Bald Spots Behind the Ears

I am a 37 year old black male. I have recently been getting bald spots on the back of my head, right behind my ears only. My hair is very coarse and for this reson I have been relaxing my hair for over 15 years but never received any bald spots. Right before the balding occurred there was intense itching

Could you have scratched too hard as to cause traction alopecia (hair loss from pulling or scratching)? Send me pictures to the address on the Contact page (please reference this post).