Written By: Kate M | Director of Sales & Marketing
April 24th, 2023
When my kids were little, I cleaned their ears after every bath. The amount of ear wax that came out of those little ears was astounding.
I would clean my ears just as often, but never really gave ear wax a second thought. Fast forward to my career at Comply™, and my limited knowledge of the ear was on a fast track to discovery and understanding. At first, I found myself being self-conscience about the cleanliness of my ears as co-workers would want to look at my ears to determine the size of foam tips I should try or as a part of ear tip testing meetings.
Comply Foam
Discovering the Impact of Ear Cerumen on Ear Tips & Setting Customer Expectations for Ear Tip Longevity
Every user's body chemistry & lifestyle impacts their tips differently
As time passed, I learned more about the effects of ear cerumen on our foam ear tips and the impact on consumer expectations for how long our tips last. They are, after all, a disposable product, but WHEN they become disposable is a big deal. As the head of the sales and customer support team, I have had firsthand experience with our customer base, communicating and setting expectations for how long tips will last, how people can extend the life of the tips, and trying to troubleshoot what has happened when tips degrade faster than expected.
The answers are complicated because there is no easy cookie-cutter answer. Each person's ear chemistry, the flow of ear wax, the chemicals in our sweat, and even the oils from our hands during installation can impact memory foam.
Factors That Affect Ear Tip Lifespan
Ear wax , hand sanitizers and lotions can reduce the longevity of ear tips
From a technical perspective, I have spent time with our engineering department to better understand the science behind our foam ear tips. Tips degrade with ear wax because, at a certain point, cerumen plasticizes at a molecular level, so you can't wash it out. That is when you will start to see rips and tears, and depending on the temperature, they can be squishy with slight rebound or hard and difficult to squish. In addition, hand sanitizers and lotions, especially suntan lotion, will absolutely shorten the life of our foam tips. Finally, anything alcohol-based will also deteriorate polyurethane foam.
Comply Foam
My Experience Using & Cleaning AirPods Pro Comply Foam Ear Tips
How tips can be used and cleaning methods that can be used to extend their lifespan.
I use our ear tips with my AirPods Pro at work, for meetings, phone calls, music, responding to texts, walking the dogs, etc. I have used them for long flights, car rides, and even at night to drown out my husband's snoring (yes, it does wonders!). Working for the premium foam ear tip company, I have replacements at my fingertips. However, over the past year I had decided to use our tips as close to the customer experience as possible. I have switched to new tips only 4 times in the past year. In between, I gave them one rinse in lukewarm water and let them dry. I don't religiously clean my ears. Instead, using a tissue, I have kept the entrance to my ear canal somewhat clean. I also do not go out of my way to wash my hands before installing my earbuds.
Over time, I can see the transfer of gunk into my AirPods Pro case. It gets gross before my ear tips change, so I clean my earbuds case more frequently with Q-tips. When I take the foam tips off after a few months, I feel happy about the yucky stuff that the mesh guard caught, and there is very little that makes its way to the sound port, so my AirPods Pros need minimal cleaning. During humid months, or when I'm sweating a little more, the ear tips need replacing more often.
Letting Ear Tips Determine When to Replace Them
These signs tend to show when it is time for new Comply tips
So now I let my tips tell me when it's time to replace them. While rips or tears, too squishy or too hard are signs I need to switch my Comply Foam ear tips, the most notable sign is when I can begin hearing outside noises more than when I first started using the tips with noise cancellation engaged.
It is my belief that of the millions of Comply tips in the world; most users ear tips last in a 2-3 month cycle. We know this from our customer support emails, reviews, and customer engagement.
Like every unique ear canal, our ear tips can sometimes lead to a unique experience. We will always look for ways to improve our consumer experience, and I hope my own Comply experience can positively impact that direction.
Related Products
Comply™ Ear Tip Cleaning Wipe - $3.00
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