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

[Wxchaser]

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.

Thanks jonnyb098! Changing ear tips would be no help to me - it is the bulbous plastic construction that bothered my ears, especially the right ear. The pain was not worth the cost of the Airpods Pro.

From what I have seen here, on other sites, reddit, etc. - plenty of folks have returned theirs as well.

 

[mbhforum]

So with the OG airpods I needed to buy foam tips because the hard plastic would cause my ears to be sore after awhile.

With the APP’s , I’ve noticed my ears get a little itchy after wearing them awhile. It’s not pain, just a little annoyance. Anyone else experience this?

 

[Laurence Gordon]

I had the same issue, using the medium size inserts, the ridges in my ear hurt in a dull ache, like I had a subcutaneous pimple or something. I changed to the largest size and put the airpods into, but not all the way into my ear, so the bulbous part does not touch the ridges in my ears. They pass the ear fit test and no longer cause any pain. I was under the impression that the airpod had to be buried in my ear canal and that's not the case. It should sit in as shallowly as possible as long as it passes the fit test.

 

[CraigB1960]

I hated the design of the AirPods 1&2, would not fit my ears. The AirPods Pros fit me well and I have no problem going the full charge time on them.

 

[Datsyuk]

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.

Sadly...they hurt my ears as well. Not returning them...but I can’t keep them for very long without painful discomfort.

 

[Jimmy James]

I poked myself with a spoon and a fork. Only one hurt. What could be the major design difference?

 

[wes2006ag]

Gave mine 10 days but they hurt. I kept thinking it would get better but it didn’t so they went back today. I’ve spent the last week trying to convince myself that these were right for me but living with the pain just isn’t a viable option.

I really wanted to like these. They sound great and ANC is a cool feature but they were really bothering me. They didn’t hurt too much in the ears but taking them out I could tell something wasn’t right. I was in my car listening to the radio today and cranked it up when a good song came on. I turned it to a volume that has always been fine but my ears were still hurting from wearing the APP earlier in the day. That was the moment I decided they needed to go back.

Happy with my AirPods 2.

 

[whyh]

Well, they fit me perfectly, but somehow the microphone(or whatever is in the black dot) that goes inside the ear scratched it. Like literally, pealed off the upper skin layer.. Wtf? I used to wear large IEMs, and never experienced anything like this.

Has Anyobody had a similar issue? I really don't want to throw them away, except the scratching they fit perfectly

 

[perezr10]

I’ve started wearing my AirPods 2s again around the house when I don’t need ANC. Simply because they're more comfortable And don’t fall out.

 

[Lloyd Hird]

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.

LOL.......Let me get this straight, you think the silicone tips are stupid and that Apple need to come to their senses because YOU don't like them?? You really should get over yourself buddy. I personally couldn't be happier with the pros. I get it's probably frustrating for you because you aren't able to get the benefits, but hundreds of thousands of others can use these now, that couldn't use Airpods at all before. On top of that there are many MANY happy users that converted from the AirPods series 1 or 2 and have no experienced the downside that you have.

Go back to using your other airpods and get over yourself
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This is true for all IEMs. All IEMs hurt no matter what people say. There is no exception. It’s simple physics. There’s nothing you can do about it. EarPods/AirPods are well engineered marvels. AirPods Pro are basically average IEMs in terms of design and aesthetics. They will hurt. But they’ll also sound better.

Well they dont hurt me at all, so I guess you're wrong!

 

[Lloyd Hird]

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.

I never had any pain whatsoever with the Airpods Pro. There was a strange sensation when I used ANC for t he first time, but this wasn't painful, just a different feeling.

I honestly cannot fault the fit for either size or comfort

 

[itsmilo]

I noticed that if I have ANC on and no music playing, I feel dizzy, literally as if I am about to vomit. As soon as I play music or put them out of ANC it stops

 

[CarlJ]

I noticed that if I have ANC on and no music playing, I feel dizzy, literally as if I am about to vomit. As soon as I play music or put them out of ANC it stops

I'd venture a guess that with music playing, the AirPods only have to make minor (but constant) tweaks to the music that's playing, to mask out background sound, but with nothing playing, they have to generate rather stronger "sound" to mask out the background, in order to result in "nothing".

I mean, theoretically, they're creating tiny air waves that are the opposite of what would be coming in your ear canal at that moment, so they cancel out, and the air just outside your eardrum is standing still... but they don't react instantaneously, or perfectly, so there is some overshoot.

A lot of your sense of balance comes from your inner ears (and it's all a bit interconnected with your sinus cavities), if I recall correctly. Buffeting them around with such continual small bursts of air could easily disrupt your sense of balance. Vaguely related, I've noticed that, normally, turning my head upside down has no ill effects, but if I have a head cold, doing so can make me dizzy.

 

[jquebedeaux]

I just got my AirPod Pro, trying to get used to them. The former AirPods were perfect for me, and I had the expectation these would feel the same. I'm in the same boat as many as they put a lot of pressure with the end of the plastic and tips. I'm a small guy, so I figured go small on the inserts. No change or even worse. Then i saw the suggestion to go the other way (go large). Well, that's working for me pretty well now. Not as good as the former, but i've had them in my ears for an hour and probably need to give my ears a break. But i'm still experimenting. I really like the modes for transparency/noise canceling/all off. I used to use a third party app to give me the transparency part for when i'm out walking and need to hear what's going on (cars, etc.) around me. Anyhow, my 2 cents so far.

 

[domemvs]

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat. I can't use neither Airpods nor Airpods Pro. I was so pumped for the Pro version until I got mine recently. They hurt my ear cartilage on both sides. Can't wear them longer than 10-15 minutes and I'm far from ever forgetting them being in my ear. I have to return them.

Makes me very sad. I have hopes now that maybe the new "Airpods X" Apple is about to announce have a new form factor that fit better but I doubt it.

 

[Zanton68]

I’ve had a lot of in ear headphones over the years, Sony, Sennheiser, RHA, Beats X, AirPods and now, AirPods Pro. I have never had any issues with itching or discomfort with any of the silicon tips (or the original AirPods). With silicon tips the smallest size has been the best fit and the most comfortable. With the AirPods Pro I started with medium which were fine but found they would itch, so switched to small. Both fit fine and both are comfortable, secure and pass the Ear Tip Fit Test but both sizes itch. I switched back to some Sennheiser’s and AirPods. They don’t itch. Finally I switched to the large tips for the AirPods Pro and they don’t seem to itch at all.....but using the large tips means the hard plastic isn’t as far in my ear as with the medium and small tips. On this basis I can only assume that the hard casing of the AirPods Pro that is a different material to the original AirPods or, for me, the shape of the AirPods Pro isn’t suited to my ears. It’s odd that after all these years and all the different types of headphones this is first time I have experienced this specific problem

 

[tonythemayfly]

Had the same issue with scratching and skin-peeling but I think instead of the microphone it might be that tiny gap going around the earbud. One side of it on my left earbud was slightly higher than the other. After polishing it a bit the scratchy feeling goes away completely so definitely worth a try

 

[WynterTheCat]

Mine literally make my ears bleed. To be fair, I wear them for up to 12 hours a day (construction noise) but still, both ears have scabs on them.

 

[batman75]

Mine literally make my ears bleed. To be fair, I wear them for up to 12 hours a day (construction noise) but still, both ears have scabs on them.

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You need a different brand. This form factor is not a good fit. Have you had a look at the Bose ones that just came out?

 

[BigMcGuire]

In-Ear headphones have always hurt my ears if I wear them >2-3 hours. I had a wired pair I used for long airline trips but I could only wear them for 2-3 hours before they started to hurt REALLY bad.

AirPod Pros are similar - I can wear them a little longer but they start to itch and hurt after 3 hours.

This is why I like AirPods 2 - I can wear those all day without any problems and no pain.

But nothing quite like popping in AirPods Pro - sitting back, closing eyes, and listening to a thunderstorm, rain, and wind. Major de-stresser .

 

[jakeuten]

AirPod Pros make my ears itch after some time too, but I find them far more comfortable than the OG AirPods. I owned AirPods because they worked so well with my iPhone but didn't particularly like listening to music for long periods of time. AirPods Pro are definitely more comfortable to wear for longer than 30 minutes, but the downside is I feel like I need to tear the insides of my ear out when I'm done listening.

 

[WynterTheCat]

You need a different brand. This form factor is not a good fit. Have you had a look at the Bose ones that just came out?

I have not.

 

[Cassiecat]

I’ve posted similar myself... the issue for me isn’t the tip - it’s the “pod” itself, which is larger than the Series 1/2 “pod”. It’s causing quite a bit of discomfort after 10 minutes or so, with me trying to twist them a bit to ease the pain. I’ll try them next week for my runs on base (what I got them for); if the pain continues, I’ll return them and stick with PB Pro for PT and regular AirPods for casual listening/phone calls.

I’m having the same issue they hurt the skin inside the antitragus; it’s because the Airpods pro are two pieces put together not very well and there is a sharp edge where they meet, abrading the skin. Trying to figure out how to cover this sharp edge

 

[boultonn]

Can't believe I hadn't seen this thread before, felt sure I'd searched for others having this issue...
Interesting reading other people's experiences, think I fall into the category of people who just get ear ache after having them in, but iirc only in one ear.

Since they were launched I've bought them twice and returned them both times, the second time I think I'd genuinely convinced myself that I could just live with it until my ears adapted, alas!
It's annoying as the regular AirPods fit fine and work great, but the battery life is dreadful and I don't want to buy another pair now with the rumours about an update soon.

What I do find weird about the Pros is that I once managed something like a 90 minute tube ride with them in just listening to music and they were pretty much fine, minimal discomfort, however when I use them at home for work calls, I find them much less pleasant after maybe 30 mins, so presume its the movement of my jaw while talking on calls that is contributing.

Fingers crossed next-gen features some sort of minor design tweak that might solve this issue for at least some of us.

 

[Volts72]

Although apple insists that the irritation is due to aseptic practice. I stand by my word that I have used Bose in ear headphones for many years with no issue. The intolerance or allergic response to the AirPod Pros is related to the formulation of the rubberised fittings.

There have been significant concerns related to this topic and APPLE should further investigate to determine what chemical ingredient, most probably a petrochemical is the cause.