The home button not responding is probably the result of dust or a poor connection in the logic board. Here's a [guide|599|teardown] to open it up and check out the connections. You can also blow some compressed air inside to clear out any dust.
As for the ear speaker, it's possible that there is a bad connection between the speaker and the logic board. More likely, however, is that the speaker is dying and needs to be replaced. Both can be done with the same [guide|599|teardown] guide.