skin irratations and itchy ears from powerbeats pro wireless

Met0012, I bought some Comply foam ear tips. The ones I got were the Comfort 400 assorted sizes pack.

They worked fine, but unfortunately I didn't get to give them a really good tryout along with my whole ear covers — yup, I'm the "genius" :) — before I had to send the PBPs back to Apple. If the only reaction you get from the PBPs is inside your ear canals, then maybe different ear tips like the ones from Comply will solve the problem for you. For me the skin reaction was everywhere the PBPs touched my skin, so that's why I decided to try the now-defunct covers idea. Oh well... There are, of course, wireless earphones with ear hooks made by other manufacturers and I might give some of them a try, but again, what I really want is some PBPs that don't drive my ears crazy!

I have been in contact with them and they have offered to reimburse me. I am still waiting for them to email me the shipping label they said they would email me so I can return the beats and once they get it, they will send me the refund. They said that they are having the engineers examine the beats when they get them. This is what my ears look like two days after wearing them.

I bought my Powerbeats Pros (PBPs) in June 2019 and used them intermittently for a few months and don't remember any problems, but later on when I started to use them more regularly and for longer periods I noticed the maddeningly itchy ears, the clear liquid discharge and the peeling skin. It got really bad and eventually I couldn't use them any more. I tried a test whereby I waited a couple of weeks until my ears cleared up, had my skin checked as normal by my doctor, put the PBPs in for 4 hours (they itched like crazy after 2 hours), and then had my doctor look at my ears right afterwards, and she confirmed contact dermatitis from wearing the PBPs.

I contacted Apple, described the problem, sent photos like these...

... sent doctors' reports about contact dermatitis after wearing them, etc. but all to no avail.

Too bad, because other than those problems they are certainly the best in-ear 'phones I have ever had, and besides the great sound quality, I especially like the ear hooks because my ear shape just doesn't hold onto any of the other in-ear 'phones I have tried over the years. I thought I had finally found the earphones I've been looking for for years! But no...

My theory is that Apple used a nano-coating to sweatproof the PBPs and that's what is causing the terrible skin reaction. I would be really pleased if a) Apple would acknowledge and seriously address this problem, and b) produce new PBPs without the sweatproof nano-coating to see if that solves the problem. The design is great, but the execution of the design is badly flawed and in my estimation, the fact that the company seems not to be interested in dealing with the problem hurts Apple's reputation. Surely the world's richest corporation should be willing to go the extra mile to help loyal customers like me (since 1991!)

By the way, there's a long but now-archived discussion about this problem on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/powerbeatspro/comments/d1m3w3/allergic_to_powerbeats_pro/?sort=new

I have had these for about 5 months now by far my most favorite set of beats and I have several variations of headphones. Recently the last 3 weeks I have getting a rash on the outside of the ear where the hook goes and also inside the ear. The left ear is by far worse than the right one primarily because I wear the left one more often than both at same time. Except when working out I use both. Stopped wearing them for the last two weeks and slowly has subsided. Not sure why the beats are doing this but there are many other people especially on Reddit who have been discussing this for months with no real feedback from Apple.

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

I want to make sure you reach the right team for help with your Powerbeats. I recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: Contact Apple Support

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

I want to make sure you reach the right team for help with your Powerbeats Pro. I recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: Contact Apple Support

I had my first call today , submnitted photos and have a callback tomorrow

its a known issue - They have it listed in their documentation

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

look what its does

https://dermnetnz.org/topics/allergy-to-acrylate/

The dermatitis is usually confined to the area of contact and may cause itching, burning, scaling, hives, and blistering.

Apple are aware of this and include it in their documentation referring to the allergic like symptoms

but the question is why if knowing this information do they put MANY people at risk

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

Skilduff, can you tell us how you first came across the Apple Support webpage, "Wearing your AirPods, EarPods, and Beats devices" (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211158)? I find it strange that although the page was "published" back in May, none of the Apple advisors I talked with ever mentioned it, and I assume the same is true for everyone else in this discussion. I'm sure your Irish journalist will find all this very interesting. :)

I might have mentioned this before, but anyway, there's another discussion about the same kinds of reactions we're experiencing but to Airpods Pros, and it's up to 62 pages! https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250896003?page=62

It could be different for each person. My ears broke out after wearing them for 20 minutes on a business call, so I wasn’t sweating. There is another discussion forum just like this one for people with this same issue with the iPod Pro

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250896003

For working out I’ve switched to another brand that uses bone technology so they sit outside the ear. They are phenomenal plus your ears are open to hear traffic if you’re running outside or if someone is talking to you. Not to good if you need noise cancelling however so I use over the ear headphones in that case.

This is what I wake up to when I have the drainage. Its ridiculous that there are so many people complaining and they arent doing anything about it. I probably would have been better off buying cheap headphones.

By the way, I've fashioned the first of a pair of skin protectors to wear with the PBPs in the hope of preventing our problem from occurring. The material is Alcantara, an artificial suede-like material. Nice and soft and no allergic reactions. Below are some photos. I had to make it from two pieces so I could keep the ear hook from touching any skin behind my ears. I'll trim them down as much as I can (so they don't look so outlandish) and likely sew the part behind the ears together so the ear hooks are kept covered. There still seems to be a bit of skin contact inside and near the ear opening, but maybe I can work out some modification to deal with that. I haven't finished the second one yet but when I do I'll give both of them a good test and report back.

I’m having terrible ear drainage and skin irritations from my Powerbeats. I’ve tested not using for months until they clear up and every time I use them within a day my ears are irritated and drainage happens and this lasts for weals following a single use of my headphones

WHEN WILL APPLE FIX THIS?

Is apple waiting for a class action lawsuit?

does apple protect the Chinese where Ruiz crap is manufactured????