Allergic to AirPod Pro eartips

Yes - Apple actually asked me if I am allergic to nickel. I definitely am and can't wear cheap pierced earrings. Apple didn't agree to refund my money (mine were purchased April 23). Amazon is giving me time to figure out remedies so I have still have them. So far I purchase the Damon Light Airpod pro covers for about $9.00 and have been wearing the pros for several hours with no tops and no problems. Next I'm going to order the foam masters tips I think to see if I can wear them with them. I also plan to stay in touch with apple. I would like to be included is they end up reimbursing customers for the expenses we have to make these work.

I had two separate rounds of antibiotics. Its not an infection, It is almost like a chemical burn. One use causes a week long reaction. Multiple uses causes leaking fluid and serious rash. Just stop wearing them and replace the tips with some memory foam tips of Amazon. Apple may give you a refund if you try.

Yes, I have had a terrible (allergic) reaction to the AirPods Pros's silicone-like tips. It is identical to lgc 1004's experience above. I am now on my second round of antibiotic and corticosteroid treatment from my PCP but at least know the cause so can stop using them. I had been confused as to the cause since I only used these AirPods intermittently so had not immediately seen the association since I got them in the fall of 2019. I did immediately notice an unpleasant smell when I purchased them. The material is obviously not hypoallergenic. Of course, I know Apple will never acknowledge such a problem or offer a remedy. These have been simply thrown in the trash, and I found my old pair of first generation AirPods which are fine. What a waste. People need to place a complaint to Apple support so they can assess the scope of the problem. Perhaps they will make a change in the future. I will post on all sites for customers to be aware of the problem and to keep the receipt and box for the first week or two in case it becomes a problem so they can be returned. The old AirPods are fine. Apple has a long tradition, whether it is software or hardware, of successively making things worse and not owning up to the issue.

I also have the FoamMaster for AirPod and no longer seem to be experiencing the horrible reaction I had with the silicone tips...thank goodness! The foam tips are not quite as "elegant" but they seem to work pretty well and the noise cancellation is not noticeably degraded.

Unfortunately, the stories I've heard here about how "invasive" Apple gets with questions and requests make me less likely to report the problem to them. It seems we are, in a way, doing that now with each post in this community. I know they're monitoring these communities for input on the product. Whether or not it changes anything is another story. The time and effort I've heard some people committing to report via the customer care rep doesn't seem worth the $30 it cost to replace the tips (at least for me). To me, it's more important to get info out to other users of the product so they can be informed (something I am sure Apple is not going to do).

So I finally heard back from the Apple engineers. They said nothing and simply said send them the device and they will issue a certificate for a refund. I am sure this is simply a retail return situation and not further examination of the device. I am sure they are aware of the issue by now and do not need my sample. I said I had a work-around by using third party memory foam tips that did not cause this problem. Therefore I preferred to keep them since I like them in every other way. They said "great that you found a work-around. It gives me a solution to tell other customers." I very much doubt the latter. I think the model will evolve and simply have different tips the next time around on the standard upgrade cycle. I am sure they do not want a national recall and will just watch it since it seems to affect so few people apparently.

I thought I was crazy- at first my ears were itching and then they started getting sore where the air pods are inserted. Ive has power beats and other similar in ear headphones with no issues. But with 1 hour of use my ears get sore then scabby and very itchy.

i would take a break for a week and let them break then stupid me tries them again and the same thing happens. My ears are peeling (inside) the days later- and then in found this 35 page thread! I immediately ordered foam replacements from amazon.

I had tried Foam Master Memory Foam tips from Amazon and can wear them for hours with not problem. However they cost $29 and the fit is not great. So then I read a few days ago on this discussion group a recommendation for these silicone tips and they are only 10 bucks. I hate to keep throwing more money just to wear my APPs but I went ahead and got these because they fit much more like the original ones from Amazon but without any irritation (at least in my case). This could be such a simple solution for many of those that suffer with sensitivity to the tips. Note that this particular link is for size small but they come in medium and large and they give you 2 pairs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08531LC6Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@Zedmararecure, It's been a week yesterday that I stopped using my AirPods Pro and only 5 days after I started to feel better. I still have one or two episodes of itching a day but nowhere near the constant itching I had a week ago, even after stopping wearing them. I bought the Canopus Memory Foam Replacement which is compatible with the APP and haven't noticed any issue since I wear them. I first cleaned the APP with alcohol swab before adding the replacement tips. I have also been using the Aveeno cream trying to sooth the itchy area of my ear. It only started to give noticeable results after 3 days but the progress is very encouraging. I hope to come back here in a few weeks and be symptom free while still enjoying my APP.

I called support to ask for help because I wanted to keep my Air Pod Pro. I answered a lot of questions first set seemed more about devices and second set of questions were more about APP. Sent pictures. I still had APP box and they look new as every time I wore them my ear would have the worse reaction. Resolution was I should return for a a full refund. I was transferred to a new person who is working on the return. "Main point was I needed proof of purchase". Apple employee said it doesn't matter when you bought them as long as I had proof of purchase they would refund. I bought mine in Dec. 2019. Apple emailed me a fedex label and I sent my APP back to Apple yesterday. Still waiting for the refund, but at least I know it's approved and Apple said I would be getting a full refund. Also, Apple has valuable info so they can research what is going on.

And to accompany the Apple support reminder, below is a rundown of our most common symptoms reported in this group with the AirPod Pros.

Common Symptoms

• Itching
• Pain
• Crusting around outside of ear
• Fluid drainage
• Ear pressure
• Ringing of the ears (later stages for some)
• Headaches

Remedies

• Stop wearing them
• Prescription from doctor in some cases
• Time (weeks to months to fully recover)
• Very mixed, often temporary success with coverings or new tips (not wearing is best method)

And to accompany the Apple support reminder, below is a rundown of our most common symptoms reported in this group with the AirPods Pro.

Common Symptoms

• Itching (Very common)
• Pain (Very common)
• Crusting around outside of ear (Very common)
• Fluid drainage (Very common)
• Ear pressure
• Headaches
• Ringing of the ears (later stages for some)
• Partial hearing loss/distortion (later stages for some)

Remedies

• Stop wearing them (best solution)
• Prescription medicine from doctor in some cases
• Time (weeks to months to fully recover)
• Very mixed, often temporary success with coverings or new tips (stop wearing them is best method)

And to accompany the Apple support reminder, below is a rundown of our most common symptoms reported in this group with the AirPods Pro.

Common Symptoms

• Itching (Very common)
• Pain (Very common)
• Crusting around outside of ear (Very common)
• Fluid drainage (Very common)
• Ear pressure
• Headaches
• Ringing of the ears (later stages for some)
• Partial hearing loss/distortion (later stages for some)

Remedies

• Stop wearing them (best solution)
• Prescription medicine from doctor in some cases
• Time (weeks to months to fully recover)
• Very mixed, often temporary success with coverings or new tips (stop wearing them is best method)

Advocating

• Contact Apple Support directly and report this allergy shared by many of their APP users. Tell the support agent, "I want to raise a Safety Escalation." And relate your story and the stories here.

I bought the CharJenPro AirFoams Pro: Premium Memory Foam Ear Tips off Amazon for about $30 a couple weeks ago and have had 0 problems since! I wanted to test them before I recommended them to anyone else. Hopefully they’ll work for everyone else too!

Also, is anyone else allergic to nickel? I was just told a lot of products like that made in China contain small amounts of nickel. I’m pretty mind blown.. I’m allergic to nickel so it makes perfect sense.

I’ve done a series of experiments on myself with the AirPods Pro since the first reaction I had. A friend thought it was a reaction to the plastic and suggested I buy silicone covers as a barrier between my ear and the AirPod. I’m now certain that was the wrong way to go. Yesterday I removed the silicone tip from my right AirPod but put the purchased silicone cover on it and wore it for 15 minutes. I experienced mild itching at the time so took it out. I, once again, woke up at around 3am with severe itching, crusting and clear fluid draining which is still continuing this morning as well as mild swelling. The same happens with only the silicone tips. I took all silicone off my left AirPod pro and wore it for 3 1/2 hours yesterday. I have no reaction in my left ear today, no discomfort at all. The reaction appears to be very specific to silicone products. I did some quick research and found documentation on reactions to medically used silicone products (example, a nasogastric tube causing internal itching and reaction which resolved when it was removed).

I know there has been a lot of discussion about the silicone tips being the culprit, but I think it's worth taking a closer look at nickel as the possible cause of the reaction. After my initial reaction (same as what has been widely report here: itching, redness, scaling/peeling skin, weeping/discharge), I tried foam tips on the APPs that I initially thought fixed the problem, but it soon returned. I think because the foam was thicker than the silicone, it just took a little longer to react to the nickel.

I've since recently tried the new Bose Earbuds II, which have a NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) battery and immediately had the same reaction. This leaves me to believe that nickel is most likely the culprit, not the silicone that I initially thought.

I also noticed that Apple has created the following web page that warns of potential allergic reactions to nickel (and other substances) in AirPods, EarPods and Beats: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211158