Can you BECOME sensitive to canalphones?

[GanChan]

I have been using both my Shure E2s and regular foam earplugs (at night, to help me sleep) for years now with no problems, but lately my right ear canal seems to be awfully irritated if I put anything in there -- it gets that painful "negative vacuum" feeling. I went to a doctor who looked at it and said there was no sign of a problem. She prescribed oral antibiotics just in case it was the beginning of an infection. But so far they haven't made a difference.

Is it possible that the ears can suddenly decide they can't tolerate canalphones anymore? And why only one ear?

 

[ken36]

I would stay away from them and pay attention to your wife at night.

 

[ken36]

I would stay away from them and pay attention to your wife at night.

 

[ken36]

oops. Sorry.

 

[jerb]

I would get a simmilar feeling after long sessions with my sure e2c's however i only got them with the silicon sleeves.

I find that after about 2 hours my ear would become extremly sensitive to touch, if the IEM moved or got bumped it would hurt my ear. I would also notice that when i removed them after a seesion like that my ears were sensitive, if i touched them with my fingers it took very little stimulation to cause pain.
'
one last thing i noticed when wearing these was that my ears canal seemd to strech dramtically with the insertion and removal of them(another 2 hour span thing). they always seemed to be snug going in but after i removed them and reinserted them they went in noticible easyer, if i felt around where they sat it seemed like the space got bigger.

Just my .02, i wouldnt take the antibiotics if they dont help

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Never heard of that. But I would give the headphones a break for a week or two and see if it continues..

 

[allenf]

I found the opposite - I have got used to my canalphones or maybe the flanges have softened..?
I am not a doctor but...any ear pain needs immediate attention

 

[kramer5150]

I was wondering the same thing.... all of a sudden lately my ear hairs are irritated by my e2c. Its like the sillicone tips tickle them in there and drives me nuts. Ichy to all hell. I have to pull them off and itch in my ear.

walking is torture.. the vibrations with my foot steps really tickle in there.

I love these things amped with my go vibe... but this is driving me nuts.

Garrett

 

[BsB|oVeR]

Whoa... I think you all better let your ears have some rest...

 

[Blorton]

I can help clear some things up on this one. I've worn hearing aids for almost 30 years now so I'm very familiar with things in one's ears causing discomfort.

What you are experiencing is your body reacting to a poor fit and/or material sensitivity. Doesn't matter if you've worn them for years, one day your body will decide things aren't kosher anymore. (And actually, the shape of one's ear canal does change over time.)

I can't stress enough that if you spend a lot of time with plugs in your ears, they need to be the custom made kind from an ear doctor. Besides the huge comfort improvement, they also provide better isolation and sq. Heck, even the koss plugs sound hugely better through earmolds. And if you do opt for the custom plugs, make *very* sure you specify that they make them with soft material, which will be a kind of silicone. Left to their own devices, ear doctors would rather people use lucite molds, which are very hard and can become quite painful. And trust me - you don't *ever* want to get hit in the ear with those things in. Seriously painful. The downside of the soft molds is that they will very gradually shrink. I replace mine about every six months or so due to that, but you guys would likely get a year from them. Well worth the $100 or so.

Also, If you spend any amount of time during the day with plugs in, I don't recommend sleeping with them as well. Your canals do need a break. (I never sleep with the aids in, can't actually.) If you need noise to fall asleep, try one of those white noise things for the nightstand.

Hth,
Dan

 

[luisc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GanChan Is it possible that the ears can suddenly decide they can't tolerate canalphones anymore? And why only one ear?

yes! what Blorton says it is true.

I had the same problem until i upgraded

to the soft flex sleeves and it made a BIG difference since.

 

[James63]

Problem:

I sleep in earplugs and use my E2c everyday at the gym. My ears hurt too some days and I blame my earplugs. 8 hours laying on my ear with an ear plug in can and does irritate my ears.

Solution:

Use a new pair of earplugs every night. Try this ear plug, they are very soft!

http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/heulsobupa.html

 

[flibottf]

exact same story happened to me.. went to the doctor, got antibiotics and didnt do a thing... but eventually after giving my ear a break from canalphone it went away after a few days... only happened twice over the course of 4 years for me...

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerb ...snip

could your signature be any bigger? on topic, i've owned several canalphones, and i've never had this issue.

 

[jerb]

I dont know where you got the ...snip thing, but i fixed the sig, i didnt realize you couldnt right, center, and left align something on the same line. sorry bout that.

Now for something actually on topic.
How much do those Custom ear molds help? $100 seems like alot for only a year of use. in fact its actually more expensive than the E2C