[bobeau]

Guys,

I just had both lobes pierced w/ fairly large (12 gauge) hoops. I asked about headphones and he cautioned against it, like for 3-4 months. Unless I keep the phones clinically clean.

Any advice? I'm thinking regular leather cleaner/conditioner for my L3k pads might not be good, have a buildup, etc. A replacement set is only $60-70 so maybe I should go ahead and wipe them down with alcohol? And the stretched driver covering?

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobeau Guys, I just had both lobes pierced w/ fairly large (12 gauge) hoops. I asked about headphones and he cautioned against it, like for 3-4 months. Unless I keep the phones clinically clean. Any advice? I'm thinking regular leather cleaner/conditioner for my L3k pads might not be good, have a buildup, etc. A replacement set is only $60-70 so maybe I should go ahead and wipe them down with alcohol? And the stretched driver covering?

The way hardcores headfi-ers listen to high end cans is very different from the way most people use headphones. He may have been thinking of typical cheapie foam-pad supraaural headphones that are stuffed into a dirty bag or pocket on the go. I imagine most L3000 users keep them very clean and in controlled environments - also the leather pads do not really apply pressure on top of the earlobes. Wonder if he was aware of this, and whether it would make a difference in his recommendation.

I can't see how using the L3000 would be harmful to your pierced earlobes (especially with a new set of pads) unless they continually need to be exposed to fresh air or something (but in that case even sleeping on one side would be forbidden).

That sucks to have such a procedure done and only get informed of headphone listening consequences afterwards

 

[LaBreaHead]

...or you could go with IEM's (or at least Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, etc. in-ears) in the interim. That would also serve to preserve the life of the headphone earpads (which seems to be of more concern to you than your earlobes!).

 

[PinkFloyd]

Mind out, the music will escape through the holes in your ears so you'll have to buy 2 suitably sized corks to plug the piercings up with before you attempt "serious listening" you could also plug them up with blu tack but you'll get airier highs and deeper lows if you use a quality grade cork plug.

 

[fjf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd Mind out, the music will escape through the holes in your ears so you'll have to buy 2 suitably sized corks to plug the piercings up with before you attempt "serious listening" you could also plug them up with blu tack but you'll get airier highs and deeper lows if you use a quality grade cork plug.

 

[bobeau]

Hey, I said losing the earpads is no biggie... the thing is my earlobes do touch a bit - my ears are completely inside the pads, but the top/bottom of my ears touch the interior of the pad. Though there seems to be no contact with the piercing, the hoops themselves seem to hold everything at bay.

A quick little wipedown with alcohol shouldn't hurt them much, no? Maybe if I use conditioner first, and kinda use the alcohol to clean off the excess?

Mulveling, you're probably right but I'd rather not chance anything. I'll be moving downtown in a month and would like to look for a job within walking distance, wearing hoops to interviews probably ain't the best thing to do, so that means as is it will be at least 4 months before I can start the hunt... rather not chance an infection.

OTOH I don't know if I can stand 4 mos of IEM usage

 

[Oink1]

I'd say that if you're worried, just follow the aftercare routine that your peircer doubtless gave you after a listening session

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink1 I'd say that if you're worried, just follow the aftercare routine that your peircer doubtless gave you after a listening session

Yeah, he also told me not to clean more than twice daily

Think the guy is just overly cautious as he probably gets kids that are really careless.

 

[Lisa]

Seems a bit odd to me that you can't wear headphones for 4 months.
Does that mean that you can't wear clothes with bodypiercing for 4 months either?

 

[Emon]

I seriously doubt your circumaural L3000s will cause any problems. You take care of them, they are clean. Wipe them down with alcohol often to keep them even more clean. The guy was probably referring to cheap supraaural headphones which get thrown around a lot and retain dirt and bacteria, which wouldn't be good near fresh piercings.

You're probably fine. You said the pads barely touch the hoops? No big deal. If there's any irritation, redness, swelling, etc., just stop or cut back on how often you wear them. Besides don't have you have to disinfect the piercing areas anyway? You'll be fine.

 

[Patrick82]

Upgrade to AKG K1000 and no problem.

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 Upgrade to AKG K1000 and no problem.

So I assume you've listened to the L3000 extensively before concluding that the K1000 is an upgrade? What was the system you used the L3000 in?

 

[bobeau]

Yeah, I think something like a K1000 is a big no-no in the cube farm I work in. The main reason I started looking at AT phones is for good fidelity in a closed can...

In any case it sounds like folks think it's a pretty safe proposition to use the L3000s, so I'll just keep em clean and enjoy. Won't be listening to them until Tues so my ears will have had a good 6 days rest.

 

[NaOH]

Do you have pics of the piercings?

 

[Comfy]

I think the easiest thing you can do to avoid an infection of your freshly pierced ears, would be to cover the piercings with a "band-aid" or similar while listening.
There is no point in sterilizing the headphone pad, when you can easily cover the affected zone up and thus avoid the unwanted contact. Sterilizing the headphone pad is quite difficult anyway, and you'd have to repeat the process before every listening session. And still the band-aid method would keep the wounds cleaner. A mechanical barrier is more effective than any sterilization method. That's why surgeons use latex gloves, for example.

And 3-4 months sounds like a huge exaggeration to me. The piercings should heal in a few weeks. After that there should be no problem with headphone listening.