What is going on with my ears?
October 18, 2021 9:37 AM Subscribe
I got my ears pierced many, many moons ago. I wore earrings with no problem for 25 years. Now, though, I have issues.
I've gone long periods without wearing earrings, but then I get the urge and put some in. When I do, it feels like the backs of my ears have closed up and I have to work to force them through. But with a little finagling I can get them in and wear them, but my ears always feel bothered. Is this likely to be an allergy? If I want to wear earrings do I have to seek out hypoallergenic wires? Any other ideas?
I've gone long periods without wearing earrings, but then I get the urge and put some in. When I do, it feels like the backs of my ears have closed up and I have to work to force them through. But with a little finagling I can get them in and wear them, but my ears always feel bothered. Is this likely to be an allergy? If I want to wear earrings do I have to seek out hypoallergenic wires? Any other ideas?
The piercings are closing up during those long times you aren't wearing anything. I have had the same issue, and by now the piercings have closed completely and I will need to get them re-pierced.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:48 AM on October 18, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:48 AM on October 18, 2021 [9 favorites]
This sounds like a nickel allergy, most likely. Same thing happens to me. Especially these days when I don't wear earrings much. Also, you probably just need to put earrings in more semi-frequently because it seems like they get a bit more allergic when they aren't used to having earrings in.
In my experience, I can't really wear earrings any more that are up close and personal to my skin--I pretty much only wear danglies, which I've had to give up these due to them getting tangled in masks.
Anyway, solution to this is: (a) put in earrings more frequently so your ears don't completely get un-used to having earrings in, and (b) maybe look for hypoallergenic studs/wires.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:55 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
In my experience, I can't really wear earrings any more that are up close and personal to my skin--I pretty much only wear danglies, which I've had to give up these due to them getting tangled in masks.
Anyway, solution to this is: (a) put in earrings more frequently so your ears don't completely get un-used to having earrings in, and (b) maybe look for hypoallergenic studs/wires.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:55 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Use a sturdy needle, cleaned well with alcohol, if you have to re-open the hole, and probably some antibiotic salve. The needle will tear the skin less. You may have developed sensitivity to nickel, found in a lot of earrings; look for hypoallergenic posts/ wires.
posted by theora55 at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
My ears started doing this (itchy allergic feeling, trying to close themselves up whenever an earring came out) when I turned 30. Now I just leave a low profile pair of sterling silver hoops in 24/7 and I have no issues.
Around the same time I stopped being able to use antiperspirant (big swollen welts in my armpits) and I developed a bandaid adhesive allergy and I figure they're all related.
posted by phunniemee at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2021
Around the same time I stopped being able to use antiperspirant (big swollen welts in my armpits) and I developed a bandaid adhesive allergy and I figure they're all related.
posted by phunniemee at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2021
I've always assumed what EmpressCallipygos says - it's not an allergy, it's just that your ears are starting to close up and when you push that first earring back through, you're re-piercing them, at least partly. So you need to wear whatever it is you get when you're first pierced (it's been a while so I can't remember, but silver or gold of a certain quality, at a guess?) to avoid irritation for a few weeks until the holes heal open again, then you should be good to go and able to diversify a bit. Unless you're already using quality earrings in which case I'm not sure.
posted by penguin pie at 10:04 AM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 10:04 AM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've gone years and years without wearing anything in my piercings. Mine don't actually CLOSE, but they do two other things that I think could be easily misunderstood and mistaken for it. (Piercings are between 31-38 years old, all lower ear lobe, pierced with a gun.)
First, they fill up with "gunk". I'm pretty sure this consisted of old skin cells and hair conditioner residue. This can make them seem like they're closed, but it can be pushed out with a post earring (usually) or the "eye" end of a needle, if it's being obnoxious. It's an obvious little "plug" of gunk once it's pushed out, but sometimes, fooling with it irritates my ears. I've gotten super-sensitive to metals as I've gotten older, and just the random item I use to get the gunk out is sometimes enough to irritate my skin.
The other thing they do is shrink. They've never closed, but they've gotten smaller. I've gone multiple years without even thinking to remove the gunk, so I'm pretty sure they can't just close. Might have something to do with the piercing style. As a result, every time I decide to go back to wearing earrings again, some of the earrings with larger posts/wires just won't work without stretching the skin (and I suspect, making tiny little tears if I try to force it). Then the skin is already irritated, and more likely to react really fast to the metal. Especially since it seems to negate my trick of using clear nail polish as a protectant. I'll only get a day or so, instead of the week I'm used to otherwise. It makes it all feel like a HUGE hassle, and then I don't bother. It's never been high enough priority for me to go through the hassle of stretching the holes... I can't seem to remember to put earrings in anymore anyway, too out of the habit. I've got a set of small, supposedly very hypoallergenic hoops that have been sitting here for a year waiting for me to mess with them.
Another note: I seem to remember from my days working for a jewelry-maker that she'd said almost everyone is allergic at some level to the cheaper metals; it just takes longer or open skin for those that don't think they're allergic to react, and so they assume it's irritation from the weight or infection instead. With my experience that I react much more quickly with what I presume to be micro-openings in my skin from the pressure of putting in an earring that's just a shade too tight, I suspect that it makes even non-allergic people susceptible. But I'm not any kind of an expert, that's just my guess.
posted by stormyteal at 10:28 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
First, they fill up with "gunk". I'm pretty sure this consisted of old skin cells and hair conditioner residue. This can make them seem like they're closed, but it can be pushed out with a post earring (usually) or the "eye" end of a needle, if it's being obnoxious. It's an obvious little "plug" of gunk once it's pushed out, but sometimes, fooling with it irritates my ears. I've gotten super-sensitive to metals as I've gotten older, and just the random item I use to get the gunk out is sometimes enough to irritate my skin.
The other thing they do is shrink. They've never closed, but they've gotten smaller. I've gone multiple years without even thinking to remove the gunk, so I'm pretty sure they can't just close. Might have something to do with the piercing style. As a result, every time I decide to go back to wearing earrings again, some of the earrings with larger posts/wires just won't work without stretching the skin (and I suspect, making tiny little tears if I try to force it). Then the skin is already irritated, and more likely to react really fast to the metal. Especially since it seems to negate my trick of using clear nail polish as a protectant. I'll only get a day or so, instead of the week I'm used to otherwise. It makes it all feel like a HUGE hassle, and then I don't bother. It's never been high enough priority for me to go through the hassle of stretching the holes... I can't seem to remember to put earrings in anymore anyway, too out of the habit. I've got a set of small, supposedly very hypoallergenic hoops that have been sitting here for a year waiting for me to mess with them.
Another note: I seem to remember from my days working for a jewelry-maker that she'd said almost everyone is allergic at some level to the cheaper metals; it just takes longer or open skin for those that don't think they're allergic to react, and so they assume it's irritation from the weight or infection instead. With my experience that I react much more quickly with what I presume to be micro-openings in my skin from the pressure of putting in an earring that's just a shade too tight, I suspect that it makes even non-allergic people susceptible. But I'm not any kind of an expert, that's just my guess.
posted by stormyteal at 10:28 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Stormyteal hit it on the head - I have had the same. Gunk, feeling like I need to stretch the pierced holes, etc. But never closing - I had my first ear piercing when I was 7, and I have 3 on one side and 2 on the other.
As for metal allergies - I recently discovered I can wear titanium earrings with zero issues for multiple days, even studs. So for those of you struggling with the allergy/irritation issues, try titanium. The biggest problem I have is finding decent titanium earrings, although etsy has a couple of sellers I go back to often.
posted by routergirl at 10:34 AM on October 18, 2021
As for metal allergies - I recently discovered I can wear titanium earrings with zero issues for multiple days, even studs. So for those of you struggling with the allergy/irritation issues, try titanium. The biggest problem I have is finding decent titanium earrings, although etsy has a couple of sellers I go back to often.
posted by routergirl at 10:34 AM on October 18, 2021
Count me in the itchy and irritated group these days.
The last time I put in formerly wearable 14K thin-wire earrings after not really wearing earrings too much during the pandemic on top of the itching, I developed a blood blister/boil inside the ear that normally gives me the least amout of trouble. (One tends to close up quicker than the other.) I have no idea what's going on. I don't wear fashion earrings. They're either gold (14K, 18K or 22K), nickel-free sterling silver, rhodium-covered sterling silver or stainless steel that are cleaned with alcohol after every wearing. When I have been wearing them, I've been putting in the thinnest wires or posts I have, just to make things even easier, not that it has helped.
posted by sardonyx at 10:43 AM on October 18, 2021
The last time I put in formerly wearable 14K thin-wire earrings after not really wearing earrings too much during the pandemic on top of the itching, I developed a blood blister/boil inside the ear that normally gives me the least amout of trouble. (One tends to close up quicker than the other.) I have no idea what's going on. I don't wear fashion earrings. They're either gold (14K, 18K or 22K), nickel-free sterling silver, rhodium-covered sterling silver or stainless steel that are cleaned with alcohol after every wearing. When I have been wearing them, I've been putting in the thinnest wires or posts I have, just to make things even easier, not that it has helped.
posted by sardonyx at 10:43 AM on October 18, 2021
I had a similar issue a few years ago and ended up healing my ears by keeping the same steel earrings in 24/7 for a few months. They've been fine since then.
posted by metasarah at 10:56 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 10:56 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
I really wouldn’t try to open the piercings myself. It’s too easy to get the angle wrong or scratch yourself badly. Go to a piercing studio, the kind that gets really excited about their sterilizing techniques, and see what they recommend. I was certain that I needed to get my ears re-pierced but an experienced pierced was able to see that they didn’t need to be redone and he set me up with hypoallergenic earrings and some care tips.
posted by corey flood at 11:07 AM on October 18, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 11:07 AM on October 18, 2021 [6 favorites]
I wore earrings constantly as a kid and as I got older, I also had trouble trying to put earrings in after going without for long periods of time. I was likely popping the stud through a closed back (or through a lot of ear gunk) but what was worse than that was a constant low-level itch and pain. I diagnosed myself with a mild nickel allergy and sadly have given up on earrings at this point.
posted by PussKillian at 11:09 AM on October 18, 2021
posted by PussKillian at 11:09 AM on October 18, 2021
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. Seems this is a common issue. I think I'm going to try what metasarah did, which is get a pair of small, hypoallergenic earrings and keep them in, to see if they will retrain my ears.
posted by swheatie at 11:51 AM on October 18, 2021
posted by swheatie at 11:51 AM on October 18, 2021
I didn't realize so many of us were in the same boat! Like others have said, I got a pair of small gold studs that I like, and now I basically wear them 24/7, haven't had problems since.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:23 PM on October 18, 2021
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:23 PM on October 18, 2021
Dipping the earring wire or stud in cortisone cream or even petroleum jelly helps the earring go through. For years my left ear was always a pain to put an earring in, then at some point the right ear became the one that was difficult. Stainless steel hoops or studs seem to cause less issues.
posted by serendipityrules at 12:44 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by serendipityrules at 12:44 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
They heal up again. I've had to have mine repierced twice in my life after not wearing earrings for a long time, but it doesn't take long for the process to start, and you are basically repiecing your ears and they are healing. Pretty much all piercings in that style will eventually heal if left without an earring in, the longer you've had the piercing with something the longer it will take to start closing when you take that something out. Find some good quality earrings you can wear 24/7 and keep them in to avoid the problem.
posted by wwax at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wwax at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
My ears have always been like this, for coming on 40 years now. I wear gold hoops for years on end, and it will still happen. It's just how my ears are. (I'm also allergic to nickel.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:09 PM on October 18, 2021
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:09 PM on October 18, 2021
Hello, fellow ear owner! I asked a similar question 5 years ago and got great answers. I’ve been wearing the same pair of studs from Comfy Earrings for years and love them. No pain, no need to take them out ever.
posted by Maarika at 4:54 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Maarika at 4:54 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
I am also a person who only wore earring sporadically, and had problems with the holes closing and being sore and irritated when I did try to wear something. I would squish earrings through for a dressed-up night out, and then be bummed by the pain all night.
And I also discovered Comfy Earrings through Metafilter, and have a selection that I rotate through wearing constantly (showering, sleeping, etc) , and no longer have problems with my holes closing up and being sore and irritated, and I can switch to fancier earrings for dressing up without pain.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 5:14 PM on October 18, 2021
And I also discovered Comfy Earrings through Metafilter, and have a selection that I rotate through wearing constantly (showering, sleeping, etc) , and no longer have problems with my holes closing up and being sore and irritated, and I can switch to fancier earrings for dressing up without pain.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 5:14 PM on October 18, 2021
> I developed a bandaid adhesive allergy and I figure they're all related.
posted by phunniemee
This might be a latex allergy
Googling "bandaid adhesive allergy",
https://www.verywellhealth.com/allergy-to-bandages-and-adhesives-82752
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:35 AM on October 19, 2021
posted by phunniemee
Googling "bandaid adhesive allergy",
https://www.verywellhealth.com/allergy-to-bandages-and-adhesives-82752
While adhesives serve an important role in daily life, many people experience itchy rashes after prolonged exposure to adhesives. Glues used for the adhesives are known to cause irritant-based contact dermatitis. These glues are most commonly acrylates, including methacrylates, and epoxy diacrylates (also known as vinyl resins).1Bring this up with your doc - you and your doc may want to know the specifics _before_ a future operation or medical procedure. (I've a relative with a latex allergy.)
...
Patch testing also may reveal a problem other than an adhesive allergy, such as an allergy to latex, thiuram, or even to the drug itself. Latex allergy is frequently caused by IgE antibodies that respond to the latex protein itself or to thiuram, an accelerator used in the process of latex manufacturing.3
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:35 AM on October 19, 2021
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