Are Earplugs Bad for Your Ears?

Are earplugs bad for your ears? No, not with normal use. Clean earplugs that fit well actually protect your ears. Problems mainly arise when plugs are dirty, fit poorly or when you use earbuds to listen to loud music for a long time. Below you can read, complaint by complaint, what is going on and how to prevent it.

Ear infections from earplugs

Under an earplug, the skin of your ear canal gets warm and moist. Add the earwax, sweat and dust on your plugs, and therefore bacteria. If you are prone to ear infections, this can trigger an infection of the ear canal. Dutch GP guidance (Thuisarts) lists earplugs and hearing aids among the causes.

How to reduce the risk:

• Clean your earplugs regularly and let them dry completely before you put them back in. How to do this for each type is explained in how to clean earplugs.
• Do not put them in while your ears are still wet from showering or swimming.
• Let your ears breathe in between, especially if you wear them all day.
• Do not share your earplugs with others.
• Do not use harsh cleaning products. They can irritate the skin in your ear canal and damage the plugs.

Replace foam earplugs and other plugs that are hard to clean after a few uses. Custom earplugs are easy to clean; which material suits you is explained in hard or soft custom earplugs.

Ear pain and pressure points from earplugs

Do your ears hurt after wearing earplugs? Then they usually do not fit well. A universal plug is too big or too hard for your ear canal, or you have twisted it in too deep. It then presses on one spot, and you feel that after a few hours. Many people find standard foam earplugs uncomfortable to wear for long periods. If you have a sensitive or unusually shaped ear canal, even a softer universal plug can cause problems.

First try a different size or material. Is a plug stuck or too deep? Then read earplug stuck or too deep in your ear.

With custom earplugs, the chance of pressure points is smallest, because they follow the exact shape of your ear canal. Even so, with sensitive ears something may not feel right. That is why Audinc offers a comfort guarantee: if you have problems with the fit or wearing comfort within 6 months of purchase, we adjust your earplugs free of charge. If an adjustment is not enough, we look at whether a new impression is needed. What exactly is covered and how to report a problem, you can read in what Audinc’s comfort guarantee entails.

More earwax from earplugs?

Earwax normally moves outwards by itself as you chew and talk. An earplug holds it back and can push the earwax a little deeper when you put it in. If you wear earplugs, earbuds or a hearing aid every day, earwax therefore builds up faster. You notice it as a muffled or blocked ear.

Is your ear blocked by earwax? Then spray or drop lukewarm water into your ear for 5 days; that softens it. This follows Dutch GP guidance; your own doctor can advise you on the rules and options in your country. Do not use cotton buds. How such a plug forms and what else you can do is explained in earwax blockage: causes and symptoms. If you get plugs more often, you can have your earwax removed at one of our Dutch locations.

Sleeping with earplugs every night: is that bad?

For most people it is not. Many people sleep with earplugs every night for years, for example next to a snoring partner. Do pay attention to three things:

• Hygiene. You wear them for hours on end in a warm ear canal. So clean them more often than earplugs you only wear now and then.
• Earwax. Daily wear is exactly when it can build up. If your ear blocks more often, have your ears checked.
• Fit. You mainly feel a plug that presses when you lie on your side. A flat plug that does not stick out is the most comfortable then.

Also make sure you can still hear your alarm clock, a crying baby or a smoke alarm. What earplugs can and cannot do against snoring is explained in earplugs for snoring. If you sleep with earplugs every night, custom sleeping earplugs are often more comfortable than foam plugs.

Too much volume: that is where the real risk lies

Earplugs themselves are not dangerous, but the sound that earbuds produce can be. If you listen to loud music for a long time, the hair cells in your cochlea can be damaged. They do not grow back. The result can be hearing loss or tinnitus. The WHO advises keeping the volume below 60 per cent of the maximum and giving your ears regular rest.

Custom hearing protection does not produce any sound, so this does not apply. The exception is earplugs with Bluetooth, which you use for calls and music. Because Bluetooth earplugs reduce the ambient noise, you do not need to turn the volume up as high to hear your music.

When should you stop and see your GP?

Custom earplugsEarplugs that do not pressMade from an impression of your ear, with a 6-month comfort guarantee. View the options