Headaches from wearing headphones too much

I get crazy headaches from wearing my over the ear headphones for hours and hours a day. The strange thing is that I've begun to get, I guess "phantom headphone pressure" hours and sometimes days after taking them off. I haven't worn them for about two week and it seems to have subsided.

Anyone else has a similar issue?

How did you deal with it?

I don't like the idea of not wearing headphones, as I usually annoy the shit out of anyone around me that doesn't like dubstep. In-ear monitors have been pretty fail in the past. I had a set of Beats in-ear and even the small ear cushion that came with them made my ear hurt to the point I had to return them.

I get crazy headaches from wearing my over the ear headphones for hours and hours a day. The strange thing is that I've begun to get, I guess "phantom headphone pressure" hours and sometimes days after taking them off. I haven't worn them for about two week and it seems to have subsided.

Anyone else has a similar issue?

How did you deal with it?

I don't like the idea of not wearing headphones, as I usually annoy the shit out of anyone around me that doesn't like dubstep. In-ear monitors have been pretty fail in the past. I had a set of Beats in-ear and even the small ear cushion that came with them made my ear hurt to the point I had to return them.

I also wear headphones quite a bit but I also work in forestry, so I wear ear muffs for at least 8 hours a day not including when Im gaming.

Not really. I've been known to wear headphones for a long time during some long gaming sessions, but I've never had a headache from them.

In-ear earbuds are a different story, but I haven't actually worn those since high school ended two years ago.

EDIT: Clarification! I haven't worn in-ear earbuds often since high school. I have worn them, just not much.

It seems like gaming headphones cause the muscles of my ears to ache after a little bit of usage. But I've always figured I was just an anomaly in that sense.

I'd suspect your headphones are squeezing your head too tightly.

Just a guess.

I always have ear headphones in, 50% of the time nothing's even playing.

It might be the kind of headphones you're wearing. After recently shopping for headphones myself, I have noticed a big difference in the clamping force from one brand to another. Test out another brand and see if the problem persists. I reccomend sennheiser.

I've never had these problems and I haven't used speakers for well over a decade. If there's too much pressure, try getting either better headphones or adjusting them. Or maybe you're listening to them way to loud. If circumaural headphones are causing this, maybe try supra-aural headphones.

Your headphones might be too heavy for you or too small.

My ears get sore if I wear the ones I have for too long but , it depends on what headphones you're using.

I never get headaches from wearing headphones, however my ears get sore and they hurt for about 2 hours or so.

Usually I have my headphone on one ear at a time and constantly changing it.

(Is that sentence made any sense? My english is bad.)

@LD50: I remember a study from around the mid 2000s that said an hour of wearing headphones increases in ear bacteria by 700%. Maybe your headaches are caused by an infection. I'm pretty sure those were for in ear headphones though.

@LD50 said:

I get crazy headaches from wearing my over the ear headphones for hours and hours a day. The strange thing is that I've begun to get, I guess "phantom headphone pressure" hours and sometimes days after taking them off. I haven't worn them for about two week and it seems to have subsided.

Anyone else has a similar issue?

How did you deal with it?

I don't like the idea of not wearing headphones, as I usually annoy the shit out of anyone around me that doesn't like dubstep. In-ear monitors have been pretty fail in the past. I had a set of Beats in-ear and even the small ear cushion that came with them made my ear hurt to the point I had to return them.

i get that too where the ridge of my outer ear feels like its about to bust, solved the problem by getting a set of earphones that dont rely on clamping onto the head, its the behind the head kind where the band runs around from ear to ear and the headphones sit comfortably over the ear without any pressure.

They're adult sized Sennheiser headphones. At this point, it'd be easy to find people to be around that enjoy the wubwub than get the headaches.

I have problems finding fitted hats that are big enough, it's likely the headphones are too small. They were fine for a few years. This just started a few months ago.

Strange.

If it's from bacteria, eww.

Thanks for the good insights and advice.

<Tips over-sized hat>

@AlexanderSheen said:

Usually I have my headphone on one ear at a time and constantly changing it.

(Is that sentence made any sense? My english is bad.)

Makes perfect sense, I started doing that myself eventually. Good thinking.

I've done a good bit of music recording, and some headphones, especially "enclosed" headphones, will give you headaches even if they aren't too tight. By "enclosed', I mean that the sound of the drivers is completely isolated in the headphone. Its so when recording in high sound environments you don't get any bleed through of the sound coming from the headphones into what you're trying to record. Also known as "Isolation" head phones, because the same is true in reverse. A lot of the outside frequencies are also cancelled out, so less of the outside world is heard by the user. They have become more popular of late, primarily for small living conditions and travelers. But having that encapsulated, modulating , mass of air next to your ear drum can mess with your head.

Yours are probably too tight, but you should also consider this. Food for thought, and what not.

sometimes i get a headache for some reason. it just depends on how the day is i guess.

In-ear headphones can make my ear ache, my HD595s (big over-ears) at home never do this though so I stopped using my in-ears for a decent pair of portable over-ear Sennheiser's.

Still, as my in-ears are good (Klipsch) I keep them around for days when I feel like wearing a hat or something. Hat + over-ears = you look like a bit of a twat.

You're not alone OP. I have a circumaural headset and I find myself with headaches every week or two. I think it's because of how tightly they fit on my head; the clamping pressure is pretty significant. The problem for me is that if I adjust them to be more loose I'm also adjusting them to be longer and consequently sit lower to the point where they wouldn't be fitting on my ears anymore. Dilemma eh? I like my headset other than these occasional headaches.

@LD50 said:

I get crazy headaches from wearing my over the ear headphones for hours and hours a day. The strange thing is that I've begun to get, I guess "phantom headphone pressure" hours and sometimes days after taking them off. I haven't worn them for about two week and it seems to have subsided.

Anyone else has a similar issue?

How did you deal with it?

I don't like the idea of not wearing headphones, as I usually annoy the shit out of anyone around me that doesn't like dubstep. In-ear monitors have been pretty fail in the past. I had a set of Beats in-ear and even the small ear cushion that came with them made my ear hurt to the point I had to return them.

Are you using closed or open head phones? It could be the pressure from keeping your ears in closed in head phones. Try some open ones if this is the case.

The model of headphones are Sennheiser HD 280 pro.

I really like them for the accurate bass replication around 50 hz. I shopped around for a while till I found something that could get close to 20 hz.

The stats of the phones claim to go down to 8 hz, but idk. I also see that they weigh half a pound, which could be the issue.

It depends on the headphones you get. What headphones do you have? 
 
I have a  Sennheiser HD-600 and it's one of the most comfortable headphones out there. But for something like Dubstep, you may want to check out the Sony Xb-300, Xb-500, Xb-700 series. The heaphones literally feel like pillows on your head and are very bass centered (yet retain detail in mids and highs).

I didn't have any problems when I had my turtle beach headphones, but since I've gone and switched over to the razer Tiamat 7.1 I've been having them every day since. My solution is ordering some new ear cushions, seeing as they're replaceable. Maybe make some custom ones if they're still giving me problems.

@Castermhief117 said:

It depends on the headphones you get. What headphones do you have? I have a Sennheiser HD-600 and it's one of the most comfortable headphones out there. But for something like Dubstep, you may want to check out the Sony Xb-300, Xb-500, Xb-700 series. The heaphones literally feel like pillows on your head and are very bass centered (yet retain detail in mids and highs).

Oh man, I looked the HD-600 and I heard this in my head. My original budget was around $200, so the HD-600 being $400 is not that much of a stretch. The extra money will be worth it considering how much I wear them, the sensitive nature of the ear drum, and me having sensitive ears in general (I suppose). Also considering how much someone can spend on headphones, $400 is not bad. I'll have to try them out. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm also going to kick the current pair down to mom when replaced. She cut the cable last year and watches all her TV through her laptop now exclusively.

The though occurred to me to sell them on Craigslist, but that's gross right? I've never considered buying used headphones in the past.

I don't really get headaches personally but what happens is my ears start to get really sore, I'm guessing from the pressure of the headphones.

@roninenix said:

I didn't have any problems when I had my turtle beach headphones, but since I've gone and switched over to the razer Tiamat 7.1 I've been having them every day since. My solution is ordering some new ear cushions, seeing as they're replaceable. Maybe make some custom ones if they're still giving me problems.

Good idea replacing the ear cushions. The issue started a more than a year after I purchased them, with no change in the amount that I used them. It's logical to assume the cushions are wearing out. I had no idea they were replaceable.

@Castermhief117 said:

It depends on the headphones you get. What headphones do you have? I have a Sennheiser HD-600 and it's one of the most comfortable headphones out there. But for something like Dubstep, you may want to check out the Sony Xb-300, Xb-500, Xb-700 series. The heaphones literally feel like pillows on your head and are very bass centered (yet retain detail in mids and highs).

Oh man, I looked the HD-600 and I heard this in my head. My original budget was around $200, so the HD-600 being $400 is not that much of a stretch. The extra money will be worth it considering how much I wear them, the sensitive nature of the ear drum, and me having sensitive ears in general (I suppose). Also considering how much someone can spend on headphones, $400 is not bad. I'll have to try them out. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm also going to kick the current pair down to mom when replaced. She cut the cable last year and watches all her TV through her laptop now exclusively.

The though occurred to me to sell them on Craigslist, but that's gross right? I've never considered buying used headphones in the past.

I always get headaches also. Doesn't matter what type of headset it is, they all make my ears hurt. The solution's simple: use speakers and eaither play the annoying music less loudly or just wait for the people around me to go out.

You might want to check out the Sennheiser HD25. I own them because they're very portable but still have great sound at home. They may not have as much bass as you're looking for considering you listen to dubstep but it's still worth a look. Very balanced headphones.