[K_19]

Well, it's been a spectacular journey for me on the IEM front, but it looks like I'm going to be forced to quit IEM's for good...

The IEM's are what got me into head-fi in the first place and I initially preferred them exclusively as opposed to full-size headphones. However, I've constantly had problems with my in-ear health during that time which at times haven't been pleasant at all. With IEM's and regular foams/silicon tips, my ears seem to become quite irritated after any listening done over an hour or so... and I even got few ear infections and problems during that time (and yes, I cleaned the tips regularly when I used them). I even bought custom sleeves for my SE530's which I love dearly in hopes of remedying that problem... but I found that they ALSO irritate my ear after 30 minutes/1 hour or so for whatever reason (I've used this for last half year or so... and irritation happens constantly with regular use). Over the past week or so, these irritations have flared up again and have caused much discomfort, even getting in the way of my at-home listening.

So, after my most recent check-up with my ENT as well as my family doc, their recommendation was that I quit IEM's altogether... they said that my ear canals seem to overreact/flare up to any sort of synthetic materials in my ear, and that my ears naturally produce VERY little earwax, which makes it more prone to irritations and infections. So after much consideration on my part, I've decided that quitting IEM's may indeed be the best thing to do, as my personal health IS indeed the most important thing. This comes with much reluctance, as I simply love the sound of my SE530 (probably my all-time favourite) as well as their portability and isolation on the go.

I'll still be around in this forum for discussions of the IEM's I've owned in the past and for any portable headphones I may be interested in... but it definitely does suck having to forcefully give up this part of my audiophile hobby which I enjoyed immensely otherwise. Anyways, just wanted to share this and see if anyone else can relate to my situation.

 

[rawrster]

oh wow..thats quite unfortunate there :T iem's are the only way i can enjoy music since im never home to have a headphone setup

 

[mildewonrice]

im sorry to hear that :/

ever since i got my RE0's all i want is IEM's

atleast you can still enjoy fullsize cans.

if i was to not be able to use headphones im pretty sure id go crazy.

 

[paper9]

My ear also have little to none earwax, it does itching after over 3 hour constant listening but nothing more seriously beside that (I used comply, olive, sillicon v.v...). Lucky me, huh

 

[xuan87]

well... you can always switch over to earbuds!

 

[earerror]

Some persons experience problems with Iem's and his ear health for using at high volumes...or with the silicone earbuds, thats due to the poor design of some of them.

 

[129207]

did you try vaselin? or some other neutral lubricant?

 

[DaeO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Negakinu /img/forum/go_quote.gif did you try vaselin? or some other neutral lubricant?

Steady........

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xuan87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well... you can always switch over to earbuds!

That's what I was going to suggest. The PK series is a good choice.

What about full customs? Would your ears react to acrylic lucite the same as they do to silicone? I guess you won't ever know, because it would be a big financial and health risk to buy customs not knowing if you'll have problems.

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barleyguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's what I was going to suggest. The PK series is a good choice. What about full customs? Would your ears react to acrylic lucite the same as they do to silicone? I guess you won't ever know, because it would be a big financial and health risk to buy customs not knowing if you'll have problems.

Yes, I definitely thought about acrylic customs... but as you said, there is a big risk on financial front with buying it without knowing what kind of reaction it'll have on my ears over long term (in a way, I got burned like this already with my custom eartips, although they fit better/irritated bit less than foams/silicons and did not cost THAT much).

As for earbuds, I do have the PK2 still which sounds great but obviously they do not help with isolation.

I got ESW10JPN also which is amazing other than being nearly as useless for isolation purposes. I've been thinking of going for something like HD25 or K81DJ for situations where I need isolation, but obviously they won't have the SE530 SQ which I love so much... which really bites. Ugh. Oh well.

I've tried light vaseline/olive oil in the outer canals before, but they did not help much with overall irritation/swelling (they did lesson the itching), and the doctors discouraged it when I told them about it as it could apparently discourage my ear canals from producing earwax even further. Plus, you won't want to apply them too deep into the canal, and of course IEM's need to sit much deeper than that.

 

[jlbrach]

I actually had a strange and similar problem with ultimate ears custom molds that i had made a few years back....I started getting an irritation in my ear that became an infection everytime i wore them...i actually had to go to the doctor and get medicine to get rid of it so i had to give up wearing them...for whatever reason i have never had the problem with other IEM's and use numerous others just fine...go figure

 

[dj nellie]

I can relate to the itchiness problem. With foam or silicone (even custom UM-56) tips, one or both of my ears start to itch within 2 or 3 hours of listening. Sometimes I can just take a break and resume listening for a while, but it's basically about delaying the inevitable irritation.

I've tried moisturizing my ears as well as an in-ear dropper that my audiologist recommended (Miracell), but these haven't seemed to provide a permanent solution.

I share your pain, dude--I love the portability and sleekness of IEMs but my ears get sore from all the rubbing and scratching. I'm probably also freaking out my co-workers with the constant picking and clawing at my ears. Right now, I'm listening to my PortaPros (actually sounding pretty good with my D4 amp and iPod LOD), but I would love to find a long-term IEM solution.

The tips that irritated my ears the least were the Shure olives, but I'm not a fan of their sound on my Westone 3 or how tightly they fit on the nozzles.

 

[younglee200]

yeah you can try going for the acrylic shure 530s at fisher or UM, but I don't think it'll be too much better than foam or silicon

 

[midoo1990]

why dont you get an iem that have shallow insertion like the ie8?they only sit on the opening of the ear canal and they doesnt irritate me at all.OTOH my fx500 become irritating after an hour or so because they have deep insertion and my ears become very itchy.

 

[jjsoviet]

Well, at least you could just opt for portable cans instead of risking your hearing completely. Maybe the HD25's suit you, since they offer near-IEM isolation based on what I've heard and tried and sound signature is still excellent. I've auditioned both the SE530 and HD25 and to my ears, they sound almost the same. Both are dynamic and engaging, bit bright IMO, very good soundstage considering their forms.