Thanks to its added charm, many women enjoy wearing earrings. Ear holes are meant to be a fun method for flaunting your individual flair. Earrings are among the most powerful accessories designs to wear since they are so close to the face. They can define the face and tie the look together when at their finest; however, at its worst, an earring pair may produce excruciating reactions that will make you wish you could pull your earlobes out. That’s because, regardless of how earrings alter our appearance, they can also have a significant impact on the body.
Earring holes need special care and attention to hygiene. Soreness, irritability, and pain are common complaints of people who have their ears pierced. The most common explanation is an infection, however, there might be others, including non-infectious responses produced by accessories. If you are not sure why your earring hole hurts, consider the following possibilities.
What is causing the pain in my ear hole?
So, why does my earring hole hurt? That’s a rather complicated question. Earring piercings can be painful for a variety of reasons. Whether you have recently had your lobes pierced or have had them for some time, adequate maintenance is essential.
What do those irritated ears want you to know? Whatever signal your piercings are attempting to convey, keep an eye out for these shifts and behave accordingly.
There are five primary causes why your earlobe piercing may be giving you discomfort. Continue reading to learn more about each possible cause.
Fresh Piercing
A fresh piercing is one that you got within the previous year. While it is commonly assumed that an ear piercing heals in 6 to 8 weeks, it can actually take considerably longer. Furthermore, changing your earrings within the first several months might cause your recovery period to be slowed.
It is caused by a break in the skin caused by the application of a spring-loaded puncture gun, and it can be much more excruciating than the conventional needle. The discomfort accompanied by the initial piercing usually reduces in the first couple of days till it heals. It doesn’t mean that your ears will be ready to wear earrings right away. Have patience.
Because it is an exposed flesh cut, a fresh piercing will undoubtedly be unpleasant at first. By inserting a needle into the ear lobe, one is causing damage to the location, which will result in discomfort. Inflammation and soreness around the earring piercing may occur during the first couple of weeks or even months due to the initial stress of the puncture.
Once the early inflammation and discomfort have subsided, your holes may appear to be cured on the exterior. The difficulty is that the skin within the ear-piercing area is significantly thinner as well as more sensitive. It is readily injured and is probably not completely healed. When your earrings move or are replaced, the sensitive skin might be injured again, prompting the discomfort to return.
Furthermore, if you have not donned an earring pair in a long time and continue to shove them in, the skin around the ear hole might be damaged. This may result in inflammation, scabbing, and discomfort. It is preferable to apply Vaseline, a moisturizing cream, or a similar lubricant to gently slip the earrings into your ear piercing holes. This discomfort is often managed by taking excellent care of your pierced ears and being diligent while they recover.
Metal Allergy
The vast majority of studs are composed of metal- pure as well as alloyed (a combination of two or more metals). Earrings made entirely of metal are quite uncommon. Earrings for fashion are nearly often composed of a variety of metals, such as stainless steel, which is an alloy of iron, chromium and nickel. Since pure gold tends to be extremely soft for ornaments, quality earrings, especially gold earrings, surprisingly are always made out of an alloy. Since alloys can include tiny quantities of a variety of chemically reactive elements, they can sometimes be extremely irritating to the human skin.
The majority of metals, particularly alloys, are incompatible with the human skin, this implies that whenever the human skin comes into touch with metal, it begins to develop resistance to it. Ultimately, the skin’s metal resistance causes it to respond. This response might cause itching, discomfort, swelling, and bleeding.
When you don earrings, the alloy or metal is physically put into your body and stays there for a very long time. Since it’s an inside wound, the tissue around the ear holes is more delicate than other regions of your body. Whenever earrings are put in and pulled out from the ear, the puncture is sometimes re-traumatized. Therefore, if you have aching ears from using earrings and also the discomfort disappears completely when you remove them, your skin has most probably formed some form of contact allergy to the metal composition inside the earrings.
Is this to say you will never be able to sport earrings again? Certainly not! All you have to do now is be more aware of the sort of metal studs you are using and opt for jewelry that is suitable for hypersensitive ears. This discomfort can be prevented by wearing earrings made of pure, non-reactive elements such as titanium.
Infection
Infection is a vast medical concern. Infections can emerge after a fresh ear piercing due to the tools used, such as a potentially contaminated needle. Infections are more common when penetrating the ear bone than that of the earlobe, and an infection can arise when the piercing region is not properly cared for, such as using a filthy hand while completing the puncture or handling the area, or not maintaining correct cleaning etiquette.
If you have a fever, shivers, or abdominal discomfort, you can generally tell the difference between an infection and typical healing signs or metal sensitivities. Those are indications of an infection. Intense skin irritation, red lines, fluid flow, pus, soreness, pain, and rips or lacerations are some more infection signs.
Infection generally happens when the hole remains red, painful, and swollen surrounding the piercing area. A dense, yellow, and green thick fluid with a terrible stench is apparent. Seek medical help if you are having problems with this. The only method to be certain is to consult a physician. Your doctor will prescribe medications if your puncture is infected.
Yeast, as well as bacteria, can grow in the area between the earring clasp and your ear. Even though you clean your ears, disgusting, stinky things will keep developing behind them. To avoid infection, take your earring clasps out on a regular basis and clean both the studs and your lobes.
In addition, by pressing too hard on the clasps, you might induce irritation in your ears owing to inadequate circulation. It is beneficial to allow an “air gap” to promote comfort and prevent infection, i.e. you should remove your earrings and allow your ears to “breathe”. That is why you have to get a high-quality earring clasp that will keep the hoop in position without requiring you to press it forcefully against the ear.
Ingrowth
Your body may continue to adapt to the fresh wound by creating more skin cells. In such a situation, wait until the expert tells you it is okay to take your earrings off.
An ingrowth is a lump caused by cells getting developed to eradicate the freshly cut wound in your ears as your system perceives this to be an alien thing. Consider this: if you have not worn studs in a considerable amount of time but you just attempted to force them into the hole, they will most likely be uncomfortable because of the barrier that has developed there.
This is common whenever the piercing site is left untouched for a lengthy period of time or when a hefty piercing is placed in the ears. It may seem reddish, similar to inflammation. It also can induce discomfort and pus at times.
When an ingrowth is modest and in its early phases of development, it will usually heal on its own. But, if they grow severe, they can make healing difficult, and the swelling can cause discomfort.
Tight Studs
When trying to learn “why does my earring hole hurt”, you should consider every possible reason. Surprisingly, earrings that seem to be overly tight might also cause pain. They can cause excess fluid within your earhole as well as painful discomfort. This can also occur unintentionally while you are sleeping. If you lie on one side, the earring stem may come into contact with your earring opening.
Use caution when using headphones too. When you place them, the earrings may become buried behind them. The painful pressure will impede blood flow, causing your ear to expand and get inflamed.
You should move your earring locking away from the ear’s back. If you happen to have a fresh piercing, avoid harming the tissue by clutching your earring too tightly. When the incision from the puncture begins to heal, the earrings may become locked in place.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, your pain might be caused by any of the causes listed above. We hope we have been able to answer your question of why does my earring hole hurt. You should look more closely at your piercing hole to see if there are any other signs that could indicate what is going on. If your discomfort does not subside or you have additional symptoms that indicate something like an infection, you should consult a medical expert.
