Do iPods cause ear infections?

"Ear buds can also pick up material from an outer ear infection and transfer it into the inner ear." This is a misinterpretation of the article and is, for the most part, patently incorrect. Outer ear infections (otitis externae) are rarely transmitted across the tympanic membrane to the middle or inner ear without a perforated TM. Inner ear infections are relatively rare compared to middle and outer ear infections with the most severe symptoms including loss of hearing and balance problems in addition to pain.

I had this happen to me, I actually fell asleep with them on, and in the morning had a pain in my ear. Then the next day I had a nice ear infection :(

Thanks for posting something idiotic. Having a blog doesn't mean you can waste our time.

Poor hygiene causes ear infections. No study required ;-)

My iPod won't fit in my ear.

I actually had this happen to me. I had to put ear drops in my left ear and the problem went away, then I put the headphones in afterwards and it came back. I now put the little black pads on them and I haven't experienced it since.

Also, you might want to keep those buds to yourself. Don't share your earphones.

I avoid earbuds for this reason; I experience earaches eventually whether they are in-canal or simply iPod-style headphones.

#3: This isn't a criticism of Apple's earbuds. It's symptomatic of all in-ear hearing devices.

THIS JUST IN!

Don't do anything too much and you'll be just fine.

One not so great thing about the iPod's popularity is that it get's blamed for all sorts of things that aren't really it's fault... like increased muggings of people listening to music players, hearing loss due to people listening too loudly, and now, apparently ear infections too...