skin irratations and itchy ears from powerbeats pro wireless

They are almost fully healed (I slacked using the drops this weekend). When I used my earbuds this morning, they were getting itchy again so I will let you know in a week when I use fully healed. The funny thing is that they did not start bothering me until the warmer months while using more extensively for calls. I think the humidity is a big part, but I don't have evidence or data to support that. They are hydrocortisone drops that, within a few days cleared it up 85-90%?

The official diagnosis from the doc was eczema but now that I stumbled upon this, I am questioning that. Do I think it will permanently solve? No. Just a remedy for when it is really bad.

SheenzLP, you say the effects of your irritation (other than the scar behind your ear) have healed, but does that mean that you can now use the PBPs with no further irritation? If so, did you have any specific treatment that stopped the irritation?

SheenzLP, are you also going to ask Apple for a refund? I admit that it was a lengthy process for me and others above, but perhaps Apple has come to realize how much of a problem this is and has shortened the process. They certainly should do that in my opinion because otherwise the company risks losing the confidence/trust of people like us.

I live in NYC with everything going on here I didn't want to go see a dr and a virtual appointment wouldn't have done much for my dermatologist to see the extent of it. The ointment did help a lot for me.

Yeah, that sounds par for the course. It's almost as if they're trying to make people give up on the process, or maybe they just don't trust their customers and assume at the start that we're trying to pull a fast one on them and so they have to perform a major "enquiry" for each case to make sure we're legit. That's why I make noises about Apple doing something to restore our faith in the company. It seems that at some point Apple has to admit publicly that there is a fault in the PBPs and they're going to fix it and make it right for all concerned, but I'd also like to see them announce that a new non-itch version of the PBPs will be produced. That's what I've wanted all along.

They know it's an issue. They're choosing to not do anything about it. I've sent them this thread and one from Reddit when I started this entire process. I've had older in ear beats and they never caused an irritation. I have the over the ear ones no irritations. Just the PBP, there's something in the material that's causing the irritations. And they have them in pastels now, like that's going to solve the issue. Ive used the ones that came with my phone (Samsung) no issues with those.

My dr. prescribed:

https://www.goodrx.com/hydrocortisone-acetic-acid/what-is

It healed to 90% with 24-48 hours.

To answer the refund question, I have considered it but would need to wear them to the level of pain and discomfort again (which I had for 2+ weeks) which does not sound exciting but I do want to try them with more cleaning and see what happens. If they get worse, I will likely request a refund. Mine were refurbed so I am not sure they would refund. But I will certainly try if it comes to that. After looking at Amazon, 10K report them as 4 and 5 stars so I am guessing Apple sees us as the "minority." My Dr. is getting them this week so I may check in with her as I told her it was from wearing them but thought it was the moisture stuck but now, with it on the outer ear too, I question that.

nedklly22, your Dr. could be a real asset to your case and for the rest of us, too. If she has the same result as all of us and treats her own situation as a medical case, she could self-monitor, take notes etc. and be a powerful voice to get Apple to take the problem more seriously.

I purchase my power beats pro in April 2020. They were nice, comfortable, and the sound quality was great. After about 2 days of wearing just the right one. I started getting drainage from my ear canal and behind my right ear. I stop wearing the one on my right ear and put on the left one. The same thing started. I cleaned them both with alcohol. I waited until my ears healed from the ear infections that happened afterward. I never had any ear infections in my life and I’m 42. So it was very painful and I lost hearing in my right ear for 3 days. Today which is June 30, I put the one on my right ear again and the drainage started again after about an hour of having it on. Is there a lawsuit or anything going on with these power beat pro’s?

When I started the process with Apple, I refused to put them back in my ears just to have them start getting another reaction. They were perfectly fine with that. I had to present pictures, which still showed remnants of the scaling and dead skin that presented after only wearing them for 10 minutes!

I was excited to see this discussion for I have been experiencing ear rashes for 3 months. I purchased the beats a year ago, loved them, no issues until lately. Once the issue started for me, I cannot wear them for more than 15 minutes before my ears are on fire. I agree with the statements here, Apple is big enough to recognize this issue and they should announce a replacement process or a link for getting a refund. The Beats are an amazing product, truly better than the iPods in my opinion. I would love to request a refund but I don't have 3 months to deal with this. Apple take a moment and respect your customers, it isn't hard to do, we are with you but this one issue is truly unsetting...

Guys we all are having conditions that are same and is the Beats Pro you have the black color because I have a friend with the white ones that is not having this problem but I purchased 2nd pair and still the same so it is definitely the material and getting rid of it is not that easy without a doctor visit but what work for me was the Zinc Sulfate ointment and antibiotic ointments

Myron, you like me and some others have reported that the itchiness didn't show itself right away after we bought our PBPs, maybe not manifesting itself for several months. I have to wonder if that might be an important clue to help Apple understand the underlying problem. I assume (but have no proof whatsoever) that Apple has scientists and medical people looking into this problem, and I for one would be willing to help them with their research. All they have to do is ask, but like so many other huge companies these days, Apple is probably fearful of getting sued. Such is the age we live in...

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Well after waiting a while for my ears to heal up and receiving the foam tips to try instead, I'm sad to report that my ears still reacted similarly (itchiness, drainage, crustiness) almost immediately after wearing the headphones with the foam tips instead for an hour or two. Granted, it wasn't as severe of a reaction as I experienced with the silicone tips they came with (it's already starting to heal after a couple days, whereas last time it took a week to two weeks for me to be fully healed). Because of this I'm not sure if it's my ears being very sensitive or if it's like others suggest that it has to do with the headphones themselves as well and not just the material (like the heat it gives off or something?). Because the foam tips still didn't work for me and caused issues, I attempted to get a refund but they told me since I bought it through a 3rd party I'd have to go through them. So I'll try them for a refund. If not, I guess I'll just have wasted $200 on headphones I can't use. Sigh. :(