Is it Bad to Sleep with AirPods in Your Ears?

Most people use AirPods in the ears during the day to keep themselves entertained. At night, these cancel out any noise and help them sleep peacefully. But, is it okay to use AirPods for such a long time duration?

Some people believe that using the AirPods for extended time can be harmful for the ears while others say that there is no problem in using them at bedtime. What do you think? Is it bad to sleep with AirPods in your ears? Well, there can be some side effects particularly if you are not using them the right way! Let’s see what those are.

Is it Bad to Sleep with AirPods in Your Ears?

Infections

Wax is produced and then removed by your ears on their own. But, when one keeps the AirPods in ears for a long time, they keep the moisture locked and make the ear damp. It serves as a perfect environment for bacterial multiplication. This can lead to an infection of the outer ear canal. In addition, the pods can scratch your ears making them easily vulnerable to bacterial invasion, growth, and reproduction.

Injury to the Ears

AirPods can injure your ears easily especially if they are not the right size. They can easily scratch them causing pain and discomfort. Also, if the pods are bigger than your ears, it can cause discomfort, feeling of fullness, and damage to the outer ear canal.

Making Your Reliable on AirPods for Sleeping

Once you get used to wearing AirPods while sleeping, there is no going back. You will have to put the AirPods in the ears every time you go to bed to sleep peacefully. It makes you dependable on these smart little speakers and imagine if you forget to keep them with you on your trip?

Reduced Sleep Quality

Although AirPods are mostly used to enhance the quality of sleep, sometimes they do the opposite. Sometimes when you sleep sideways, they can press your ears causing discomfort or earache that makes you wake up. This disturbs your deep sleep stages making your sleep less restorative. As a result, you will feel tired the next day.

Hearing Loss

AirPods are also related to hearing loss. When our ears are continuously exposed to loud music, it leads a temporary or permanent damage to our hearing. It is more likely to happen when we wear the AirPods at night. You will not be aware of the volume in your deep sleep thus causing an effect on your hearing.

Why Do AirPods Hurt My Ears?

Here are some possible reasons of AirPods hurt your ears or cause discomfort while sleeping.

Infection

Wearing AirPods can significantly increase the risk of ear infection. Once the infection starts developing, you might suffer from earache and continuous itching in the ears. It is also associated with fluid discharge

Ear Impaction

Since the AirPods increase the wax buildup in ears, this can also cause discomfort and irritation in the ears. The pods also push the wax deeper into the ears which can dry over time and can be a reason for ear problems!

Damage to the Ear Canal

If the AirPods are small in size, they might be pushed deep causing damage to your ear canal. In addition, Moreover, the metallic nature of the AirPods can also cause abrasions in your ears thus causing ear pain

Dryness and Flakiness

As mentioned earlier, when wax goes deeper into the ears, it might become difficult for your ears to remove it. It becomes drier and stickier. The skin also becomes flaky and can make you feel uneasy

Ear Safety Precautions and Tips to Use AirPods

• Keep a Check on the Volume Level: Higher volume is damaging for your ears both during the day and night. Therefore, keep a check on the volume level. When you are sleeping, reduce the volume to a safer level. This reduces the risk of hearing loss
• Give Your Ears a Break: Excess of everything is bad. As discussed earlier, keeping the AirPods in ears for extensive periods can be harmful. Therefore, schedule breaks of a few hours in between each session of using the Pods
• Buy the right fit: Smaller AirPods may fall easily or go deeper into the ears while the larger ones can rub against the walls of ears thus scuffing them. So buy the AirPods with optimal size fit to minimize the risk of ear damage
• Clean the AirPods thoroughly: Particles of dirt, dust, and wax can stick to the mesh of AirPods when worn without cleaning can cause infection. Hence, clean them at least once a week with a lint-free dry cloth to prevent infections and maintain the quality of this little tool
• Take Care of Ear Health: If you observe any discharge, pain, or sensation of fullness in the ears, contact a professional. Also, the wax can be stuck in the ear so you can use the camera-equipped Bebird Note 5 Pro to examine the ears and remove wax
• Avoid Putting Foreign Objects in the Ears: If there is itching in the ears or you feel like a bubble in the ear, do not put in any foreign object to scratch the ears. The cotton buds or any other item can push the wax deeper and also erode the ear skin

How Long Should You Wear AirPods a Day?

Using AirPods for longer time durations not only increases the risk of ear problems but also makes you socially distant. It can trigger anxiety or depression.

Most professionals recommend using the AirPods for 60 minutes per day. You must have heard of the 60-60 rule of wearing AirPods or headphones. No? Let us describe it! According to this rule, doctors recommend to use AirPods for 60 minutes per day at 60dB.

Managing time, cleaning the AirPods regularly, and using them at a lower volume can help minimize the probability of occurrence of any ear diseases and hearing loss.

Conclusion

Sleeping with Airpods in the ears makes you easily susceptible to infections. These infections worsen when these tiny buds scratch the surface of the ear and make them more sensitive to foreign bodies. Moreover, if you keep using them at high volume, it can cause damage to your hearing.

They reduce your sleep quality and make you dependent on external aids for sleeping. Therefore, it is advised to avoid sleeping with AirPods in the ears. For this purpose, you can use the earbuds specified for sleeping. In addition, maintain the hygiene of your ears and the AirPods to prevent any infections.