Listening to music, podcast, or playing games for hours after hours without getting a headache from headphones is a dream for some people like me.
If you can wear headphones for a long time and feel nothing, you are one of the luckiest people on earth.
Regarding this fact, what do you think?
Why listening to music as long as you want is almost impossible?
This article will tell you the answer.
So, let’s start!
Does Wearing Headphones Cause Headaches?
Unfortunately, Headphones really cause headaches. Every person can feel the pain, although there is no medical proof about it.
Usually, we suffer from headaches for many different causes. But, think about what happens if you use an earphone for a very long time. It causes pain in the head, right?
On the other hand, you can also feel pain if you wear unsuitable earbuds, even for a few minutes.
The following segment will tell you the reasons behind the headaches in detail.
The Reasons Behind Headphone Headache
Basically, headphone headaches can be felt for both excessive use and the shape and size of the gadget.
Check out below to see how.
1. Wearing Tight Headphones
Sometimes on-ear and over-ear headphones cause headaches because of the inappropriate clamping force.
You can sense it in a few minutes after putting the device on your head.
You can stretch out the straps if they become too tight for you. Otherwise, if you continue to wear that thing ignoring the pain, it will create headaches.
2. Using A Headphone That Is Not Suitable For Your Ears
Like fingerprints, the shape of the ear is also unique for each person. Therefore, the headphone manufacturer developed their product based on the average ear and head size.
Ears can be used as an identification tool like fingerprints.
Yet, it’s expected that the average size always does not suit you well. So, if you insist on putting on the unfitted headphones, it will cause headaches above the ears.
Sometimes, manufacturing faults are also responsible for headphones headaches like the bad making of ear cups. The next point will tell the effect of bad ear cup padding.
3. Shallow Ear Cup Padding
Ear Cup padding is essential to create a safe distance between your ear and the mechanism of the headphones. If it’s poorly made, there is a chance that the headphone drivers put pressure on your ear.
It’s an uncomfortable and, at the same time, painful experience.
Moreover, sometimes it scratches the skin and causes skin itching.
The next point highlights a common mistake that even I’ve made until one of my friends told me about it a few years back.
4. Incorrect Ear Tips
Ear tips come in three sizes like small, medium, and large. You need to select one after your ear shape.
Keeping the wrong ear tips affects sound quality and noise cancellation property. Besides, when you put the earbuds forcefully, it will hurt your ear and cause a painful situation.
I know the fact well because I always used the bigger ear tips and consequently ended up with a horrible experience.
Install all the tips one by one and play music. In this way, you can find which ear tip is suitable for you.
So far, we see the error from the gadget side. But do you know headphones headaches can also be caused by your wrongdoings? The following item will give you the details.
5. Wearing Headphones For Too Long
The most common cause of headphones headaches is wearing them for an extended period. No matter how top-notch an earphone is, if you use it most of the time on a day, it will indeed create pain.
The weight of the glass is not the fact, but how long you hold it is the real issue.
6. Turning Up Volume
Turning up volume over the safe level is one kind of regular job to us.
In fact, we feel really annoyed when we see the warning message. Ranting on social media about this fact is also very common.
Yet, it’s one of the main reasons for headaches due to headphones. Listening to loud music not only causes headaches but also can damage your hearing ability.
7. Using Glasses With Unfitted Headphones
If you wear glasses, you should be extra careful while choosing headphones.
Since all headphones are not suitable for spectacles, they will create additional pressure. As a result, you can get a terrible headache.
Up to this time, you have seen the reasons behind headaches due to headphones. So, you might be curious about the solution now.
As a solution, do you have to stop using the gadget? Of course not. I’ll inform you about prevention in the next segment.
How To Prevent Headache From Headphones?
We have seen that headphones cause headaches for excessive use and also for manufacturing and setup errors.
The following points will give you the solution to each of them.
1. Stop Using Earphones For A Long Time
If you stop wearing the earphone for a more extended period, you can prevent the most common type of headphone headaches.
It is hard if you are a music addicted person but try to follow the 60/60 rule while using headphones.
60%/60-minute rule: Listen to music with headphones at max 60% volume and at most 60 minutes.
2. Don’t Wear Headphones Unless You Are Listening Something
Nowadays, some people wear headphones most of the day to avoid the public even though they don’t listen to anything.
Try your best to overcome this habit if you are one of them. It not only makes you social but also saves you from the compression headache.
According to research, half of the people wear headphones regularly only to avoid talking to other people.
3. Adjust Headphone According To Your Convenience
Headphones come with some adjustable features. You can change the default stripe settings and make it larger or smaller that suits your head shape.
On the other hand, if you feel a headache from earbuds but not headphones, try out the other ear tips.
4. Do Not Increase The Volume Level Too Much
Listening to music with high volume for a few minutes doesn’t impact that much. But it can create head pain if you prolong the time.
At this instance, try to keep the volume in between the safe range.
But what if you follow all the safety measurements and you can’t adjust your headphone after using all the options?
In this case, you can’t do anything other than follow the next point.
5. Try Out Other Headphones To Find Your Suitable Match
The fact is, the same headphones will not suit everyone due to the structural features. Therefore, after trying all the mentioned options, if a headphone still doesn’t work out for you, it’s better to move on from it.
Try out different headphones and find a comfortable one for yourself.
Especially if you wear glasses, buy special headphones for glasses wearers.
So, you may ask now how you can know whether a headphone will give you headaches or not? Will you buy some random headphones and then figure out the suitability?
In this case, it’s better to keep the following points in mind before buying a headphone. They will help you to choose a perfect device.
See below to know the details.
What To Look For To Find A Comfortable Headphone That Will Not Create Headache?
Before buying a headphone, check out the weight, clamping force rate, adjustability, and others. I will explain every point in this segment.
So, let’s take a look.
1. Weight Of The headphone
Always choose lightweight headphones so that you can’t feel anything extra over your head. Headphones around 60 lbs. are considered to be light ones.
2. Suitable Clamping Force
Always consider the clamping force of a headphone as it’s one of the essential characteristics. However, you can stretch out or tighten the default clamping force with some tricks.
But to be honest, it’s better to check before buying.
3. Ear Cup Size For Over-Ear And On-Ear Headphone
As mentioned earlier, ear shapes are different for every person. As a result, not every ear cup will fit you. So, look at the ear cup size before purchasing headphones.
4. Ear-Tip For In-Ear Earphone
Like ear cups, all ear tips will not suit you. Hence, check the ear tips option an earphone comes with.
However, keep in mind that some earphone companies don’t provide additional ear tips. So, try to buy those earphones that offer extra tips in different sizes.
5. Adjusting Options
The more adjusting options a headphone gives, the more you can customize it. So, go for a headphone that offers additional customization options.
Conclusion
Headache from headphones nowadays has become a common problem. Though it’s not a fatal one, ignoring the pain may cause other illnesses.
At the end of the article, I hope you have understood the reasons behind the headphones headache and the possible solutions to overcome them.
Therefore, try out those, and hopefully, you will not experience the pain anymore.