Wearing Headphones and Earbuds After New Piercings

Ear piercings are like the most fabulous accessories, be it for men or women. But after you get new piercings, this time can be pretty tricky and vulnerable! It’s not really wise to experiment with your ear with fresh ear piercings.

Very often, people ask if wearing over-the-ear headphones after the piercing is okay or not. 

It is not recommended to wear earphones after getting your ears pierced. It can cause trauma or skin infections which can be really dangerous! Although, you can try wearing earbuds depending on your piercing type.

So, if you already got your ears pierced, you should know what to do and what to avoid! Ear piercings take some time to heal. If you are not careful enough, you may end up with an infected ear.

Hence, to learn more about the dangers of wearing over-the-ear headphones after piercing, please read the entire article.

Is It Harmful To Wear Headphones Or Earbuds After New Piercings?

Yes, wearing headphones can be damaging to your ears after new piercings. However, there are different types of piercings. You can use earbuds like AirPods if the piercing is not in close proximity to the hole of the ear. 

To understand this better, first, I want to discuss different types of ear piercings. Now, there are different kinds of trends to get your ears pierced. So, have a brief look at them first.

Rook Piercings

Basically, this piercing is made just behind the forward fold of cartilage in your ear. The forward fold is called the helix. 

To be fair, this type of piercing is painful and takes time to heal. Wearing earbuds, let alone headphones, can be quite painful with this type of piercing and delay the healing process.

Conch Piercings

It is situated just in front of your ear canal. Besides, it has gained a lot of popularity among Instagram influencers. A simple silver stud in this area of your ear can look really cool!

Although, it comes at a price to pay.

Because this area of your ear has thick cartilage, conch piercings can be very painful. Moreover, putting anything inside your ear with this kind of piercing can be traumatizing and harmful at the same time!

Tragus Piercings

Tragus piercings can give you a very maestro kind of look. The tragus is the conical projection in front of your ear. Just feel this part with your fingers, and you will understand how firm it is!

This area has a significantly more rigid and firmer consistency than other cartilages. Naturally, tragal piercings are not very pleasant. They take a longer time to heal as well, about four to six months. 

Wearing earbuds or earphones can put pressure on the wound here. So, it will delay the healing. It may exacerbate pain too.

Daith Piercings

Actually, the Daith piercings originate from the Jews. They are fashionable enough. It is made at the inner portion of your ear, where your helix takes a turn and ends.

The cartilage here is thin, so it might not hurt as much as the other ones. 

Naturally, wearing headphones can come in the way of the stud you will have to wear until the wound heals. It can put pressure and end up being a painful experience!

Others

Besides all these, the commonest ear piercing is the classical lobe piercing. Unless your headphones are putting pressure over the wound, you can wear headphones with these lobe piercings. 

However, there are other piercings such as industrial piercings, snug piercings, etc. These are cool, that’s alright. But if your concern is whether you can wear earphones with these piercings then, the answer is no.

The Problem With Headphones or Earbuds and New Piercings

Wearing headphones or earbuds when the piercing wound is still fresh is quite dangerous. It comes at the price of developing allergies, skin infections, trauma, etc.

People often ask, can I wear earbuds with a new piercing? As I described above, there is a significant risk of hurting yourself by doing that. 

Firstly, the wound is still fresh, and your immune system is vulnerable to infections at that point. Initially, the area is raw. It can contract any microorganisms, like Staphylococcus aureus, the most notorious cause of skin diseases. 

You can develop a severe infection, and it can be fatal! Wearing earbuds in this condition can be extremely painful. In fact, it can exaggerate your infection!

Secondly, some people are prone to allergic reactions to wearing jewelry after piercings. Most importantly, the most typical reaction occurs with nickel.

Wearing headphones or earbuds in these kinds of people has proven to exacerbate allergic reactions. 

It is because you are agitating an already irritated area of your skin. As a result, it won’t be a very pleasant experience for you!

Lastly, putting anything inside your ear when the wound is fresh causes trauma to that particular area. It delays the healing and causes more pain.

Sometimes, it can result in a failed piercing. So, choose wisely!

How Long Should You Wait To Use Headphones?

Usually, most piercings take about 3 to 6 months to heal properly. Some may take even up to a year. It is best to avoid putting anything in your ear during this time. 

An ear piercing is a wound that you made into your body. Although small, it is the same as making a hole in any part of your body surgically. Naturally, it will take some time to heal.

Until the piercing has healed properly, it is not wise to put anything in contact with it. 

It takes around six months for most piercings to be well healed, as mentioned before. But, ear piercings on thicker cartilages take a longer time.

Until this time, you have to wear studs or gold pieces of jewelry to prevent infections.

It is best to wait until six months. Nevertheless, if you are doing it with caution, take great care that the buds of your headphones are clean.

Clean it regularly with sanitizers. If you clean it improperly, you can contract infections. 

However, it’s just the first few weeks you have to be extra careful. After that, when the piercing is well healed, you can wear and use whatever you want!

Signs Of An Infected Ear Piercing 

Often, due to lack of care, your ear piercing can get infected. Regardless of whether you getting your piercings from parlors or crazily doing them at home by yourself. It is crucial that you do it while maintaining all healthy precautions. 

When the piercing gets infected, it exhibits a number of signs. If you observe closely, you can understand by yourself. However, if things go out of hand, you must consult a doctor immediately.

Below I have listed some medical signs of an infected ear piercing:

Redness: The first sign is that the area becomes red. So, it is quite distinguishable from the surrounding skin. It is due to the fact that the area has become inflamed.

Hot and tender: Simultaneously, the wound area will become painful to touch. You can feel warmth over the area. However, in worse cases, the pain may become obvious even without touching the wound!

Swelling: Worst of all, if a severe infection develops, pus may grow in this part. It may turn into a red, inflamed swelling. When this happens, the pain can be unbearable! You will need immediate medical attention! 

So, look for these signs to understand if your piercing has gone infected. In this case, wearing headphones or earbuds will only worsen the situation. Be extremely cautious!

Conclusion

Wearing over-the-ear headphones after piercing your ears is a risky decision to make, but you can use good-quality headphones like Status Audio, Sennheiser, or Bose.

Your wound is still fresh, and you don’t want to end up getting surgery for your carelessness! So, it is best to avoid using headphones during this time.

I hope this article has helped you to know more about the use of headphones after new piercings. Thank you for reading the entire article with patience. Have a good day!