AirPods Pro HURT! *** 9/30/22 Update: Second Gen Work Great!

[jonnyb098]

I love these things in just about every way but OUCH!!!! My right ear is so damn sore after just 20-30 minutes of use. Regular AirPods fit my ears like a glove but I wanted to the new Pros for higher end sound which they do provide. But I’ll probably be returning them. I’ve twisted them every which way and tried all the tips to no success. My right ear just isn’t having it.

The plastic part is simply much larger than the standard pods. Ironically I’m curious to hear what others say who say they “fit their ears better”. I think you all mean they don’t fall out easy. Which is awesome.

 

[richpjr]

I love these things in just about every way but OUCH!!!! My right ear is so damn sore after just 20-30 minutes of use. Regular AirPods fit my ears like a glove but I wanted to the new Pros for higher end sound which they do provide. But I’ll probably be returning them. I’ve twisted them every which way and tried all the tips to no success. My right ear just isn’t having it.

The plastic part is simply much larger than the standard pods. Ironically I’m curious to hear what others say who say they “fit their ears better”. I think you all mean they don’t fall out easy. Which is awesome.

Mine fit my ears better, and by that I mean way more comfortable than the first 2 generations. They stay in perfectly though I have a medium tip on the left ear and a large tip on the right ear. I listened non-stop for 3 hours today at work and did not notice them even being in my ears. Clearly there are certain ear canal shapes that it works for because there seems to be a big variation on who they work for.

 

[lyngo]

I returned mine today. It was just too painful for me. Great sound profile but it hurt too much.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes AirPods don’t feel like they should
Tim...you make it hurt so good

 

[pcd213]

I went to the Apple Store today, tried them on, and hated them right away. The design is VERY different from the original Airpods. Thay are much bigger and the added silicon tip is as stupid as all the other companies that use this type of fitting - and it does not fit comfortably into my ears because it goes much deeper into the canal, and because of the weight, they just don't stay in place. I understand all the great technical and sound improvements Apple put into these Airpods Pro, but the comfort went down the drain. I won't buy this version. I'll continue using the Airpods 1,2 and wait until the designers come to their senses.

I have to agree, which is why I returned them and purchased AirPods 2 with the wireless case.

My first thought was how painful active noise cancelling was. My head felt like all of the air had been sucked out from it. I feared that this would be the case, as I had similar experiences with active noise cancelling over the ear headphones, but I trusted the reviews that Apple had solved this problem. Not for me.

My second thought was how uncomfortable they felt in my ears. I then tried the smaller ear tips which felt a bit better but still not great. I actually don't think it's the ear tips but instead the size and shape of the speaker and its surrounding case. For some reason, that larger and more oval shape doesn't work well in my ears.

I put an AirPod 1 in my left ear and an AirPod Pro in my right ear to test the sound differences. I honestly couldn't hear very much difference, if any at all. Maybe I'm an audio novice, but sharing my thoughts there.

I did love how quickly the AirPods Pro connected to and from my phone and my laptop. Seriously, they were nearly perfect in that regard. My AirPods 1 were so very sluggish in connecting to devices, more slowly with my iPhone than my MacBook Pro. But when they were already connected to a device, it took ages to re-connect them to another device and often times didn't connect. It appears that the AirPods 2 are a bit faster than the AirPods 1 in connection speeds but incredibly slow compared with the AirPods Pro.

So, I'm sad the AirPods Pro didn't work out for me but I'm at least glad I found something that is cheaper, lighter, more comfortable, and does what I need it to do.

 

[retta283]

I love these things in just about every way but OUCH!!!! My right ear is so damn sore after just 20-30 minutes of use. Regular AirPods fit my ears like a glove but I wanted to the new Pros for higher end sound which they do provide. But I’ll probably be returning them. I’ve twisted them every which way and tried all the tips to no success. My right ear just isn’t having it.

The plastic part is simply much larger than the standard pods. Ironically I’m curious to hear what others say who say they “fit their ears better”. I think you all mean they don’t fall out easy. Which is awesome.

Sadly AirPods never worked for me, and I don't think Pros would either. My right ear canal is so small that it is impossible for much to fit into it. Left ear is pretty good, but I cannot wear earbuds in my right ear.

At least the Sony headphones I have work great and have lasted me a good chunk of my life. But I do wish I could have something less bulky for moving around.

 

[royinla14]

I have to agree, which is why I returned them and purchased AirPods 2 with the wireless case.

My first thought was how painful active noise cancelling was. My head felt like all of the air had been sucked out from it. I feared that this would be the case, as I had similar experiences with active noise cancelling over the ear headphones, but I trusted the reviews that Apple had solved this problem. Not for me.

My second thought was how uncomfortable they felt in my ears. I then tried the smaller ear tips which felt a bit better but still not great. I actually don't think it's the ear tips but instead the size and shape of the speaker and its surrounding case. For some reason, that larger and more oval shape doesn't work well in my ears.

I put an AirPod 1 in my left ear and an AirPod Pro in my right ear to test the sound differences. I honestly couldn't hear very much difference, if any at all. Maybe I'm an audio novice, but sharing my thoughts there.

I did love how quickly the AirPods Pro connected to and from my phone and my laptop. Seriously, they were nearly perfect in that regard. My AirPods 1 were so very sluggish in connecting to devices, more slowly with my iPhone than my MacBook Pro. But when they were already connected to a device, it took ages to re-connect them to another device and often times didn't connect. It appears that the AirPods 2 are a bit faster than the AirPods 1 in connection speeds but incredibly slow compared with the AirPods Pro.

So, I'm sad the AirPods Pro didn't work out for me but I'm at least glad I found something that is cheaper, lighter, more comfortable, and does what I need it to do.

Exactly same situation. Returned and went back to 2. Potentially thinking to give it another try once available with holiday return policy for longer term but you are right on point that the larger oval shape of the actual AirPod is what hurts. I thought these will be the perfect AirPods but unfortunately didn’t work for me

 

[mjodotcom]

Exactly same situation. Returned and went back to 2. Potentially thinking to give it another try once available with holiday return policy for longer term but you are right on point that the larger oval shape of the actual AirPod is what hurts. I thought these will be the perfect AirPods but unfortunately didn’t work for me

Yea, the bigger body size of the AirPod body is my issue as well - not canal size. As I said though, I do think my ears actually are getting use to them as I wear them more. Problem is now I don't think I can go back to AirPods 2 either because I put them back in my ears (wife has them now) and its incredible how much more loose they feel now that I have the APP to compare them too - the audio difference is also apparent. Damn you Apple lol

 

[Gamer-Dad]

Sorry you guys are having issues. Have had mine since launch day, gym 6 days a week for 3 hours a day, weight lifting, running, cycling, stair stepper, rowing, HIT workouts. Things don't budge, feel great in my ears, never feel like they are falling out, light (compared to my PBP), sound great, never skips a beat paired with my Apple Watch (I don't carry my phone with me in the gym). Loving these Pro's...

 

[royinla14]

Sorry you guys are having issues. Have had mine since launch day, gym 6 days a week for 3 hours a day, weight lifting, running, cycling, stair stepper, rowing, HIT workouts. Things don't budge, feel great in my ears, never feel like they are falling out, light (compared to my PBP), sound great, never skips a beat paired with my Apple Watch (I don't carry my phone with me in the gym). Loving these Pro's...

Forget about the pro. I’ll take your workout routine! Good for you

 

[pcd213]

Exactly same situation. Returned and went back to 2. Potentially thinking to give it another try once available with holiday return policy for longer term but you are right on point that the larger oval shape of the actual AirPod is what hurts. I thought these will be the perfect AirPods but unfortunately didn’t work for me

It’s so refreshing to hear I wasn’t the only one. I thought I was a black sheep. I really enjoy the lightness of the non pro AirPod design. That’s not to say that it’s perfect. After wearing them for too long they do get uncomfortable, but I found the AirPods Pro uncomfortable all the time.

My only hesitation in buying the AirPods 2 was remembering that Tim mentioned the AirPods vs AirPods Pro distinction was intentional, meaning there will be an update to the non pro AirPods. I don’t prefer to buy items mid cycle but I don’t have a choice; my AirPods 1 are due for an upgrade.

 

[royinla14]

It’s so refreshing to hear I wasn’t the only one. I thought I was a black sheep. I really enjoy the lightness of the non pro AirPod design. That’s not to say that it’s perfect. After wearing them for too long they do get uncomfortable, but I found the AirPods Pro uncomfortable all the time.

My only hesitation in buying the AirPods 2 was remembering that Tim mentioned the AirPods vs AirPods Pro distinction was intentional, meaning there will be an update to the non pro AirPods. I don’t prefer to buy items mid cycle but I don’t have a choice; my AirPods 1 are due for an upgrade.

If it helps costco has the 2nd gen now for $140

 

[John90976]

I'm glad I waded through the crap. This is the hardest Apple product to like for probably the most people ever. These hurt my ears terribly until about a few days ago now they're very comfy, and ANC made me about puke. When after first putting them on I instinctively took one out and accidentally covered the sensor leaving ANC on in the other airpod, just about shorting my brain. Otherwise it's all been magical with the force sensor, took about a day for ANC to be normalized, though I feel like for me at least its comfortability is related to how stressed I am which is odd but whatever, at least I know. Would recommend if you are willing to let your ears adapt if they can, not casting aspersions, I dont what happened or if they can but the pain has left.

 

[lsatterfield]

This makes me concerned with a future purchase. The basic EarPods that come with iPhone fit just fine in my ears and don't cause me any pain. I've had a pair of Sony pods years ago with rubber tips that caused me discomfort, because the ends were pretty pointy.

I'm nervous that because I'm one whom the originals fit well that these new ones will be painful. But are the EarPods and AirPods the same shape...?

For whom it may concern: Have you had both versions and not had issues with either fitting well/causing pain?

 

[royinla14]

I'm glad I waded through the crap. This is the hardest Apple product to like for probably the most people ever. These hurt my ears terribly until about a few days ago now they're very comfy, and ANC made me about puke. When after first putting them on I instinctively took one out and accidentally covered the sensor leaving ANC on in the other airpod, just about shorting my brain. Otherwise it's all been magical with the force sensor, took about a day for ANC to be normalized, though I feel like for me at least its comfortability is related to how stressed I am which is odd but whatever, at least I know. Would recommend if you are willing to let your ears adapt if they can, not casting aspersions, I dont what happened or if they can but the pain has left.

This is so interesting cause I totally felt nauseous wearing these. That’s why I returned and considering getting again once holiday return extended to possibly try and get used to

 

[Cryates]

Loved everything about the AirPods Pro, except for the pain they caused me. I’ve had them a week and a half, but they just aren’t going to get any more comfortable and it’s not worth the discomfort. Back to the trusty AirPods for me.

 

[jonnyb098]

Funny when I returned them at the Apple store the guy who helped me out said his give him the exact same discomfort as me/many others here. It’s pushing on a part of the ear....like the upper part of the inner ear. I have little doubt it’s purely because the actual pod itself is noticeably larger than the Gen1/2 AirPods.

 

[nyc232]

Funny when I returned them at the Apple store the guy who helped me out said his give him the exact same discomfort as me/many others here. It’s pushing on a part of the ear....like the upper part of the inner ear. I have little doubt it’s purely because the actual pod itself is noticeably larger than the Gen1/2 AirPods.

One could only hope they move the battery back to the stem, and make the pod smaller.

 

[Wxchaser]

Apple processed my refund for the Airpods Pro & Apple Care for headphones, to my Apple Card. Seeing as the return shipment was received by around 1000 AM yesterday morning, that was pretty quick.

I do wish Apple would acknowledge my feedback personally in some way (left comments about fit and ear pain on apple.com/feedback - but I know well that isn't going to happen)!

 

[saurabh_c]

Sigh, I want to love these things so bad but they hurt and cause very obvious redness in my ears. I’ve tried all three tip sizes over the past two days with breaks in-between, still hurt.

How could gen 1 & 2 fit so comfortaby, sometimes even forgetting they were on.

What could be the major design difference that could be causing this?

Also, threads on reddit are starting to pop up with others having the same issue.

Thanks.

Possible (weird) solution:

I had similar issue where my ears started to hurt within minutes after inserting Airpods Pro. I realized it was because of the friction between the silicon tips and my dry ear skin. So I started applying body lotion to my ears every once in a while to reduce that friction and now they don't hurt my ears at all.

 

[pcd213]

For what it’s worth, I find the Apple Watch incredibly uncomfortable, as well. As Apple expands the wearable technology lineup, they must move away from a one- or two-size-fits-all products.

 

[Cryates]

One thing that’s confusing me in the reaction to these is seeing two things consistently...”they fit better” and “they’re more comfortable”.

I think those two expressions are being widely used because they just stay in the ears better, which is true, but I’d love to know how how many folks are experiencing pain and aren’t necessarily saying so. I tried to work my way through the pain, hoping it would go away with time, but it just isn’t happening.

 

[chris4565]

Just received mine today. Sooo: Sound great, ANC, transparency mode are awesome, comfort: Hmmm, not so great unfortunately. My left ear likes these a lot but in my right ear I have the problem that a lot have written here about previously: The now bigger plastic pod pushes against a certain part of my ear that produces an astounding amount of pain sometimes when I move my face e. g. smile. Awesome: With the first AirPods I can't move my face because they tend to fall out then and here I can't move my face because these tend to hurt ?
The thing is: It's incredibly finicky. Depending on exactly how they sit in my ear the pain goes from absolutely none over slightly uncomfortable to "Gosh, these really hurt". I haven't yet found a reliable way to put them into my right ear so that they sit in there comfortably.
I really want to love them and I really hope that my right ear gets accustomed to them more if I continue to wear them.

Edit: Switching to the small tips already helped a bit because this way I can push them more into my ear canal.

 

[batman75]

I was a bit disappointed with them. They don't hurt but they keep falling out. They are significantly less stable in ear than the original AirPods

 

[jonnyb098]

Apple processed my refund for the Airpods Pro & Apple Care for headphones, to my Apple Card. Seeing as the return shipment was received by around 1000 AM yesterday morning, that was pretty quick.

I do wish Apple would acknowledge my feedback personally in some way (left comments about fit and ear pain on apple.com/feedback - but I know well that isn't going to happen)!

Trust me they monitor feedback and even the forums here. Phil Schiller said as much last year during an interview then have a team of people that monitor the ramblings on the web. These things are pure money makers for Apple. Very high margin and millions of people use AirPods. It’s possible they’ll make adjustments slowly over time or maybe add different styles of ear tips. Who knows.

But one thing is certain, Apple reads macrumors just like the rest of us. Why do you think they get so ticked off when stuff leaks on this site and others.