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Drainage and itching when using AirPods Pro

I was given some Pro's for Christmas and the night after a workout, I noticed I had some drainage and assumed I had obtained an ear infection somehow. Didn't use them again for a few days and the itching and drainage stopped, used them again and the drainage came back with a vengeance that night, with severe itching and swelling in the external part of my ears. The drainage is clear, serous fluid, like that of an allergy.

I have purchased the Comply ones from Amazon and will be trying those later today.


[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Jan 4, 2021 11:52 AM

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Posted on Jul 9, 2021 10:26 PM

  1. So glad I found this discussion. I’ve been trying to figure out what is going on with my ears. I have itching, crusting, flaking, pain and drainage. I thought I had some type of dermatitis I picked up and have been treating the inside of my ears for a few months. It started after I had the AirPods Pro a month or so and I thought I had touched something then transferred it to the AirPods Pro then to my ears. I completely cleaned them but my ears hurt too much when I wore them I had to stop wearing them to let my ears heal, only they didn’t heal completely so I started using my old AirPods while they did and they finally had stopped draining and were only slightly crusting but didn’t get worse. Today I had to be on a Zoom meeting at work and decided to use my AirPods Pro again for the noise canceling. I only wore them for 45 minutes and within 30 minutes after taking them out, my ears started to drain, itch and swell. Within an hour my ears were almost swollen shut and my hearing sounded like I still had cotton in my ears. It became really painful. My first thought was that I hadn’t been able to clean them well enough to remove whatever I was getting an allergic reaction to so I cleaned my ears with peroxide and applied cortisone cream. They continued to swell really bad so I took a Benadryl and finally after 2 hours the swelling is starting to go down but they are still swollen and draining. While I’m extremely upset the AirPods Pro are what has caused my ear problems and the fact that Apple has been made aware of it and chosen to ignore everyone that has posted here at least I now know the cause and won’t be using them again and will make sure everyone I know hears about it. Hopefully my ears will heal completely soon.
62 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 9, 2021 10:26 PM in response to KellyKoch

  1. So glad I found this discussion. I’ve been trying to figure out what is going on with my ears. I have itching, crusting, flaking, pain and drainage. I thought I had some type of dermatitis I picked up and have been treating the inside of my ears for a few months. It started after I had the AirPods Pro a month or so and I thought I had touched something then transferred it to the AirPods Pro then to my ears. I completely cleaned them but my ears hurt too much when I wore them I had to stop wearing them to let my ears heal, only they didn’t heal completely so I started using my old AirPods while they did and they finally had stopped draining and were only slightly crusting but didn’t get worse. Today I had to be on a Zoom meeting at work and decided to use my AirPods Pro again for the noise canceling. I only wore them for 45 minutes and within 30 minutes after taking them out, my ears started to drain, itch and swell. Within an hour my ears were almost swollen shut and my hearing sounded like I still had cotton in my ears. It became really painful. My first thought was that I hadn’t been able to clean them well enough to remove whatever I was getting an allergic reaction to so I cleaned my ears with peroxide and applied cortisone cream. They continued to swell really bad so I took a Benadryl and finally after 2 hours the swelling is starting to go down but they are still swollen and draining. While I’m extremely upset the AirPods Pro are what has caused my ear problems and the fact that Apple has been made aware of it and chosen to ignore everyone that has posted here at least I now know the cause and won’t be using them again and will make sure everyone I know hears about it. Hopefully my ears will heal completely soon.

Jan 9, 2021 7:53 AM in response to KellyKoch

I had a similar issue with AirPods Max, which I received for Christmas: a severe allergic reaction consistent with the symptoms for allergic contact dermatitis, probably caused by the acrylates or methacrylates used in the AirPods. As they were purchased in the Apple Store, which is now closed for lockdown, I had to arrange a return with Apple Support.

Mar 5, 2021 2:26 PM in response to KellyKoch

The same thing happened to me. It started with itching, scabbing, shedding then the clear oozy drainage started. Used neosporin for a bit and it didn’t help. I finally went to doc and was prescribed antibiotics drops for a double ear infection. I switched over to my Bose headphones for a few weeks til my ears healed. Went back to AirPod pros for a week and the itching and scabbing came back. I read a few different threads and it looks like some people are allergic to the silicone tips on the AirPod pros. I ordered a pair of comply foam ones from Amazon and will see how I do with them after I wait for my ears to heal (again, ugh).


Jul 11, 2021 5:20 AM in response to Icyiphone

This was also my situation. The first set I bought was OK - I had no allergies at all during many months wearing them. Then, after sending the Airpods for service, Apple switched then for a new set and the problems with itching/drainage/pain started. I believe Apple should investigate a change in production that could have made this happen.

May 18, 2021 4:13 PM in response to nealdf

Sadly- I’m on my third (yes, THIRD) pair of AirPod Pros, second set of Comply foam tips (tried different sizes in case it made a difference) and after 6 months, I’m ready to give up. My ears itch, hurt, flake, ooze and I’m putting antibiotic drops in every so often to keep the symptoms from getting worse. Sadly I’m starting to get the sense I’m just allergic the nickel in the Airpod Pros themselves. I’ve never had this issue before with regular Airpods. If anyone else has any ideas please let me know. I hate that I just burned $250 on these. For everyone else, here’s a great article on the allergies people are experiencing: https://appletoolbox.com/allergic-airpods-pro/amp/

Jan 9, 2021 8:04 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Just got earpod pro for Xmas and I’m very disappointed. The first few times I wore them they were perfect but then started giving me discomfort. Also noise cancellation isn’t working as good. There’s seems to be a seam going around the pods that sticks up and irritates the heck out of my ears! The friction has left a cut on my right ear. Are they defective? Is there any recall or is it just me having issues with this? I’m beyond bummed out about this ☹️

Nov 30, 2021 3:40 AM in response to Farz15

Hello . This is exactly what is happening to me . What we can do ? I just used twice and I can’t stand the itching and sore . I’m using this droop but is $250 products so how Apple can reward customer that can proff this is what the AirPod is causing ? I used other (cheap one ) and never happened. I’m cleaning every time I tried to used and nothing help . Definitely Something in the AirPod cause allergy. Plus the battery charger is not longer that should be .

Drainage and itching when using AirPods Pro

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