pulled a muscle around the ear taking custom iems out of my ear ?

Thought I'd share my dolt n00b story to errr, make sure no other 'special people' repeat my mistake and maybe see whether people have any tips on recovering from this.

I had the misfortune to be on painkillers and get my first custom IEM . So naturally I tried it out. Lovely things. Great sound and isolation (can walk on the footpath of an 80km/h highway and not really hear the cars 3m away from me). Unfortunately as I've mentioned I'm a dolt.

Putting the custom IEMs in was pretty easy after the vendor explained how.
Unfortunately taking them out wasn't. Instead of unscrewing them carefully and not forcing things, after I failed to unscrew them initially, I panicked a bit, then best guess is: I tore the IEM out forcefully pulling/twisting it in place and as a result straining a muscle around the ear.(if you touch the wall of the ear and open your mouth it moves... Maybe a couple of muscles not one, I'm not too sure on that). (at the time I was on painkillers and anti-inflamatories for an RSI problem, so I only started feeling my ear aching 2 weeks later when I finished with those)


Seen the GP - 2 of them: the ear/eardrum look fine/not infection of any sort. They also suggested it's a pulled muscle and I should rest... Easier said than done... It seems those muscles are used in facial expressions and while chewing.
They also progressively tense up and start aching through the day, so after about 10-14 hours I walk around with a fairly annoying headache.
It's sort of possible to relief tension on the muscles by moving the jaw forward with my mouth open, but it's pretty tricky to put the right amount of effort not to overdo it. When I noticed the problem I also went back on anti-inflamatories on the GP's advice, but that doesn't seem like a good idea anymore since I inevitably ended up making it worse (pain is a nice indicator of what you shouldn't do , without it, quite easy to screw things up)
In any case, I've been bouncing between stages of it aching and receding for the past 2+ months.

So yea... Captain obvious reports - don't tear out custom IEMs out of your ears ... Bad things will happen. I've been unable to use IEMs of any sort for the past 2+ months (work and public transport are suddenly a lot more annoying). Can't even use closed HP with strong clamping (e.g. the Monitor 10Rs ) since all of those aggravate the problem. (GMP450 pros came in quite handy, since they're sort of closed and I can't feel them on my ears)

If anyone has screwed themselves up in a similar fashion and has some recovery tips please chip in.


Finally, I'm note entirely sure I've even figured out the right way to unscrew them. I 'unscrew' them in a similar way to 'screwing them in', but it inevitably ends up twisting my ear quite badly. IDK it sits in a groove or something when it actually goes in... So there's always the bright perspective of me potentially doing it again after the bloody problem recedes and I wait for a couple of weeks after that then think "it's safe to use IEMs again "
Edited by svyr - 6/24/11 at 9:59pm

Went to a doctor again today, he said a couple of things:

a) if you experience any moderate-major discomfort the first time you get your customs - return them for a refit (especially if there's any pain). (mine were painful at first, then I was on anti-inflammatories and it felt like 'fatigue', but I was told by the vendor to 'wait for a bit it's not uncommon'). If the vendor says something like it's normal to experience discomfort or pain for the first few days - tell them - nothanksrefit. (your tolerance for those things might be well above what it takes to get some nice issues like I did. Yes getting a refit will take time and $, but so will not using earphones for 2-3 months)

b) a simple look in the mirror with your mouth open will convince you the shape of your ear changes when you open your mouth (it also opens fairly asymmetrically for some). Significantly for some people. You might want to sacrifice some isolation and possibly secure fit and get closed mouth impressions. For me if I keep using the open mouth impression customs it stresses the sprained muscles and will make them inflamed within a day or two of use.

c) again, be very careful taking them out, it's very easy to apply a lot of force and twist things.

d) make sure the audiologist doesn't shift your outer ear a bit up by applying excess upward pressure when taking the impression.

e) it's pretty easy to get a chronic condition with muscles around your jaw/ear if you're not careful with this.

f) don't first-try them on painkillers or anti-inflams of any sort

looks like I might be getting a closed mouth refit or moving to universals ...
To top it off my ER6i earplugs died one channel starting to crackle progressively worse.
Edited by svyr - 7/14/11 at 5:16am

lol, don't forget, if we get s-faced on drugs and walk around in earbuds we might get hit by a car or bus, or tram . drugs and earphones iz serious business..
Edited by svyr - 7/14/11 at 3:36pm