Power button issues

So, I know our phones are getting old, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced issues with, shall we say, an itchy power button? I was having some stability issues with my GS3. Some issues were clearly software-related, so I wiped and started fresh with new firmware and a fresh ROM (running AICP). However, during the process, I removed the phone from the case (Otterbox commuter case) and noticed that the power button is a little wiggly and super sensitive, and sometimes doesn't "unpress" after I use it to shut off the screen and lock the phone, causing a forced reboot and problems getting it to fire up again. Also causes issues trying to force the phone to restart into download and/or recovery and instead sometimes bootloops because the button is still activated/"pressed". Pretty much any time I (or my pants pocket) touch the power button, it powers down and I have to gingerly restart and pull on the rubber button on the case to keep it from a boot loop.

Anyone have any ideas? I know the phone is old and probably not worth paying for a repair, but I can't afford a new phone and with lollipop it's otherwise still running pretty well. I'm trying to access the power menu from the dropdown instead of actually using the physical button, and using the home button to wake the phone, but it's freakin' annoying when the phone shuts down in my pocket and I don't realize it.