Baby Keeps Scratching Ear

Sounds likes he's teething. The teething can affect the ear and it may just itch. I've seen this in a lot of babies. It's always good to ask the doctor, but if he says it's not an infection, it probably is teething.

Hi there- my babies weren't ear scratchers but just thought I'd share, I have awful allergies, food & environmental, I don't want to take anything right now because I'm breastfeeding my 8 month old so I'm just doing acupuncture to take the edge off. But my point is that my ears itch horrendously! Doctors just say they look irritated from being scratched and q-tipping, my acupuncturist says itching ears is usually a histamine reaction. So as sucky as it is you might try one by one taking out some of the big baby allergens in your diet to see if it helps.

p.s.-my little girl is a June 13th baby maybe we should set our babes up (=

K.
SAHM in North Roseville of a 3yr old boy & 8 month girl

Dear S.,
My son had done the same thing. I had people telling me all the time he has an ear infection, but he didn't. His ear itched. He could be having an allergy to something you are eating. Do you notice a rash anywhere else? I would eliminate corn, wheat and tomatoes from you diet for 2 weeks and see if it changes. Remember to read lables as corn is in most packaged foods. My son stopped after I figured out what he was allergic to. Best Wishes.
STac

Hi S.,

Once you rule out allergies, say if he only does it during nursing or when tired, then you might want to put a sock on his hand to keep him from scratching his ear to the point of scabs. My son had horrible eczema on his face, and he had socks on his hands until he was 1 because without it, he'd scratch his face until they scabbed. But to someone else's point, rule out eczema, allergies, etc. - which could be simply be watching when he does it. As other say, it could be just self-soothing.

My daughter used to do that and I finally attributed it to allergies and teething. Even though I've read they can't develop allergies til 3, I firmly believe that is what it was. When the allergy symptoms cleared up, the scratching stopped. When she was teething, I would notice the same scratching. You said when he nurses he does it, which makes sense because there is a lot going on in his ears as he swallows. But I don't think any of it is something to be concerned about. He'll eventually stop :-)

S.,

It sounds like it is comforting to him. Do you have a Taggie blanket for him? Or something with a lot of texture? Give him a toy that has lots of textures to rub and feel while eating and sleeping. Good luck!

Molly

My ped said that sometimes children will do that when they are teething as well... so check for some teefers.

Could be a little eczema? My friend's child did the same thing, and it was eczema for them. You could try putting a little cream on it and see if it helps. Usually eczema cream or hydrocortisone cream. Good luck!

I can totally sympathize and I don't think there is much you can do but wait for him to grow out of it. My son used to poke himself in the eye while I was feeding him. Yep you heard right. He just kept jamming his finger in his eye. TWICE he poked his eyeball so hard that he actually cut his eyeball and made it BLEED!! Even then he just kept doing it. He eventually justy grew out of the facination and luckily his sight didn't suffer!! Good luck!

Hi S.:

My 5 mo. old son has been scratching his head for a few months now. Same thing, I cut his nails etc. but he sometimes draws blood on his scalp. I notice that he only does this when he is very tired. It may be some sort of soothing mechanism. Ped tells me it's normal.

It sounds to me like a normal comfort habit - it's just unfortunate that he's scratching to the extent of having scabs. My 10 month old gently scratches the top of his head and tugs on his hair while nursing.

Hi S.

Does he do it at certain times? I ask because it sounds like he is allergic to something, perhaps something that you are eating and then passes thru to the breastmilk.. it's def worth thinking about.. Also, when you bathe him , the soap/shampoo used and or washing detergent for clothes could be too drying, I use soaps that DON'T have sodium laurel sulfates in them.. << this is what makes the suds/bubbles.. it's often too drying for both kids and adults.
I wish you the best!

When my daughter was that age she use tug her ear when she was tired. She still does it on occasion. I hated it because I didn't know if she was getting an ear infection or was tired.
I have also heard the teething thing and the comfort thing too. I wouldn't be too worried.

My daughter pulls one of her ears (while sucking her other thumb) when she is tired as a self-soothing mechanism to get to sleep. The pulling seems to have decreased as she has gotten older (2 yrs now). Ironically, when she did have 2 ear infections, she didn't pull on her ears at all!

He may be teething on that side. My baby pulls and rubs his ears when he is getting ready to cut a tooth on that side. He does it when he nurses too b/c the sucking must make him feel it.

My son also pulled his ears when he was tired. I tried starting naps/getting to bed a little earlier. It helped.

Good luck!

go to another doctor,this is not normal.he has something wrong.

I wouldn't worry about it...my daughter loves playing with her ears ...rubbing them, scratching, and things like that. She's done it since she was little and shes 18 months and still doing it. It's her comforting herself I see...she does it when shes relaxing or winding down for the day or before a nap. Sometimes she lays her head on my shoulder and rubs my ears! lol If thats what they do to comfort themselves I think its okay and they will grow out of it when there ready. Hope this helps! Have a great day!