AirPod pro allergic reaction in ears

I posted this to another thread and just want to add it here also:

As it is mentioned in some other threads, please invest the 8-10 bucks to try out the AirPod Pro replacement eartips by Apple. The original ones offered in the Apple store! I was baffled to learn, see, feel and smell that they are indeed not as the stock ones you're get. The outside package looks similar but even the actual package inside is different.

To give a shortened background:

• I used the AirPod Pro from their product launch for a year without issues until I broke them
• I bought a new APP unit and after 3-5 days joined the club of people with severe issues for 2-3 months in total (it was frustrating)
• I tested the AirPod Max with the same strong reaction :-(
• Before giving up I picked up the hint that the replacement Eartips are different so I just bought them and it worked perfectly now for three weeks!
• Make sure your ears are fully healed before re-trying of course, never endanger your hearing!

The replacements eartips are really completely different. Slightly different color, no smell whatsoever, not before or after washing and no reaction at all, no even after a sweaty fitness workout :-)

I am very happy with this solution and hope this helps someone else. I notified Apple about this as well with all details.

Hello everyone - I wanted to share my experience with my Airpod Pros and about me having the same exact reaction as many of you on the forums here.

I received my Airpod Pros in July 2020 as a birthday gift from my wife. I bought her a pair as well for her birthday in the spring and she enjoyed them a lot so she decided to get me the same gift - I was pumped! As an avid user of the original Airpods, I was looking forward to the noise cancellation and better fit that would come from having the silicone tips and new tech.

I wore the AirPods for a few months and didn't really notice anything until about September - when my ears started to get flaky, and literally drain (so gross). Around the same time period, my wife began to have the same exact issues after wearing her Airpod Pros - flaky, rashy, drainage, general pain in the ear. We never shared our headphones or anything like that so it was interesting to us that all of a sudden we started to get side effects from wearing these headphones. So after alot of different uses, we decided that it was indeed the Airpod Pros causing our issues with our ears so we reached out to Apple in December of 2020.

As some people on the forums here stated their experience with Apple Support - it went about the same. The reps asked a ton of questions, asked for us to send pictures of our ears, pictures of the headphones themselves, you name it. After all the pictures were sent in, we got another call from the rep and he began to ask us a list of questions about our symptoms - describe exactly what is happening, when did we notice it, do we have pre-existing conditions/reactions to certain materials, etc. We cordially answered these questions to the best of our ability and one of the last questions they asked was how many Apple products have we owned so I rattled them off:

• Airpods (1st gen)
• Airpod Pros (2 pair)
• iPad (4th gen)
• Ipad Air (1st gen)
• iPad Pro 12.9 (1st gen) with silicone smart folio keyboard case
• Apple Watch (1st gen)
• Apple Watch Series 2 (multiple straps leather and silicone)
• iPhones
  • iPhone 4s
  • iPhone 5s
  • iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 7 plus
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone X XS Max
  • iPhone 11 pro max
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max + iPhone 12 Pro
• Apple TV 4k (4 of them)
• MacBook Pro 15" (x2)
• MacBook Pro 16"

Needless to say - we have A LOT of apple products not even including the Beats products we currently own. I also told them that I have had no issues wearing my 1st gen Airpods along with countless other in-ear buds from Beats, Bose, etc and that this is the first time ever that headphones have caused my ears to react the way they did. I never had issues with the apple watch that I wore DAILY for years with no issues. Never had issues with any of the silicone cases that Apple produces for iPads or iPhones.

Long story short - our case continued on through December and January and we found out a few weeks ago that we are both getting a full refund for both of our Airpod Pros. We are currently waiting for the refund (6-8 weeks) but at least we are receiving them.

I found it very interesting that when I talked to 4 different case managers throughout the process and they all looked at the case, they were dumbfounded and shocked that we had the issues we were having. I politely told them that there are countless other people on your own forums (Apple Support forums) in addition to Reddit and others that are all experiencing the same issues we are. These reps made it seem like my wife and I's case was very isolated and that it was very odd that this was happening to us since they haven't heard or seen anything like it before.....

I really love Apple products (obviously from my list) but it really leaves a sour taste in my mouth that Apple is failing to admit that there is an obvious issue here. The only difference that I could tell between the original Airpods and the Airpod pros is the unique smell they had when you first get them. No other Apple device that I have owned had a candy-like smell to them when first opening them up for the first time. The smell lingered on the device for weeks.....I wonder if this is what the underlying issue is? Is this the unique chemical that is causing all of our issues? The only reason why I think that this may be the cause is that the original Airpods plastic stems did not irritate my skin like the Pros; the silicone from Apple for the cases, watch straps, etc have never irritated my skin.....but this smell is the only thing that I could think of that has been uniquely different from every other Apple device that I have owned.....

My wife and I are the lucky ones and are at least getting a refund....I wish all of you the best of luck....this really does suck!

Cheers,

Andrew

George - thanks for your reply....the reason why I ask is that the headphones pieces dont touch my ear, and the irritation happens only where the tips touch my ear not the actual plastic piece on the headphone.

I also saw an earlier post from Xenion (in bold below)

That is why I am curious about the replacement tips since they dont have a smell to them like the stock eartips we receive in the box....hopefully he/she can get back to me on this.

As it is mentioned in some other threads, please invest the 8-10 bucks to try out the AirPod Pro replacement eartips by Apple. The original ones offered in the Apple store! I was baffled to learn, see, feel and smell that they are indeed not as the stock ones you're get. The outside package looks similar but even the actual package inside is different.

To give a shortened background:

• I used the AirPod Pro from their product launch for a year without issues until I broke them
• I bought a new APP unit and after 3-5 days joined the club of people with severe issues for 2-3 months in total (it was frustrating)
• I tested the AirPod Max with the same strong reaction :-(
• Before giving up I picked up the hint that the replacement Eartips are different so I just bought them and it worked perfectly now for three weeks!
• Make sure your ears are fully healed before re-trying of course, never endanger your hearing!

The replacements eartips are really completely different. Slightly different color, no smell whatsoever, not before or after washing and no reaction at all, no even after a sweaty fitness workout :-)

I am very happy with this solution and hope this helps someone else. I notified Apple about this as well with all details.

Very interesting! I also wore mine for a full few months with no issues whatsoever… And then suddenly started having the draining, flaking, and all the reactions everybody else reports on this thread. From that point on, even if my ears were completely healed from the last episode, it would only take a few minutes of wearing them again to create the same reaction. I never called Apple because I assumed since so much time had passed they wouldn’t do anything and ended up selling mine on marketplace for a loss. There’s no other earpiece that I have liked as much so it leaves me hoping that their next generation airpod will secretly correct this issue. (Because I believe it’s not possible that they are not quietly aware of the issue)

Although apple insists that the irritation is due to aseptic practice. I stand by my word that I have used Bose in ear headphones for many years with no issue. The intolerance or allergic response to the AirPod Pros is related to the formulation of the rubberised fittings.

There have been significant concerns related to this topic and APPLE should further investigate to determine what chemical ingredient, most probably a petrochemical is the cause.

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

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

I’ve had my AirPods since July. The first few weeks was fine but then my ears started getting incredibly itchy, felt like something was in them. I also experienced smelly discharge and I could feel the inflammation. I dealt with this for 2 weeks not knowing what it was. I was about to schedule a doctor’s appointment when it occurred to me the discomfort was in the same places my AirPods touched. I didn’t use them for a few days and noticed my ears got better. I thought it must be the silicone or latex tips. So I took pulled them off and took two weeks without using them to let my ears heal. Great; I get to keep my AirPods (they’ve been a god send!) and even though they don’t fit as well, I can still use them, I thought. I put them in for maybe two hours and the following day my ears were back to itchy and swollen. I don’t know what these pods are made of but there are a bunch of stories like this one and mine all over the internet. Apple should be concerned. I’m super bummed I can’t keep using these. They made my life so much easier.

Exactly the same experience here but I had one other observation. I bought my Airpod Pros in January of 2020 and had zero issues until the fall when when airpod pro started the crackling noise issues. This was the left ear. Apple support replaced that single airpod.

About 6 weeks later I started getting the inflammation and allergy in my left ear only. Around then the right airpod pro started crackling and again apple replaced it and now I have the replacement I am having the allergy in both ears. Possibly coincidence but do you think they changed the material in the tips? I had used the airpods non stop for about 6 or 7 months with no issue.

I really want them to work as they have been perfect for working at home etc.

I too unfortunately have this issue.... I have no other allergies. Wore my pro’s for half a day for meetings and spent the next 2-3 weeks with pain, itchiness, swelling and discharge. Doctor gave me steroid spray and eventually cleared up. Tried to wear them again yesterday for half an hour and could and still can already feel my ears swelling and very itchy! Gutted.. these were a birthday present in November... bought from Amazon so hopefully will be able to get my money back with the extended guarantee. I wanted these for ages and now so disappointed!

I have the same issues with my Airpod pros. I'd like to know what materials it is made of. In my whole life I am only allergies to nickel. When I wear cheap earrings made of nickel I get crusty, itchy earlobes. Also, when I was a teen the metal on the inside button of my jeans used to give me allergic issues on my stomach. I am having the same issues with my Airpods. I think they must use nickel in the materials and I'd like to know if the original airpod has this same issue. I tried replacing the tip with a third party plastic tip by waiting 2 weeks for the infection to clear up, cleaning the airpods and then giving them a try. Within a few hours the familiar itching returned. Does anyone have issues with the original Airpods too or is this allergic phenomenon only with the pros????

For me, it was only my replacement AirPod Pro. I had purchased the Air Pod Pro when it first came out, and all was well. No problems at all. Then, I had an issue with one of them not charging the same as the other, so they swapped out the case and both AirPod Pros. That is when the trouble started for me.

Ear Nose and Throat Doctor confirmed I have Contact Dermatitis. And since the only thing I place in my ears are the AirPod Pros, then one must conclude that they are the cause.

Now, if it is a change in material for the tips or for the body of the AirPod Pros themselves, I do not know. But I own an Apple Watch solo band, and apparently that is made of the same material as the tips. No issues on my wrist.

I have had exactly the same problem with my Powerbeats Pro. I contacted Apple support and reading the comments on this forum, was not surprised when they said that there was not problem with the material in their product. My Apple advisor suggested I visit my doctor to see if I was allergic to the material in the product. I have requested a copy of my conversation as if my doctor does say there is an allergic reaction, Apple should have a warning on the product, advising that people may be allergic to materials in the product. As this forum and other forums such as Reddit are showing significant occurrences of this problem and mine appears not to be an isolated case, it may be that Apple are selling a product not fit for purpose and something should be done about it. As a long time Apple buyer I feel totally let down by their response so far.