Allergic to AirPod Pro eartips

Contact Apple. Many of us were able to get a refund from Apple when we were past the deadline to return them to the store. The process takes some time (mine took several months), and you will probably be asked to submit photos of your APPs and ears, but you should be able to get a refund. I had stopped wearing my earbuds several weeks before submitting the photos and my ears weren't visually showing the symptoms anymore, but I was still able to get a refund.

Yes, I get the same exact symptoms, too.

I got *some* improvement by replacing the silicone tips with foam ones and also by carefully washing my ear canals after each use (soap and water). After installing the foam tips and after religiously washing up after use, I could enjoy the AAP three times for approximately 1 hour each time and the symptoms have not reappeared yet. Previously, even 15 minutes of use would result in a strong reaction, with crusts and clear liquid oozing out, Basically, after extracting the AAP from my ears, I keep washing my ear canals until they stop smelling like the chemical smell that we sense out of the charging case and the body of the AAP themselves. I wash my ears until that smell is gone. For completeness, I report that I am aware that other people on this forum who also installed foam tips were not as lucky.

No, they have not. I am still waiting to hear back as to whether I can get a refund (or at least a partial refund). I had to restart treatment (steroid drops) again because I stupidly tried to resume using my AirPods pros on the off chance that it wasn't really them that caused the issue. Funniest thing is that when I was at the dentist the other day, I noted that I was having some ear pain (when she asked me if anything was bothering me). I explained how I was pretty sure my AirPod Pros were the issue. The dentist exclaimed, "Oh my god! I am having the same problem!" She too is using AirPod pros and has bad itching, drainage, and flaky skin in her ears. She thought it was allergies or something but said she recently began to wonder if the APPs were the issue, since the problems started right around that time.

Best thing to do is to file a formal complaint with Apple. The more people that complain about this issue, the better the chance that there will be some resolution.

In the meantime, I have purchased a pair of Beats Solo Pro (over the ear headphones) because the insides of my ears are pretty rough and I don't want to irritate them at all. Hopefully my ears will eventually heal, but for now I need something for work calls.

Hi folks...I've had a similar problem with Powerbeat Pros and a few other brands, so thought I would post what I've found out.

Apple posted a statement about what their earbuds contain that may trigger reactions (kudos to them for doing that since many manufacturers do not)

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211158

I believe for most of us, the issue has to do with a developed sensitivity to Acrylates. I believe they use it as they increase the water resistance of their products (methacrylate is used in waterproofing a variety of substances). I do not believe it is the tips (although the tips may also include the substances) because I had a reaction to my outer ear as well as any other place the earbud touched for 30 min or more.

If you search, the symptoms are identical for most folks having a problem (itchiness, redness, clear fluid discharge, crustiness), which with further searching is something called Contact Dermatitis. Once the symptoms start, you will always have that sensitivity (this happens with nail salon employees sometimes where their products contain acrylates) so you'll need to avoid it.

The final piece of this that made me fairly certain it's the water proofing is that I also have a pair of Sony True Wireless earbuds with no water resistance, and those are fine. But pretty much any other earbud I wear that is treated for water resistance has caused a problem (although I'm still checking a few).

It is unlikely manufacturers will change the composition of their products, which is a shame. And there are fewer and fewer alternatives available that do not contain some level of water resistance, which means they may contain acrylates. I would just give a few different options a try, and maybe you'll find one that uses a different process that works.

Sorry for everyone who is having an issue....it really sucks!

I. I longer have them as of maybe a month. My ears are still trashed. Red scab wounds, discharge and doctor confirmed an ear infection. All thanks to this silicone. Still have severe ear ache and it hurts to have head on the pillow. I’m astonished there hasn’t been a lawsuit.

my he doctor cautioned that an ear infection can accelerate rapidly and enter the brain and game over. Everyone be careful and stop using if this problem manifests. Treat infection immediately.

It is possible to wear the APP without any tips.

As an experiment, I have tried removing the tips and wearing my APP without any tips. They seem to stay reasonably in place, and feel somewhat like the AP2. Just a piece of plastic kind of hanging in the ear. They are not snug or compressing against the skin of my ear canal, and air flow is not restricted. Of course, this means that ANC is compromised somewhat, but at this point in my long painful journey with APP, that is a small price to pay for comfort.

So far, I have not experienced any issues with this solution. You might ask, why not just go back to AP2? The way I see it, even though I am missing ANC with this solution, I am still getting the benefit of better microphone, longer battery life and better bluetooth range over the AP2. Although I admit it sucks that I had to pay a premium for what ended up being basically a hacked solution.

Yes and ended up with a viral infection in right ear (Facial Cellulitis). Ear swollen twice as big as the other one. Eye swollen shut. Fever of 103. Face swollen and beet red. Had to go to an ENT and was put on Bactrim 800 mg twice a day for 10 day. After follow up last Friday and things had cleared up, I started wearing the Pros again on this past Monday at the gym. After 2 days I started having the oozing again. Back on the Bactrim now for 14 days. So yes it is the silicone tips without a doubt. I wore the regular iPods for several years without any problem. Also I did try a couple of different foam tips and no change but my ears had never healed from the original irritation so I don't know if that had something to do with it. I've ordered foam tips again and once my ears heal I will try them again to see if they alleviate the problem. If not I guess I will have to switch back to the regular airPods.

A few months ago i reported the same issue here: ear drainage and skin irritation in both my ears after using my new Airpods Pro. I tried various other tips but to no avail. I reported this matter to Apple and asked for a refund as my Airpods Pro were useless to me. I did sent them photos of my irritated ears. Apple asked me to sent the Airpods to Apple in Ireland (i live in the Netherlands) and after some further contacts with them they refunded me completely. So in this respect i’m very satisfied how Apple handled this! Must say i still had all the original packaging. Now i hope that Apple will look further into this to solve this apparent issue and finds an acceptable solution for all affected by this issue.

FYI, the AP3s are not the AirPod Pros. I received my new AP3s today. They are just the 3rd generation of the original AirPod. The stem is shorter similar to the Pros but do not have noise cancelling. I used my new AP3s today and I do like them. I do miss the noise cancellation but at least I don't have to deal with the awful itching/oozing that forms into a crusty mess. BTW, I had switched back to my original AirPods a couple of weeks ago and didn't have any issues with them since they have no silicone tips. I had a follow up appointment with my ENT doctor yesterday and everything had cleared up after two weeks of 800mg twice a day that he had prescribed.

I installed these foam tips https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B088KPNKN2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and the allergy disappeared. With the original tips I had problems after 30 min. Leaking, crust, rush, the entire menu :)

Noise cancelation works almost perfectly, but having the advantage on clean ears overcame the rest.

I am very happy I can use again AirPod Pro :)

In parallel I bought also 3rd gen and no problem at all so far. Also, the sound quality is like pro minus the noise cancelation.

I’ve chased a solution to this since APPro release date and had some really accute symptoms. 1 week in on Sedna Earfit Xelastic tips and no problems. Your milage may vary, but definitely give them a try before bailing out on the Pros.

atrainor16: For me it's not only the silicone tips but I react to the actual plastic of the whole thing. It's the same with 3rd generation Airpods without in-ear tips. And on Power Beats Pro I even get a reaction behind the ears from the earhooks! Never had an issue with older airpods/power beats or other earbuds.

I talked to Apple Support about the new Beats Fit Pro and they confirmed it was not made with the same plastic so I will order them and see how they work.

Apple “investigated” my infection a few months ago (I didn’t realise what was happening until after my warranty had finished). I was told they take health and safety really seriously- was asked a heap of questions- alllegies to metals, (can’t remember all the questions) and I had to have photos taken of my ears from all directions.

Engineers took two weeks to provide feedback and I was informed I had a form of dermatitis and given instructions for cleaning my tips!

Totally underwhelmed!

I tried new Apple tips prior to the Apple “investigation” the infection returned, tried a different brand, the infection returned.

As Apple won’t take responsibility I chose to invest in Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds. So far they are great - but I am a bit nervous about wearing them for too long given my AirPod Pro experience.

I just cannot understand why the media are not investigating. I put a tweet out to that effect and no interest.

The best bet if somebody hasn’t already mentioned it would be the comply foam ear tips specifically by comply you can find them on Amazon they work great no allergic reaction no popping out of my ear which is another annoyance in a much better sound isolation compared to apples sorry to say horribly designed ear tips

Go to a Doctor and tell them about the pods. I wound up on antibiotics and my ears are almost healed after a month. They are sending me a check and I send the pods back. Maybe they will stop using the same material. Keep complaining because Apple needs to know and fix this product which I loved.