Allergic to AirPod Pro eartips

OMG I bought the AirPod pro last year April and caught the biggest ear infection in my life in both ears 1st one ever. Had to go to the doctor and get antibiotics. After I got better my dumb *** went and so call disinfectant them and caught another infection this time I called Apple and returned them and got my money back

I just wanted to mention my personal experiences for statistical reasons. Brief backstory: I had to replace my left AirPod Pro because I cleaned it too aggressively. Anyway, my left ear now had a shiny new tip, and my right ear was fine with the slightly older battery. In retrospect, my infection in January was probably a direct result, but I'm not sure. I changed to a new right tip on the right AirPod around then, but I also got the infection in my right ear immediately after.

Now history repeats itself. I got a rough ear infection about 2 weeks ago. I told my Dr. about how I clean my ears, how this is an unusually high rate for me, and what I planned on doing to clean my various headphones. Most are on/over ear, the others are Dirty Buds and the AirPods Pro.

Guess what, I went out shopping on Wednesday having used the new tips I bought *in the store* a week prior to have an hour long call? This is very common for me and never was an issue before the new tips. Sure enough... I've got another infection.

Beyond the discomfort and otitis externalis, I have crap health insurance and have had to shell out way more to solve that than to get a new AirPod or tips.

I am going to try memory foam. If those don't work, then my APP are useless.

Hey, do I tried buying memory foam tips but the fit isn’t great and you can’t really clean them so they can look gross pretty quickly. I ended up returning my AirPods Pro for exactly the reasons you listed above. Really was not good for my ears. Standard AirPods are fine though.

So Ive actually had this issue. First I thought it was just an unlucky ear infection, all the same symptoms as everyone else.

My ears got very sore, took a good few weeks to recover. Got some brand new APPs yesterday and put them in, im now back to square one, leaky, sore scabbing ears.

Have purchased different tips, but not usually allergic to silicone, so I think it has to be something in the product.

yeah.. i sold airpods pro and bought beads studio buds.. which is perfect.. am not having such issues..

i have been using beats studio buds almost 10 days now..

Only H1 chip is missing.. it wont automatically shift to ipad and iphone.. Rest is far better than airpod pro . u can go for it !!

Please, I beg of you all - please stop saying "tips". As has been covered by many of us many, many pages ago and confirmed seemingly daily by other people new to this thread that haven't read it all - it's not just the tips that are the problem. I, and many others, have gone through a lot of troubleshooting to determine it is something in the housing AND charging case material(s) causing the issue. That could be why some people who put new tips on do not experience issue recurrence immediately but the issue returns over time - your replacement tips are still exposed to whatever is in the charging case composition.

So please, the title of this thread notwithstanding - it's not just the tips. Nor is the issue "solved". Yes in most cases it seems Apple is tracking internally as most folks talk to an advisor who states they are familiar with the issue. And in most cases you will be able to return for full refund after jumping through their hoops.

Best of luck everyone. The only real solution is to stop using them and pray that the issue will be (silently) addressed in a future version.

I had a similar reaction with itchiness and discharge that eventually led to cellulitis in my ear and IV antibiotics. I was using foam tips which I changed and cleaned regularly for over a year. Now that my ears have finally healed I purchased some Jabra Elite 3 earbuds to see if they would be any different. As a test I cleaned one earbud fresh from the box and tried it exactly for 20 minutes. Unfortunately by the next day I had the same symptoms as I did with my Airpods. Jabra support was unhelpful and told me to clean the earbud(?) when I messaged them about it.

At this point (and with 2 pairs of earbuds I can't use) I've decided just to not bother with earbuds anymore. Until such as time as the manufacturers are completely transparent about the allergenic compounds they contain it's just not worth taking the risk of further injury or expense. Good luck to the rest of you that have had similar experiences!

Interesting to read comments. Apple were also brilliant with me and after photos/discussion in Ireland, full refund. However, some points you may find helpful (1) I got replacement tips. No difference, same reaction (2) My original pros were fine, no problems. Only the replacement ones after the recall of the first batch have been a problem. (3) Didn’t realise until sent photos to Apple engineers that when my skin dried in my ear after initial drainage, it had the shape of the pros and how they sat in my ear. Thus suggesting it is not simply the tips. Wish i knew if it was safe to go back to non pro airpods.

In my case it’s the entire air pod and what ever it’s made of. I removed the silicone tips and tried using the AirPods like this. The next day my ears suffered the draining and itchiness. I went back to my AirPods first gen. I do not have any issues with them. Called Apple and there was nothing they would do. First time they are hearing about this. Lol.

I think it's fair to say that we've all been frustrated as we've tried to figure out the cause of the reactions with APP. Like you I had the same issue with or without the silicone tips so I a leaning towards it being something in the plastic itself.

Best of luck on your return process and please do let us know your experiences with the AP3.

I am happy to see that some of you are able to use the AP3s without issue; unfortunately, after about 3 hours of using them I am once again experiencing itchy ears and clear discharge. For reference, I never wore my APP with the original silicone tips (I used Comply instead), so I agree there's something else going on.

At this point I am afraid I've been sensitized to something and won't be able to wear earbuds again. I never had a reaction before the APP but have had it since with other brands and now the AP3.

I very much wanted these to work without issue, and I know many of you do as well, but please listen to your bodies. If you, like me, have an issue (even minor) after a few hours, it will likely get worse over time. I ended up with cellulitis in my ear and IV antibiotics before from my APP and have no desire to repeat that again.

Take care and good luck!

My review of the Beats Fit Pro: they are the best IEM I have owned yet. Better than APP. Most importantly, some folks have said that Beats silicone does not cause any allergic reaction, and this has been true so far for me. I never wanted to try Beats products before, because there was nothing in the lineup comparable to APP. Thats over now. The sound quality is better, ANC is better, fit is better (both for working out and office use) and overall design is more streamlined. They are less $$$. I can't conceive of any reason to want the APP over Beats Fit Pro.

To update with my case, I bought the AirPods series 3 thinking maybe it would be better because no tip.

At first it seemed okay because I didn’t have the itching after 20min or so. So I wore them during my commute and for a call. But that night I paid the price as it became very painful and itchy and had the same draining as with the Pros. Ended up with an ear infection in my left ear.

So I have to give up trying Apple products until they change the materials they are using for their AirPods. It’s unfortunate as it means having to go back outside the Apple ecosystem for ear buds.

Had the exact scenario play out for me. I took the series 3 back to the Apple store and got my money back. I’m using an AirPods series 2 that I got from my son that does not cause me any issues. I miss the features of the series 3 and of the previous AirPods Pro, but not the ear problems. Hopefully, someone will come up with a viable alternative that includes active noise cancellation and can share it with this group. Beats, Jabra, Sony, BOSE, Anker, XYZ company, anybody? Love ANC, but not at the price of crusty or runny ears. Thanks.

Just want to confirm that I get the same allergic reaction on Airpod 3, Airpod Pro and Power Beats Pro, but not on Airpod 1, Airpod 2, Power Beats 1 or Power Beats 2. Seems like Apple moved to a new material after Airpod 2 that is causing these reactions.