Earrings have been around since the late 2000 BCE and were prominent body modifications of many cultures. Many royalties use them to adorn their ears, from gold lapis lazuli, and carnelian ones. And even commoners of ancient India, Egypt, Greece, and other ancient civilizations wear them. That’s even before the dawn of modern technology. The use of earrings can also depict religious affiliations or a symbol of status. These accessories vary from tiny to big hoops, dangles, barbells, huggy, and ear threads, and even studs. But why do sometimes, even after years of wearing them, they still tend to hurt or ache? In some cases, they may even bleed. Don’t let this pair of accessories make your ears hurt. Understand the reasons why and how to avoid them from this article.
Why do my ears hurt even if it’s gold earrings?
Gold, since ancient times, has been the go-to metal of choice when creating accessories. Like all metals, compatibility to our bodies still varies from person to person. This might be the cause of why your ears hurt.
What happens is that these modern-day earrings aren’t pure gold. They are being combined with metallic alloys to make them durable. But most alloys are not compatible with the human body. When the human body makes contact with these alloys, like what happens when you push through an earring through a pierced ear lobe, it tends to build up resistance to that metal. As time goes on, the resistance that builds up ends up producing a reaction that can range from itching to swelling, hurting, and even bleeding in some cases.
What’s happening is you’ve developed a form of allergy towards the metal. This happens not only to cheaply made alloy earrings but even expensive ones. One way to solve this problem is to try and test out a couple of types of earring materials. And make sure it’s high-quality ones as well. This way, you get the feel of the accessory, as well as to check if you’re allergic to it or not.
Why do ears hurt after not wearing earrings for a while?
Piercing is a puncture wound you inflict on your earlobe, or wherever part of your ear. This creates the hole you insert the earring on. But some seldom wear their earrings compared to others. Maybe that’s why some experience their ears to hurt, while others don’t.
The piercing will start to close in on itself when the earrings are taken off for a long period of time. Similarly, the puncture wound also heals that way. By the time you decide to wear earrings again, the wound would have already been half-way closed or ‘healed’. This causes tension around the skin and tissue of the lobe, creating a throbbing sensation. This may hurt a lot as it resembles the first time you had to put on earrings right after getting pierced.
To fix this, you need to ease your earlobes to wearing earrings again, allowing the holes to get wider and a bit looser over time, making way for the earrings. It also helps to not shock the holes by sticking a large barrel into it.
Why do my ears bleed when I wear earrings?
Bleeding is a common thing for newly pierced ears as technically you’re creating a wound on it. Usually, it clears up three to six weeks depending on your body’s ability to heal itself. Remember to consistently clean the area around it but don’t use alcohol as it’s too abrasive to the surface of the earrings and might cause tarnish that would stay in the pierced area.
However, it’s a different story for those who still experience their ears to hurt, even after months of not wearing them. One way to avoid it is to stop wearing the earring that is causing the infection. Cleaning the area with a wound wash or saline solution helps not to cause further infection. It can deter proper healing by making sure no crust is left inside the pierce holes.
Though there are home remedies that you can administer yourself, any inflammation caused by bacteria should be treated with antibiotics and consistent cleaning of the affected area. When you start to feel your ears hurt, especially when it becomes unbearable, it’s time to see a doctor
Conclusion:
Used as accessories, the wearing of earrings date back to ancient times. Who knows, the same problems we have today have existed as well. From itching to throbbing to bleeding, these types of problems have always been spelling disasters to those who wore them.
Irritation can happen if your skin is sensitive to the metal used for the earrings. Some say the best one is sterling silver, some say it’s gold. But it just depends on who’s wearing it. All it needs is some time to test which one works fine.
There are also those problems that only a specialist can help you with. It helps to not panic when your ear begins to itch or swell or bleed while wearing your earrings. Just follow the advice above and we’re sure you’ll stop worrying why your ears hurt. You should be alright then.
If you don’t, then it is time to see a doctor that specializes in EENT.
