Ever considered that maybe your AirPods are causing you to have an allergic reaction? We use our AirPods all the time whether it be for listening to our favourite tunes or podcasts. What many users don’t realize is that AirPods can harbor allergens from various different sources. Let’s dive into these sources and the cleaning methods we can adopt to ensure better health and comfort.
Indirect Contact of Allergens Found on AirPods
These are the types of common allergens you might come across that can adhere to your AirPods indirectly:
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Dust:
Dust particles attract dust mites and are probably the most common type of indoor allergen that can come into contact with your AirPods especially when they are left out in the open or lazily placed in your pockets or bags without putting them back into your protective charging case. Dust is a mixture of dead skin cells, textile fibers, and some other microscopic debris. When AirPods are exposed to such environments, they can attract dust mites which are organisms that thrive on these particles and moisture causing year-round allergic reactions. -
Pet Dander:
We love our pets, but sometimes their leftover pet dander on our couches and hands can result in indirect accumulation when we touch our AirPods. If you’re allergic to pet dander this can lead to ongoing days of allergic reactions when continuing to use your AirPods and not cleaning them thoroughly. -
Pollen:
Ever come back home from a walk or run surrounded by mother nature whilst using your AirPods and experienced consecutive days of allergic reactions including sneezing, runny nose, or respiratory distress? Then you might find that you’re sensitive to pollen which could easily stick to your AirPods from the surrounding nature of outdoor plants and trees.
Symptoms of Allergic Reactions to AirPods
Now let’s get into what kind of symptoms you can expect from the mentioned allergens accumulated in your AirPods.
Skin irritation Around The Ear
Direct contact with Allergens in the crevices of your AirPods can result in skin irritation, especially in the areas around your ears. You can notice this by the redness, itching, or rashes that start to develop where the AirPods make direct contact with your skin tissues. This is prevalent, especially being exposed to pollen, as documented by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). For some, you may experience discomfort and in some severe cases inflammation.
Skin Irritation Within Inner Ear
It can also cause discomfort and itching not just around your ear but also in your inner ear known as the ear canal. This can cause frequent finger scratching and irritation which may increase the risk of bacteria entering causing ear infections. This risk is discussed in a medically reviewed WebMD article.
Respiratory Issues
Knowing that your AirPods can pick up dust, pollen, or pet dander. It’s known some people might experience sneezing, nasal congestion or coughing from exposure to these allergens. If you have asthma you might want to be careful overly exposing yourself to these allergens as you might experience more severe symptoms like difficulty breathing.
Ways To Minimize Allergens and Reactions From AirPods Usage
Now that we know the source and symptoms of the allergens our AirPods might accumulate. Let’s go into ways to help reduce the risk of the mentioned symptoms
Clean Your AirPods
Start by thorough cleaning to remove the allergens that are hiding in your AirPods. Here is a step-by-step guide:
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Preparation
Prepare a non-harsh chemical solution such as a mixture of vinegar and water or use a mild Castile soap diluted with water. -
Removal
Remove the AirPods from the charging case and also if you have silicon ear tips for the AirPods Pro model, remove these gently also. -
Wiping
Start wiping down your AirPods components with your made chemical solution by applying a small amount onto a lint-free cloth and gently continue wiping until you see no potential allergen particles remaining. -
Drying
Next is to allow your components to dry before assembling them back together, especially when putting your AirPods back in it’s charging case, if you do this when your components are still wet this could damage them and disrupt the charging capabilities. Furthermore, it’s best to allow it to dry naturally as forced heat like blow drying them can cause overheating of your internal electrical components and subsequently damage them.
Cleaning Routinely
The Job isn’t done when you’ve cleaned your AirPods once. Allergen particles will always build-up from time to time depending on your lifestyle and how frequently you use your AirPods. So it’s best to establish a cleaning routine based on your frequency of usage. If you are exposed to pets or love the outdoor nature we recommend cleaning your AirPods at least once or twice per week and this will lower subsequent days of allergic symptomatic reactions.
Don’t want to always repeat these long steps? Cleaning your AirPods could not be easier with the Hybuds Pen our multifunction AirPod cleaning kit.
Final Thoughts
We love our AirPods as they accompany us in many of our daily life activities but we tend to forget that can harbor impurities like dust, pet dander, and pollen which are common allergens. Having said some people can experience symptoms such as skin irritation, respiratory issues, and ear discomfort.
To minimize these reactions, we need to ensure we regularly clean them, sometimes more frequently than others depending on our lifestyle and environmental exposures.
By thoroughly cleaning your AirPods you not only safeguard your health but also implement maintenance and care of your device which increases its longevity for usage not to mention clearer and high-quality audio sound.
