Allergic reaction to silicone tips on AirPods Pro (and PowerBeats Pro)

[LeonPro]

I experience the same with any in-ear pods of any brand that I own over the years - Jaybirds, etc.

I switched to AirPods 2 with no issues. Then when the AirPods Pro came out, I switched to it and experienced ear infection again.

Gave it to my wife and she has no issues for the APP. I went back to the AirPods.

I'm avoiding anything that goes in my ear regardless of brand. Not worth it.

 

[doboy]

Ended up here thinking I was the only one with the crusty, leaking, irritated ears.

My issue actually started with Bose Powerbeats Pros after using them for about a year. It started on a day when I left then in/on for about 6 hours. Not only did the tips irritate my ears but the silicone on the ear hooks irritated the back and top of my ears as well. I was baffled after letting them heal for a week, trying again, and having the same reaction.

After a couple of months of using my over-ear headphones, I decided to give Airpod Pros a try (I could never use orig Airpods as they don't stay in my ears.) After a couple of days of light usage, they've given me the same reaction.

Just ordered the Comply foam tips linked above. Thanks, @fab465 !

Comply tips didn’t solve it for me, unfortunately. Have some reaction with Apple tips, 3rd party black silicone tips, and Comply tips as well So I’m avoiding APP and using my 2nd gen AP and may buy a Max.

 

[Juandagis]

Happened with me. Apple actually gave me a full refund including apple care after many months of usage. They actually asked them to return them with a notice that a certain engineer wanted to see them. Same thing happens with my beats. I bought the AirPods again because I missed them, but I used cheap memory foam tips from amazon and no more reactions, just a little itchy sometimes. Now I just need to find some memory foam for my beats. Getting the AirPods Max tomorrow.

 

[iosuser]

The foam tips I bought are branded "PZOZ" on Amazon, chosen strictly because they were the cheapest. They came as 3 pairs of one each small/medium/large. I went straight for the medium as I always do on earbuds with tips, and didn't feel quite right. Then went for large and bass seemed lacking. Surprisingly the small is what fits me, most comfortable and best sounding. I don't know about other brands, but the PZOZ also comes in 3 packs of the same size if you want. The trick is of course knowing which size works for you.

They work absolutely great for me. Zero irritation on my ears, sounds great, and great fitment for me. If other foam tips didn't work for you, maybe give these a try. My reaction to the original Airpods Pro tips was pretty severe. Just wearing them for merely minutes will cause drainage and irritation for days. I am curious to know if I'm still allergic to the original tips, if you've read my OP. I had this allergic reaction many years (decades?) ago. Used PowerBeats Pro for months with no problem and all of a sudden the problem returned.

 

[Doodah7]

Just to add to the chorus on this. Purchased AirPods Pro last March and no issue for the first while. Come October/November I had the leaking ears issue followed by an ear infection in each ear.

I've switched to Comply foam tips which have alleviated the issue considerably but I would not say 100% completely. There is clearly an issue with the materials used or the nature of the noise cancelling technology being employed. It can only be one or the other in my opinion.

 

[Ghost31]

Apparently this happens on the AirPods max too. What’s going on Apple. Ya hate my ears or what?

 

[JamesHabit1982]

This has happened to my wife's ears as well.

Anyone else managed to get a refund from Apple?

 

[iL15hts]

Update: The product arrived 2 days ago and seems my problem had been solved! I’m so happy.

I have this problem too. I tried variety of third party eartips without any success. I think it's the plastic material itself. Today I just saw a product like this. I ordered one let's see if this fix my issue.

 

[sofarso]

Update: The product arrived 2 days ago and seems my problem had been solved! I’m so happy.

I have this problem too. I tried variety of third party eartips without any success. I think it's the plastic material itself. Today I just saw a product like this. I ordered one let's see if this fix my issue.

Is the problem still resolved for you?

 

[monroerr]

I gave up and just went back to the AirPods 2 which are plain plastic. I can wear those all day without a reaction. I would just avoid the silicone tipped pro's all together.

 

[iL15hts]

Is the problem still resolved for you?

I’m afraid the problem still persists. I sold my AirPods pro months ago 😥

 

[monroerr]

I gave mine to my spouse who does not appear to have the same sensitivity.

 

[iosuser]

Sorry to bump this old post, but I thought it might be relevant with the release of the AirPods Pro 2. So I bought the APP2 yesterday. Popped the foam tips I've been using with my OG APP (to avoid the allergic reaction) onto the APP2. Wasn't happy with the sound quality with those foam tips on the APP2, somewhat reluctantly I put the new APP2 silicone tips back on. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound quality, and more importantly, it did not trigger the allergic reaction I experienced with the OG APP silicone tips.

I don't know if Apple made a change to the material, or if I simply got over that allergy. Any of you guys here care to experiment with your ears?

 

[Ghost31]

Sorry to bump this old post, but I thought it might be relevant with the release of the AirPods Pro 2. So I bought the APP2 yesterday. Popped the foam tips I've been using with my OG APP (to avoid the allergic reaction) onto the APP2. Wasn't happy with the sound quality with those foam tips on the APP2, somewhat reluctantly I put the new APP2 silicone tips back on. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound quality, and more importantly, it did not trigger the allergic reaction I experienced with the OG APP silicone tips.

I don't know if Apple made a change to the material, or if I simply got over that allergy. Any of you guys here care to experiment with your ears?

THIS is exactly what I’ve been wondering about. I really want to get the AirPods Pro 2 but I had such a bad reaction to the originals that I’ve held off. Would be nice to know the new ones fix the allergic reaction issue. Hopefully more people can comment on this

 

[monroerr]

So a few weeks ago all of a sudden my ears became allergic to my PowerBeats Pro, becoming itchy and ear drainage starts within an hour. I used them for months with no problem. I had this problem many many years ago, and I thought I had grown out of it. It's a mystery why it returned all of a sudden. Knowing the AirPods Pro tips will likely cause the same reaction from a thread on Apple, I tried it anyway. They lasted a bit longer before the itching started, and sure enough drainage started soon after.

Do any of you here have this allergic reaction? Any solutions, replacement tips, etc?

Allergic to AirPod Pro eartips - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

http://

Sorry to bump this old post, but I thought it might be relevant with the release of the AirPods Pro 2. So I bought the APP2 yesterday. Popped the foam tips I've been using with my OG APP (to avoid the allergic reaction) onto the APP2. Wasn't happy with the sound quality with those foam tips on the APP2, somewhat reluctantly I put the new APP2 silicone tips back on. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound quality, and more importantly, it did not trigger the allergic reaction I experienced with the OG APP silicone tips.

I don't know if Apple made a change to the material, or if I simply got over that allergy. Any of you guys here care to experiment with your ears?

Good to hear. I will be interested in knowing whether this holds true over many weeks. I had terrible reactions to the ear tips. I have assumed that Apple might change the silicone sourcing over the years and not say anything about it. I have not been willing to risk investing in new EarPods given the high cost. Honestly I have been perfectly happy with my old regular EarPods for now. When I need real noise cancelling such as on long airplane trips, I use my Bose headset. Keep us posted. Thanks.

 

[MisterSavage]

Sorry to bump this old post, but I thought it might be relevant with the release of the AirPods Pro 2. So I bought the APP2 yesterday. Popped the foam tips I've been using with my OG APP (to avoid the allergic reaction) onto the APP2. Wasn't happy with the sound quality with those foam tips on the APP2, somewhat reluctantly I put the new APP2 silicone tips back on. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound quality, and more importantly, it did not trigger the allergic reaction I experienced with the OG APP silicone tips.

I don't know if Apple made a change to the material, or if I simply got over that allergy. Any of you guys here care to experiment with your ears?

Thanks for sharing this. One of the reasons I've not purchased AirPods is because of the reaction I had to my silicone Apple Watch band.

 

[Ghost31]

THIS is exactly what I’ve been wondering about. I really want to get the AirPods Pro 2 but I had such a bad reaction to the originals that I’ve held off. Would be nice to know the new ones fix the allergic reaction issue. Hopefully more people can comment on this

Well here I am quoting myself. Just thought I would let everyone know I decided to live dangerously and got AirPods Pro 2 to see how they’d work for me. I’ve had them since release and not a single issue. They’re actually the best earbuds I’ve ever had so I’m glad I took the plunge

 

[monroerr]

Well here I am quoting myself. Just thought I would let everyone know I decided to live dangerously and got AirPods Pro 2 to see how they’d work for me. I’ve had them since release and not a single issue. They’re actually the best earbuds I’ve ever had so I’m glad I took the plunge

Thanks! That is good to hear. In response to somebody above, this sort of contact dermatitis likely does not go away nor does one become desensitized. It can only be avoided by a different ear tip material.

 

[MisterSavage]

Well here I am quoting myself. Just thought I would let everyone know I decided to live dangerously and got AirPods Pro 2 to see how they’d work for me. I’ve had them since release and not a single issue. They’re actually the best earbuds I’ve ever had so I’m glad I took the plunge

Appreciate you sharing. My reaction to the silicone bands is why I've been hesitant to try AirPods.

 

[galanot]

Well here I am quoting myself. Just thought I would let everyone know I decided to live dangerously and got AirPods Pro 2 to see how they’d work for me. I’ve had them since release and not a single issue. They’re actually the best earbuds I’ve ever had so I’m glad I took the plunge

That's great, thank you for sharing. I'm ordering them right away, I'll let you all know if I have any allergic reaction with these!

 

[iosuser]

Thanks! That is good to hear. In response to somebody above, this sort of contact dermatitis likely does not go away nor does one become desensitized. It can only be avoided by a different ear tip material.

I posted this in the OP. I had this problem many many years ago and went away for the longest time. Fast forward many years later, all of a sudden I had this problem return.

I still don't know if I simply got over this allergic reaction again, or if Apple made a change to the materials used. @Ghost31 is fine with the APP2, perhaps they did make a change.

 

[monroerr]

I posted this in the OP. I had this problem many many years ago and went away for the longest time. Fast forward many years later, all of a sudden I had this problem return.

I still don't know if I simply got over this allergic reaction again, or if Apple made a change to the materials used. @Ghost31 is fine with the APP2, perhaps they did make a change.

Good observation. Until you can definitively say what specific material is in any sample of EarPods, there is really no way to draw conclusions of what is going on. Some people are sensitive to some materials. We have to assume that manufacturing materials, processes and locations change over time. I am not sure I am willing to take the risk at this time. I have sort of evolved away from in the ear earphones.

 

[galanot]

Hi everyone,


I was one of the affected with the allergy problems of the APPRO gen 1. It was very annoying at the time, ending with painful ear infection.

I ended up buying the APPRO gen 2 after reading some users. I thought that the problem may have been solved, with Apple using new materials on the new model. But unfortunately I have to say that the new ones are also problematic, at least for me. After less than an hour of use, my ear skin has a bad reaction. It’s less severe than with the gen 1, but I won’t give them time to check if it could get worse, with the same consequences it produced 2 years ago. Allergies depend on each individual so I can only say that in my case there’s still a big issue. I really would like to keep this great piece of tech, but I’m forced to sell them
This is a warning for those that had issues and were thinking about getting the new version.

 

[MaximizedAction]

Hi everyone,


I was one of the affected with the allergy problems of the APPRO gen 1. It was very annoying at the time, ending with painful ear infection.

I ended up buying the APPRO gen 2 after reading some users. I thought that the problem may have been solved, with Apple using new materials on the new model. But unfortunately I have to say that the new ones are also problematic, at least for me. After less than an hour of use, my ear skin has a bad reaction. It’s less severe than with the gen 1, but I won’t give them time to check if it could get worse, with the same consequences it produced 2 years ago. Allergies depend on each individual so I can only say that in my case there’s still a big issue. I really would like to keep this great piece of tech, but I’m forced to sell them
This is a warning for those that had issues and were thinking about getting the new version.

Sucks to hear 😕. But big thanks for sharing, I was in the market for a 2nd gen, but as an allergic unsure. Better not risk it.

 

[MisterSavage]

Hi everyone,


I was one of the affected with the allergy problems of the APPRO gen 1. It was very annoying at the time, ending with painful ear infection.

I ended up buying the APPRO gen 2 after reading some users. I thought that the problem may have been solved, with Apple using new materials on the new model. But unfortunately I have to say that the new ones are also problematic, at least for me. After less than an hour of use, my ear skin has a bad reaction. It’s less severe than with the gen 1, but I won’t give them time to check if it could get worse, with the same consequences it produced 2 years ago. Allergies depend on each individual so I can only say that in my case there’s still a big issue. I really would like to keep this great piece of tech, but I’m forced to sell them
This is a warning for those that had issues and were thinking about getting the new version.

Thanks for letting us know. As someone who has had problems with silicone watch bands I'm still cautious.