Help! My 3 yr old son has an obsession...how do I handle it?

[libuse]

I have 3 boys...5, 3 and 1. When our baby was born a little over a year ago, our middle child started grabbing at his ears. This touching/pulling/grabbing most of the time does NOT seem to bother our baby, but it is sooooo irritating that our 3 year old does it constantly. At first, we thought it was a jealousy act. But it has been AN ENTIRE YEAR and he STILL does it!!!! Possibly it was a jealousy act that turned into a very bad habit? It happens multiple times a day. If I had to guess, I would say at least 20-30x a day. Sometimes, I'll put him in time outs for it, and he'll come right out of it and go do it again. Overall, he is a wonderful child....but this one downfall is very frustrating for my husband and I to deal with. He even makes a little "grunting" sound as he is doing it. Again, the baby doesn't cry or seem to be bothered by it, but we parents are. Is there a way to get him to STOP this behavior? Should I be concerned about this behavior? Are there any therapists that can give me any advice?? I find myself getting so annoyed that I will yell at him about it at times. I know that is not the best solution, but when you see it happen over and over and over, it really gets to you and my patience disappears. HELP!

[Enudely]

this reminds me of when my daughter (then 3 as well) would rub her lips. We were going through a lot of changes at the time as well, a new baby AND a move. She would rub her lips because she said they were too wet and it got to the point where they were totally raw and bright red all the time. She looked like she had a clown mouth and still, she kept wiping them!
I got really impatient about it too, but I don't think it helped. I just kept telling her to be gentle with her poor little lips. I think the less attention you give it, the better. The problem will eventually go away on it's own after all the changes die down.
You may try a sticker chart or something if you really want to change the behavior faster. How about saying he gets a sticker if he can go a certain amount of time (make it really short at first and set a timer!) without dong it. Try to keep it positive and fun, like a game.
GOOD LUCK !!! This too shall pass!!

[RoViMama]

I honestly would ignore it and let the 1 yr old tell the 3 yr old when he had enough. Eventually the 1 yr old will make it know how he feels about it.

[BeanyMama]

He may keep it up because it bothers you guys so much! Not that he's aiming for naughtiness, but he's 3. I would try my best to ignore it, since it doesn't bother the baby, and see if it gets old.