In fact, hours with something in or over our ears is leading to a condition known as “Zoom Ear,” or itchy and irritated ears due to trapped moisture in our ear canals. It’s gross and uncomfortable, but the good news is that Zoom Ear is something that can be prevented and treated. Here’s what you need to know.
What the heck is Zoom Ear?
Zoom ear is something that Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, an ENT at Mass Eye and Ear and professor of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, has been seeing a lot of lately. “In fact, my daughter had it quite a bit when she was doing online schooling,” he explains. The condition, he says, can arise three different ways. The first group of patients that Dr. Bhattacharyya sees with this condition are people who “are getting itchy ears, so somewhat of a wet ear, and then as time goes on, it translates into almost a little bit of a stinging in the ear every time they have earphones in.” This, he says, is happening from wearing in-ear buds such as AirPods. It occurs because as the ear buds sit inside the ear canal, they act like a foreign body in the ear canal, which Dr. Bhattacharyya says is skin and contains sweat glands and wax glands. “So it feels like, okay, something is sitting on my ear chronically so let’s kind of make more sweat or cerumen, which is wax, to mitigate that.” So the body is essentially reacting to that foreign body sensation. “It also does trap some of the moisture from the sweat glands in the ear so that becomes a nice moist environment for a little bacteria to proliferate and cause irritation,” Dr. Bhattacharyya adds. The second cause is the over-the-ear headphones, like what pilots wear in the cockpit of the plane. “They have those on the outside of the ear and even though those are a lot of times foam, there is this chronic pressure on the outer aspect of the cartilage of the ear, which bends that inward,” Dr. Bhattacharyya explains. He and his colleagues are seeing patients get pressure sores and when they place their head down on a pillow at night, notice that their ears are hurting. And lastly, noise cancelling earpieces, says Dr. Bhattacharyya, fit tight and occlude to block out the outside noise. “These make the problem even worse because they really wedge in to block out the noise,” he explains. These, he adds, are even more invasive than the AirPods. “This really goes against the natural hygiene of the ear canal,” Dr. Bhattacharyya says. He explains that, “The ear canal skin and wax moves, from the eardrum out towards the outside very slowly, it migrates. But putting these things in inhibits that.” So every time you’re putting your plugs in, you’re pushing everything back a little bit further.
How to prevent Zoom Ear
Per Dr. Bhattacharyya, the easiest solution to mitigate this is to change up your headphones. “If patients are having problems with AirPods, I would go with a foam external headset, and try to alternate them,” he says. So wear one set one day and switch to the other on the next day. “Then you’re not using the same thing in the same position repetitively.” Another thing to note is that it’s not good to go right from a shower to putting in ear buds, as you need to let the ear dry out first. “I would probably say to wait at least half an hour to an hour to let your canal dry before you start putting something in there,” Dr. Bhattacharyya says. Dr. Jonathon Sillman, a neurotologist and otolaryngologist at Tufts Medical Center, explains that cleaning your ear buds after usage can also help. “Wipe them down with an alcohol pad,” he explains, noting that you should check with the manufacturer first for advice on how to clean the types of ear buds that you are using. “But cleaning them regularly is a great idea.” Dr. Sillman also says that it’s important to take a break and pull your ear buds out if you can. “Let the ears ventilate for a bit,” he suggests. For instance, don’t get in the habit of wearing them throughout a lunch break when your Zoom session is on pause for an hour.
When to see a professional
If your ear feels moist after you’ve been wearing a headset, Dr. Bhattacharyya says you can very gently run a hairdryer parallel to the ear to get some airflow to dry it out. “Obviously you don’t want to burn the ear, but use a very low setting or just an airflow setting where there’s no heat,” he says. “You can run it by the ear to let it dry out towards the end of the day.” If you’re developing chronic dermatitis of the skin in the ear canal, Dr. Sillman says it’s time to go visit an ear doctor. “This can be treated with various types of medications, in some instances steroid drops and oil preparation can be helpful,” he says. “Sometimes creams or lotions can be helpful.” Dr. Bhattacharyya adds that if it feels very tender when you press or wiggle the ear, this could be a sign that there could be a superficial infection that has happened, and then you need to see a doctor. “I would say if there’s truly any pain that persists after you take your ear bud out or your headphones off beyond an hour or later, or if there’s any discolored drainage, etc., then you’re going to probably need to be seen to be put on some treatment to take care of that because it will progress,” he explains. When in doubt, Dr. Sillman says it’s best to have a doctor properly evaluate a lingering ear condition—and preferably an ear doctor. “Ear specialists are able to look at the ears under a microscope, which allows us to see things that primary doctors use might not see,” he says. One thing both specialists strongly urge is not to try to clean out your ear on your own with a Q-Tip. “There’s an old saying, which we all stick buy in our profession: ‘Never stick anything in your ears smaller than your elbow.’ That’s still the rule,” Dr. Sillman says. He stresses that even the warning label on Q-Tip boxes cautions against inserting a swab into your ear canal. “If you have earwax problems and you feel the need to clean them, using over the counter earwax solution can be a safer way to deal with it,” he says. But ideally, have your ear doctor evaluate the situation first. Next Up: 25 Oh-So-Satisfying Earwax Removal Videos for When Pimple-Popping Just Isn’t Doing It for You
Sources
Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, ENT at Mass Eye and Ear and professor of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical SchoolDr. Jonathon Sillman, a neurotologist and otolaryngologist at Tufts Medical Center
