How to Deal With Earbuds Hurting Ears

earbuds hurting ears

Earbuds and headphones are great at making it easy to enjoy your music, movies, podcasts, or audiobooks, but they aren’t without their downsides. They can irritate your ears and cause discomfort, pain, and itching. They can also lead to infections, and they often create a build-up of wax that leads to muffled hearing. This can affect your ability to hear people around you and can even damage your hearing over time. So, if you are wearing earbuds and your ears hurt, here are some tips to help you deal with the discomfort and keep them healthy.

The ear canals are naturally self-cleaning, but wearing earbuds for long periods of time prevents this process from working. This means that earwax can build up and create a moist environment that bacteria love to grow in. This can lead to an ear infection known as swimmer’s ear. Earbuds can also push earwax deeper into the ear, creating a clogged ear canal. This can create pain, itching, and drainage from the ear.

In addition, earbuds that fit poorly can put too much pressure on the eardrums or the outer ear canal and cartilage. This can cause chafing of the ears and skin, which causes itching and can lead to ear infections. Earbuds can also irritate the outer part of your ears, called the pinna. This can happen if they are too tight or if they are worn for an extended period of time. It can also happen if you use earbuds that have a rough surface, such as Comply foam tips, which can scratch your ear canals.

Lastly, earbuds that are too loud can also cause ear pain and itchiness. This happens when you listen to music or other sounds at a high volume for long periods of time. It can also happen if the sound cancelling feature is activated on your phone or other device. It can be hard to tell if the volume is too high if you are used to listening to music at a lower level.

When you are using earbuds, it’s important to take breaks every 90 minutes and remove them. Give your ears a chance to rest, and try rotating them in the ears or twisting them a little so they aren’t always pressing on the same spot. You should also try switching to other kinds of headphones if your earbuds are giving you pain or making your ears itch. Different earbuds have different padding materials, shapes, and sizes that may work better for your ears. Also, try not to use earbuds when you are running or riding a bike and need to be aware of your surroundings. Instead, switch to over-the-ear headphones or choose bone conduction headphones that allow you to hear the world around you. This way, you can be safe and still listen to your favorite music or podcasts. It’s worth the extra effort to care for your ears so you can enjoy earbuds for years to come!