Ear infections are quite common among kids, but adults aren’t immune either -- especially by the extended use of earphones. Using headphones and earphones has become a necessity in our day-to-day lives, but they can sometimes lead to discomfort or even more serious ear problems. But does that mean you should give them up altogether? Not at all! You can prevent these infections with some simple tips, and enjoy listening to your favourite songs without any fear of infection!
In this blog, you’ll learn everything you need to know about ear infections, how to get rid of ear infections, and how you can prevent them from happening by switching your regular earphones and headphones to new and improved designs. So, keep reading and learning!
What Are Ear Infections?
Before you jump right into tips to prevent ear infections, you must know what they are and how they affect your body to successfully prevent them from reoccurring.
Causes of Ear Infections
An ear infection is usually caused by bacteria or viruses in your ear. These bacteria and viruses often grow because of poor hygiene or using earphones for extended periods of time, trapping moisture inside, which provides a perfect breeding ground for these pesky little creatures. Such bacteria and viruses can grow in many other ways as well, like due to lack of airflow, compressed earwax, cleft palate, excess sweating, during cold/flu, etc. Ear infection can appear with many discomforting symptoms in or around the ear:
How to Treat Ear Infections?
Treatment for your ear infection depends on where the infection is. For your outer ear, you may need professional cleaning and some sort of anti-bacterial drops. However, a middle ear infection can go away on its own in a few days. But if it persists for more than 2 - 3 days, then you may need to visit your doctor and ask them how to get rid of ear infection. They might prescribe you one of the following medicines to kick-start your immune system and deal with some severe symptoms:
Tips for Preventing Ear Infections
Common bacterial ear infections can easily be prevented with some simple hygiene practices. Proper hygiene greatly minimizes the risk of getting recurrent ear infections by eliminating the breeding ground for bacteria, improving overall ear health.
Avoid inserting anything in your ears.
It might be tempting to get rid of that pesky itching, but you may cause damage to your tissues around the ear that may lead to an infection. Hence, no matter what, never insert anything in your ears, including Q-tips.
Never swim in unclean water.
Water in most public swimming pools is most likely contaminated with thousands of bacteria ready to attack you any second. These can affect your ears and cause recurring infections.
Ensure proper hygiene.
Cold is a major infection inducer. By maintaining proper hygiene, you can effectively reduce the risk of catching a cold, ultimately reducing the risk of an ear infection.
Keep your ear dry.
Moisture provides bacteria with the perfect environment to grow and spread. Make sure you keep your ears dry thoroughly after swimming, excessive sweating, or while using earphones or headsets.
Maintain Ear Health With Clean EarBuds
As we have mentioned, proper hygiene is quite important to prevent ear infections. One very prominent hygiene issue is unclean earbuds. They carry thousands of bacteria, which are the most common cause of infection.
Using earbuds for extended periods can cause bacteria buildup, which not only looks gross but is actually a serious health risk. Earbuds can accumulate earwax and, if not cleaned timely, can re-enter your ear, causing infections and many other serious ear health problems.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning Your Earbuds
Cleaning earbuds is very essential to maintain ear health and proper hygiene. Hence, you must know how to clean earbuds to prevent ear infections and any other similar health issues. Here are some simple steps to clean your earbuds properly:
- Power off and disconnect them from any devices
- Start with a dry, soft, lint-free cloth to wipe off any visible dust or residue on earbuds and charger cases.
- Remove the silicon tips and clean them with mild soap or a mixture of dishwashing liquid and water.
- Take a cotton swab dampened with isopropyl alcohol to clean the outer surface thoroughly.
- Use a soft brush to clean grilles and be gentle to avoid damaging any delicate components.
- Make sure everything is completely dry and thoroughly clean without any moisture.
- Reassemble everything, and you are good to go to enjoy your favourite songs again.
Best Practices To Use Earbuds
In case you still want to use your earbuds, here are some tips to use them safely:
- Clean frequently: Make sure to clean them every 72 hours of use or at least once a week.
- Avoid sharing: Don’t share your earbuds to avoid picking up bacteria from someone else's ear.
- Let your ears breathe: Do not use them for extended periods of time.
Why Are Open-Ear Headphones Better for Ear Health?
Open-ear headphones are a great alternative to earbuds, which effectively reduce the risk of ear infections. Let’s take a closer look at how and why they are better than any other designs.
What Are Open-Ear Headphones?
Before we understand its advantages, let’s know what open-ear headphones are. These headphones are specially designed to keep your ears open, avoiding excess humidity while maintaining proper airflow and natural expulsion of earwax. They are highly advanced and use bone conduction technology to transfer sound through your head, keeping your ears completely free.
Benefits for Ear Health and Comfort
These technological marvels offer amazing benefits as compared to usual earbuds or earphones. Some of these benefits include:
- Designed to ensure good airflow in your ear canal
- Limiting humidity level and ear blockage
- Comfortably rest against your head
Safer Alternative to Traditional Earbuds
Traditional earbuds pose a risk of ear infection by compressing earwax, constricting airflow, trapping moisture, and even scratching tissues in the ear canal. Open-ear earbuds are comparatively better as they do not cause any of these problems, making them safer and better.
Better Design Than Traditional Earbuds
OpenFit earbuds are designed with comfort in mind. They are low-weight and have an ergonomic shape, which makes them very comfortable even for extended periods of wear.
Wrapping up!
Ear infections can have severe symptoms that can be very discomforting. However, you can learn how to get rid of ear infections with some simple tips and ensure proper hygiene. Although this blog teaches you how to clean earbuds, using open-ear headphones is a better alternative. You can enjoy listening without any fear of ear infection!
Hurry up and change your earbuds with open-ear earbuds from Shokz: OpenFit and OpenFit Air TODAY!
