skin irratations and itchy ears from powerbeats pro wireless

I had exactly the same issue. Although to took a while to develop. Probably 2-3 months of regular use. Now if I wear for 30 mins I get the symptoms and have to avoid using for a week for them to clear up.

i solved this by replacing the tips with those from a 3rd party. I found a company called Comply who make replacement tips for many different headphones. I think the main selling point is they are made from a special foam that gives great sound benefits as well as comfort. I ordered a set, I am in the UK so they took a few weeks to arrive. I have to say I have been impressed. They take a while to get used to. However I have had no reaction, so I am back using my Powerbeats pro without issue.

i bought em as soon as they came out.

noticed the same problem as soon as I started using them.

However, it wasn’t too bad at the beginning, but over the bad year it has gotten really bad and started experiencing all the symptoms mentioned by other (the crazy itch, the flakes in the ear, the discharge)

I’m at my doctor’s office right now and he diagnosed it as allergy eczema to whatever type of silicone apple using in the ear tips.

Prescribed medicine, told me to see if can replace the tips with different type.

I’m really disheartened to see this has been an issue since the products come out. I initially bought my my PBPs because other in ear headphones don’t stay securely on. Always thought my ears are too small for other designs. I was so excited they work great, connect well with all my devices, stayed charged long enough to do work calls and work out on one charge BUT I immediately noticed an irritation after my second use. I thought it was due to the attachment part being too large for my ear, switch down to the smallest possible and still had issues. Then I realized it wasn’t the attachment part it was the larger in ear part that was making me super itchy, again I thought it was too large and stretching my ear.

After doing one search I see this has been ongoing for over a year with thousands of cases. It didn’t occur to me that the material itself was causing the reaction not the size.

I’ve had contact dermatitis on my hands as an ongoing issue for years now. I’ve had to completely change my routines, get steroid creams, wear gloves when doing dishes, gloves when cutting vegetables, and frequently have itching burning sensations without knowing what I’ve touched to cause the issue. To say the least I’m not willing to start dealing with this on my ears.

As an FYI to others I bought mine through Walmart, just checked their return policy and you have 90 days from purchase for return or exchange of an item. I’ve had mine maybe three weeks and don’t plan to see if my ears adjust, I’ve read enough to see it’s not going to get better, I’ll be returning mine is soon as possible.

I too have had the same issues. I would clean the earpiece and hook with an alcohol pad before and after use. I would get severe drainage from both ears, not use them for a week and my ears would get better. This happens after each use. I honestly believe it’s the material used in the earpiece. I switched out the earpiece with a knock-off brand and my ears feel great. It’s disappointing when you pay for a good product and you end up going to an ENT because you have no idea what’s happening. Apple should redesign the earpiece with a different material- do the right thing and all.

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

Very aware of acrylates, already been to the doc about this.

I use the "Comply" tips for my Airpods and Beats. No issues.

https://www.complyfoam.com/

Keep in mind that it may be another compound that people have an issue with or multiple compounds. This worked for me, does not work for my partner. They use the gels and have no issue. I find the gels work as well but prefer the foam for comfort sake.

onemac wrote:

gol75, the problem we are having goes beyond just where the ear tips touch our ears. I like many of us get a reaction wherever any parts of the PBPs touch my skin, i.e. inside my ears, in front of my ears, and up and over behind my ears. I even taped one of the PBPs to the inside of my forearm for several hours as a test, and a few days later, the same skin reaction set in on the skin of my arm which my doctor diagnosed as contact dermatitis. If you check back through this discussion you can see some of these skin reactions people have suffered in and around their ears. Bottom line is that trying different tips isn't the solution. I actually tried Comply foam tips and they might have reduced the reaction just where they touch the skin inside of my ears, but I still had itching, weeping and flaking everywhere else. And check out my Apr 25 12:17 PM post to see the lengths I've gone to.

Then these, or any MCP earbuds, will not work for you. I researched this for over three years so I am well versed on the subject. It's part of my job.

Right now, the Bose MCP's are the only ones were aftermarket companies make a total cover for them made from PETG. They are weak, they will break but they are the only option for people with a high sensitivity like that.

So, I love my Powerbeats, but not the constant skin dermatitis and occasional secondary infections, but someone suggested replacing the silicone tips with the foam ones (best reviews=comply tips) and it’s wonderful!! So, if you’re also sensitive to the material or coating that the tips are made with, but love the design and sound, then this should work for you.

No solution!

Today I just got the final "sorry, still not our problem" from our caring friends at Apple after opening a case in spring 2020 and having been treated with the "runaround" for almost a year. Spoken to 10 people. Sent bills from 3 doctors visits, descriptions, changed silicone buds to other brands, cleaned them, thuroughly taped the hoop, used creams, the works. No luck, reaction appears within an hour and irritation/scaling remains for 2-3 weeks after I stop using them. So I have stopped permanently. Obviouly the PBP are at fault. It does not feel right to sell them and just forward the problem.

Anyway, first Apple's escalation-"technicians" concluded it was beacuse I "had not cleaned them", then they said I had to "talk to the shop that sold them", now they say "oh yeah, the materials can cause reaction" but that they are not at fault and it has been written on the website that some materials can cause a reaction. (Which means they can do whatever they like and not be blamed since they "warned me".)

These are some aggressive materials. Never had anything remotely similar with any other products. Never been allergic before. And certainly not to any other in-ear headphones, even sweating.

This apple is rotten. Stay away.

I stopped using my PBP and my ears have cleared up ok. I currently have an alternative brand but if they are not charged i wear my Wife's PBP.'s After an hour or two's use - my ears start weeping again. Stop using them and buy another brand and your ear's should heal up.

Hi Jayz,

It's many months ago that I started my own (successful) process that got me a refund. As I remember I simply got in touch with Apple support, explained the problem, and eventually spoke with a succession of agents (or whatever they're called) and finally I got to someone who then began the real process of gathering "evidence" which included answering questions about my particular issues and sending in photos of my ears, doctor's reports etc. It took a fair amount of back and forth and, when that stage was over, there was a wait of six weeks or so until my refund arrived. Now that so many people like us have reported the problem, I would hope that Apple has streamlined the process of getting a refund, but as I've said a number of times in this discussion, what I really would like Apple to do is produce a new version of the PBPs that won't irritate my ears, because I still think the PBPs are a great design and I would buy another (non-itchy) pair in a second. But so far, Apple has remained silent about the problem and have not produced a new version of the PBPs. Anyway, good luck with your process. It will take awhile but be patient and stick with it.

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!

Man I'm grateful for this thread and the one someone linked to earlier on Reddit. I thought it was just me and I was going crazy! I didn't put it together until today and after finding these threads that it's totally my headphones. I don't wear them all that much, but every time I have they've irritated my ears. At first I thought maybe I didn't have the right size tips, but it was like itchy, which seemed odd. I haven't worn them while exercising so it wasn't sweat, and I'm finally at the point where you all are where it's causing crustiness and drainage and I wore them 4 days ago for only an hour. At the moment I'm only experiencing it where the ear tip is in my ear and not behind my ears with the hook. Someone in that Reddit thread bought different ear tips made of foam instead of silicone, so I'm going to try that and hope it helps. Sounds like contacting Apple is a real hassle over this, and I bought mine from a 3rd party site not Apple, so not sure that Apple would be willing to help me anyway. The guy who made a whole cover for his ear, while genius, seems so ridiculous considering how much these headphones cost. This clearly isn't an isolated incident if so many of us have this issue! Anyway, hopefully the different ear tips will help since I don't want to have to buy another set of headphones.

After a few phone calls with a tech rep, sending some pictures of my ears and scalp to engineering, and then answering more questions, I have been assured by Apple that I am getting a refund. One more phone call set up where they will generate a return label for me. It took awhile, but don't give up!

OK so update: During my initial calls at the beginning of July, I got transferred a few times to someone that was a senior safety advisor who asked me a lot of questions and requested I send him pictures of all sides of each headphone and my ears. By this time my ears were mostly healed so I took pics of what I could but told him I was NOT putting the headphones back in so I could get the issue again to take pics just for them (he seemed okay with that). I didn't hear anything after I submitted the pictures so after a few weeks (end of July) I called them again to figure out what the deal was since I hadn't heard anything (and initially they had told me it'd take about a week after I submitted the pictures). They said they tried to call me back (but they didn't leave a message and I looked back at the calls on my phone and there was only one try that could've been them, so there wasn't multiple attempts) and they had more questions. So then I answered more questions (and very specific ones like dates when I had the reaction, what it felt like, how long it took to heal, if I have any other skin issues or conditions in general etc.). Then after answering those, they scheduled another call in a week saying they'd let me know if their safety team/engineers had any more questions, etc.

Long story short (too late): After about 3 calls each a week a part, I'm finally at the point where I have shipped back my headphones (they sent me a shipping label), I have sent them a copy of my receipt, and I'm waiting for them to process it to give me a refund. (I have another call scheduled for Thursday to give me an update on the status of my refund.)

It seems like this (questions, pictures) is what everyone else has gone through when contacting Apple. I did initially mention this forum and that others had this issue, but not sure if that was passed along to the 5 or 6 other people I ended up talking to as I got transferred around. Once I finally got a hold of someone and scheduled calls, the process seemed to go faster and they were pretty quick to accept my headphones back and give me a refund. I'm coming up on almost 2 months from my initial call to refund? It might have been quicker if I hadn't waited so long after I submitted pictures hoping they'd get back to me. So I suggest if anyone is going this route, to stay on top of them and schedule calls and call back if it's longer than they said it would be.

If you are experiencing this issue and it's still been within a year of you purchasing it, I strongly suggest calling Apple Support and going through this process to get a refund. Most of us have tried other things or different colors but most end with the same result and issues with our ears. As someone else recently said, maybe if enough of us call and complain they'll do something? But at the very least you'll get a refund?

In the meantime, I have purchased Airpods 2 and some rubber tips with hooks (since the whole reason I didn't buy these and bought the Beats initially was because they don't stay in my ears), and they've been sufficient.