause Link No One Talks About, Plus Dr. Mary Claire Haver’s Hack for Relief
Dr. Mary Claire Haver shares a trick to end the itch in this week's 'What Matters With Liz' podcast
If women going through perimenopause had a bingo card for their health symptoms, we’d expect to see things like hot flashes and night sweats printed in those game squares. But itchy ears? That’s the midlife symptom that catches many of us by surprise. Itchy ears are one of the lesser-known symptoms of perimenopause, and the medical conversation around them is just now catching up to what so many of us have been quietly dealing with. As one woman on Reddit confesses, “I thought I’d just suddenly developed allergies.”
The topic broke through to a wider audience when Amy Poehler, 54, pointed out that itchy inner ears are a sneaky perimenopause symptom to Jennifer Lawrence, 35, on a recent episode of the Parks and Recreation star’s podcast Good Hang. That exchange put a spotlight on something menopause practitioners have been discussing for years but mainstream medicine has largely ignored.
Board-certified ob-gyn Mary Claire Haver, MD, a Menopause Society certified practitioner and New York Times best-selling author, has seen the reaction firsthand. “Itchy ears blow up the internet every time I talk about it,” Dr. Haver told Woman’s World editor-in-chief Liz Vaccariello during episode four of the What Matters With Liz podcast. “It has to do with skin and nerves, both of which change across the menopause transition.”
Woman's World Answers
So what’s actually happening inside the ear canal, what does the itch feel like and what can you do about it right now? We asked menopause specialists to break it all down.
What causes itchy ears during perimenopause?
A few common reasons you might experience itchy inner ears during perimenopause and menopause:
Hormone changes
“This happens because the skin in the ear is losing estrogen,” says ob-gyn and menopause specialist Cathleen Brown, MD, medical director for Winona. “When our estrogen levels decline, the skin itself also loses moisture, thickness and elasticity, which causes dryness, irritation and sometimes inflammation.”
Skin changes
With age, we also lose collagen, so the skin of your ears becomes drier, thinner and more delicate during this transition. Dr. Haver, who answers women’s top perimenopause questions in the latest Woman’s World podcast, explains the mechanics further: “As we go through menopause, our testosterone levels decline and our ability to utilize whatever testosterone we have decreases. We produce less sebum—less oil—so skin becomes very dry. We also lose 30 percent of our collagen. Transepidermal water loss increases. Dry, thin, unlubricated skin. And then we inflame the nerves. Put all of that in an ear canal where you can’t reach it, and that’s why your ears itch.”
And because the ear canal is such a small, hard-to-reach space, even minor dryness can produce disproportionate discomfort.
Earwax changes
“Changes to both estrogen and testosterone can influence oil and sebum production,” explains menopause expert Alyssa Dweck, MS, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Bonafide Health. That can mean more wax buildup and itchier skin in and around the ears.”
Nerve changes
“The other reason it happens comes down to nervous system sensitivity,” adds Vanessa Coppola, DNP, founder of Bare Soul Wellness. “Menopause is not only a hormone transition. It is also a neurological transition Estrogen interacts with sensory nerves and inflammation pathways. And when estrogen declines, nerve endings can become more reactive and more easily irritated.”
That change—nerve endings becoming more reactive—helps explain why the itch in your inner ear can feel so intense even when nothing appears to be wrong on the surface.
Itchiness isn’t limited to the ears alone
It’s not just an ear issue. Our body can become itchy anywhere—our face, breasts, legs—during this phase of life. “We have hormone receptors throughout the body, including the skin,” Dr. Dweck explains. “It makes sense that all organs, including our largest organ, the skin, would be affected by menopause-related hormone changes.”
“Dry scalp, dry eyes, dry skin, vaginal dryness and dry mouth are all part of the same physiologic story,” says Coppola. “The ear canal is just one more surface that can be affected, but it is rarely included in the menopause conversation.”
What do ‘itchy perimenopause ears’ really feel like?
“This can feel like intense itching even if the ear looks completely normal, with no visible infection or wax buildup,” Coppola says. “Many women describe it as a persistent itch that is hard to alleviate, sometimes accompanied by a feeling of fullness in the ear, mild burning or crawling sensations.”
And it’s not just inside the ear canal. Itchiness can be felt anywhere on the ear. “Wearing earrings can often be troublesome because the ear itches and the feeling of the weight of the earring can exacerbate that,” explains Coppola.
That disconnect between how the ear looks (perfectly normal) and how it feels (maddening) is part of what makes this symptom so confusing. Without a visible cause, it’s easy to dismiss or chalk up to something else entirely.
How common are itchy ears during perimenopause?
“Itchy ears are a very common, but overlooked, symptom of perimenopause and menopause,” says Dr. Brown. “This is something I have also personally experienced as a perimenopausal woman and physician.”
Coppola adds, “It is far more common than most women realize. It tends to surprise people because it is not something we were ever taught to associate with hormones.”
9 ways to treat itchy ears during perimenopause
Here’s what our experts recommend for those times when your ear feels itchy:
- Avoid overcleaning inside the ear canal, especially with a cotton swab.
- Resist the urge to scratch the itch. It could cause more irritation.
- Try moisturizing. “Gently apply a very small amount of moisturizer or skin protectant to the ear canal such as Vaseline, Aquaphor, coconut oil or even olive oil,” says Dr. Brown.
- Look for hyaluronic acid. Dr. Dweck recommends using “moisturizers that contain hyaluronic acid as a primary ingredient.” It is known to hold water and plump skin tissues.
- Use estrogen cream. “You could use a very small amount of topical estradiol cream, such as the vaginal estradiol cream which is used for genitourinary syndrome of menopause,” says Dr. Brown. And Dr. Haver echoes this approach: “Some patients apply a small amount of vaginal estrogen on a Q-tip to the ear canal.”
- Consider ear drops. Coppola says, “In my clinical practice, I recommend gentle, emollient-based drops rather than stripping, wax-removing drops.” One she recommends: Miracell ProEar Ear Drops.
- Drink more water. Staying hydrated supports your body’s moisture barrier. It won’t solve the problem of itchy ears on its own, but dehydration makes dryness worse.
- Turn on this device. “Especially during winter, when indoor heating dries the air, a humidifier can genuinely help because it reduces overall mucosal dryness in the home environment,” Coppola says.
- Try the Flonase trick. Dr. Haver shared this trick with her social media followers: “For quick comfort, you can use Flonase (fluticasone)—spray it on a Q-tip and gently apply inside the canal to calm inflammation and itching.”
Treating the root cause, not just symptoms
The tips above offer quick, short-term relief from itchy inner ears. But for lasting relief from itchy ears during perimenopause, you may want to address the root cause: changing hormones. “Addressing the bigger hormonal picture matters,” says Coppola. “Many women notice that once their overall menopause symptoms are better supported, including with hormone therapy when appropriate, the itchy ears improve along with other seemingly unrelated symptoms.”
She explains, “That is because you are not just treating a local itch. You are treating a systemic estrogen-related shift in skin integrity, nerve sensitivity and inflammation.”
When to see a doctor
If things don’t improve with these remedies, Dr. Dweck suggests making sure other “medical issues or environmental triggers” aren’t at play.
“It’s important to evaluate for eczema or dermatitis in the ear canal. Menopause can unmask or worsen inflammatory skin conditions like this,” says Coppola. ”In those cases, short-term topical anti-inflammatory (steroid) treatments may be needed, but only do this under the care of your provider.”
Other things that can mimic perimenopause ear itchiness include:
- Contact irritation from hair products
- Skin conditions such as psoriasis
- Chronic sinus inflammation
- Irritation from wearing hearing aids or earbuds
- Fungal infections
“If the itch is severe, painful, associated with discharge, hearing loss, bleeding or one-sided symptoms that persist, it should be evaluated,” says Coppola.
Why nobody told you about this sooner
Dr. Haver, whose upcoming book The New Perimenopause comes out in April, has described the knowledge gap bluntly: Many ob-gyns are simply not menopause-educated because “we don’t do that in training programs.” And that educational gap extends to ear-specific symptoms.
When Coppola says the ear canal “is rarely included in the menopause conversation,” she’s describing a blind spot in both clinical training and patient education that is only now beginning to close—partly through social media, partly through practitioners like those quoted here pushing the conversation forward and partly through moments like Poehler casually mentioning it on a podcast and thousands of people suddenly feeling seen.
The bottom line on itchy ears during perimenopause
Itchy ears during peri/menopause are common, manageable and often nothing to worry about. “Think gentle hydration and skin barrier protection,” Coppola says. With the right approach, you can soothe the itch and feel comfortable again.
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