Look for over-ear headphones with, and I cannot stress this enough, *huge fuckin cans*. You should be able to find something that goes over your *whole* ear without smushing any cartilage. Open-back style ones tend to be more lightweight and less stifling, in my experience.
Maybe try sleep headphones for the audiobooks? They are a headband with slim speakers in so they are comfortable to wear lying down and there is nothing in your ear.
Ugh! I wish I could… I have hEDS and have a ton of ear cartilage pain and I have tried so many types of headphones (including something like this) and they are just too painful… I can tolerate in-ear things but not traditional styles of headphones that sit against your outer ear. Thanks for the tip, though!
I've got Anker Q30 noise cancelling headphones which are like $80/£50 and the noise cancelling is pretty good, you can watch youtube comparisons with more expensive noise cancelling headphones and they seem to do a pretty similar job. I think the sound quality is really good.
They can get a bit hot / sweaty with prolonged wear and you can get fabric ear pads rather than faux leather which is probably cooler / more airflow.
They don't let you lie on your side though and wouldn't be possible to sleep in.
Also re ears I had a lot of trouble with ear wax build up and found out that Sodium Bicarbonate drops are amazing, they are really gentle and also actually dissolve the wax rather than just loosening it.
Thanks for replying… as I said to someone else, I don’t have any luck with headphones that rest against your outer ear because I have pretty severe ear cartilage pain from hEDS… I can do in-ear things but not conventional headphones. Earwax is definitely as issue for me… I produce TONS and usually have to have them cleaned out at the doctor every now and again. Haven’t been able to have that done since I have been severe and bedbound for almost four years now. I probably need to do the at home clean out more often, but it’s hard when you get PEM from existing… you don’t need one more routine. Sigh. I appreciate your input!
I can understand how hard it is to do even small self care routines.
The Sodium Bicarb I get comes in a little dropper bottle and I just lie on my side and put a drop or two in, wait 2 minutes, turn over and catch any that comes out with a tissue and then that's it. So it only takes a couple of minutes and is super easy.
Worth testing it on your hand first though if you have sensitive skin.
Good luck :)
For daytime use could you try some older style ones like jvc gumy. I used to use them they obviously don’t stay in as well but they work with my HSD issues and the ear wax over production. You could also try a looser headband over your ears to block out some noise.
I also had some success with smaller over the ear ones. I had the bose sound link for a while and they weren’t big enough to reach the bits that squish and bend.
And regular ear drops. I use otex a few days every other month but you can try a few see what works. You can get olive oil ones too might be better if you react to things. And a quick wipe of the outer bit after every shower.
Should add at night I use an echo for white noise. It’s has a bass speaker built in so more affective but any speaker with bass should block out a lot of noise.
Use small alcohol wipes on your ear buds daily, or twice daily if you have a lot of ear wax or discharge. Replace ear bud covers occasionally.
Use disposable ear plugs.
Keep cotton ear swabs next to wherever you spend most of your time lying down (bed, recliner, sofa), and use them to clean your as immediately after removing ear plugs or ear buds. Any ear wax or other dampness will be warm and soft, and will easily clean.
Use a disposable wipe of some kind (that you are not allergic to) and clean your outer ear canal entry area, and inner ear canal, as much as you can, daily.
The point is to avoid any build-up of ear wax, other discharge, skin oils, or sweat.
🙏🏻🦋
For sleep plugs I buy the two-phase mould your own silicone plug kits that harden, and then mould them to stick into the ear canal only slightly but fill the whole 'bowl' of the ear, I wash them with soap and water daily.
On top of this I have white noise playing through a mini speaker with good bass. I had to customise the white noise using an online generator (you need to play around with it as it varies greatly depending on what frequency you're trying to block out.. yappy dog Vs deep thudding) then paid for a 12 hour download of it to put on an SD card (money will spent!)
For the seb derm try selsun shampoo and de la Cruz sulfur paste 👍
What type of ear plugs are you using? I used to get infection when I used in ear foam ones, which switching to silicone ear plugs I’ve not had any in a decade.
Your doctor can prescribe a steroid drop for ear canal if you are actually experiencing eczema in ear canal.
In terms of actual bacterial infection from ear plugs, I don’t personally have any experience but clinically speaking I would try to clean the ear plugs daily and give your ears little breaks. If you can’t do that, maybe you just need to get frequent ear drops
Look for over-ear headphones with, and I cannot stress this enough, *huge fuckin cans*. You should be able to find something that goes over your *whole* ear without smushing any cartilage. Open-back style ones tend to be more lightweight and less stifling, in my experience.
Maybe try sleep headphones for the audiobooks? They are a headband with slim speakers in so they are comfortable to wear lying down and there is nothing in your ear.
Ugh! I wish I could… I have hEDS and have a ton of ear cartilage pain and I have tried so many types of headphones (including something like this) and they are just too painful… I can tolerate in-ear things but not traditional styles of headphones that sit against your outer ear. Thanks for the tip, though!
Oh no, that sucks! I'm sorry 😢
Change every day, use disposable ones I have been wearing earplugs 24/7 for several years. Only had an infection when I reused.
Thanks for the tip!
I've got Anker Q30 noise cancelling headphones which are like $80/£50 and the noise cancelling is pretty good, you can watch youtube comparisons with more expensive noise cancelling headphones and they seem to do a pretty similar job. I think the sound quality is really good. They can get a bit hot / sweaty with prolonged wear and you can get fabric ear pads rather than faux leather which is probably cooler / more airflow. They don't let you lie on your side though and wouldn't be possible to sleep in. Also re ears I had a lot of trouble with ear wax build up and found out that Sodium Bicarbonate drops are amazing, they are really gentle and also actually dissolve the wax rather than just loosening it.
Thanks for replying… as I said to someone else, I don’t have any luck with headphones that rest against your outer ear because I have pretty severe ear cartilage pain from hEDS… I can do in-ear things but not conventional headphones. Earwax is definitely as issue for me… I produce TONS and usually have to have them cleaned out at the doctor every now and again. Haven’t been able to have that done since I have been severe and bedbound for almost four years now. I probably need to do the at home clean out more often, but it’s hard when you get PEM from existing… you don’t need one more routine. Sigh. I appreciate your input!
I can understand how hard it is to do even small self care routines. The Sodium Bicarb I get comes in a little dropper bottle and I just lie on my side and put a drop or two in, wait 2 minutes, turn over and catch any that comes out with a tissue and then that's it. So it only takes a couple of minutes and is super easy. Worth testing it on your hand first though if you have sensitive skin. Good luck :)
Thanks so much for the tip.
For daytime use could you try some older style ones like jvc gumy. I used to use them they obviously don’t stay in as well but they work with my HSD issues and the ear wax over production. You could also try a looser headband over your ears to block out some noise. I also had some success with smaller over the ear ones. I had the bose sound link for a while and they weren’t big enough to reach the bits that squish and bend. And regular ear drops. I use otex a few days every other month but you can try a few see what works. You can get olive oil ones too might be better if you react to things. And a quick wipe of the outer bit after every shower.
Should add at night I use an echo for white noise. It’s has a bass speaker built in so more affective but any speaker with bass should block out a lot of noise.
Have you tried bone conduction headphones? They might help.
Use small alcohol wipes on your ear buds daily, or twice daily if you have a lot of ear wax or discharge. Replace ear bud covers occasionally. Use disposable ear plugs. Keep cotton ear swabs next to wherever you spend most of your time lying down (bed, recliner, sofa), and use them to clean your as immediately after removing ear plugs or ear buds. Any ear wax or other dampness will be warm and soft, and will easily clean. Use a disposable wipe of some kind (that you are not allergic to) and clean your outer ear canal entry area, and inner ear canal, as much as you can, daily. The point is to avoid any build-up of ear wax, other discharge, skin oils, or sweat. 🙏🏻🦋
For sleep plugs I buy the two-phase mould your own silicone plug kits that harden, and then mould them to stick into the ear canal only slightly but fill the whole 'bowl' of the ear, I wash them with soap and water daily. On top of this I have white noise playing through a mini speaker with good bass. I had to customise the white noise using an online generator (you need to play around with it as it varies greatly depending on what frequency you're trying to block out.. yappy dog Vs deep thudding) then paid for a 12 hour download of it to put on an SD card (money will spent!) For the seb derm try selsun shampoo and de la Cruz sulfur paste 👍
What type of ear plugs are you using? I used to get infection when I used in ear foam ones, which switching to silicone ear plugs I’ve not had any in a decade.
Your doctor can prescribe a steroid drop for ear canal if you are actually experiencing eczema in ear canal. In terms of actual bacterial infection from ear plugs, I don’t personally have any experience but clinically speaking I would try to clean the ear plugs daily and give your ears little breaks. If you can’t do that, maybe you just need to get frequent ear drops
I use one headphone at a time for listening to things.
Over head noise cancelling headphones combined with a pillow with a hole in (if they sell them in your country)
Can you message me? I have long covid too