5 Scary Reasons Why You Should Never Ever Share Your Earbuds!

Last Updated on February 6, 2020

Every morning before leaving your house for work or school you probably check your pockets to make sure you have everything you need to get through the day: your wallet, your house, and car keys, your smartphone… and your earbuds. Earbuds have become an indispensable item for everyone in the past decade in such a way that many major manufacturers started to include them inside their smartphone packaging.

Naturally, sharing earbuds has become a trivial thing. Whether it is because you forget yours and have to borrow a pair from a friend or a coworker (can you even do your work without listening to your favorite playlists?), because you want to share your music with a loved one, or because your friend wants you to try out their brand new expensive set of earphones, no one thinks twice before putting someone else’s earphones in their own ears. Though they may look like a harmless object at first, the truth is that the habit of sharing earphones presents a handful of health risks that can put you in danger.

Here are 5 reasons why you should not share earphones with anyone no matter what!

1. Ear mites

Ear mites are a specific type of mites that can be found in the ear canal of animals (it is the most frequent cause of ear infections among cats) and humans. Although they are somewhat rare in humans, it is possible that these tiny beings can make their way into human ears while the person is petting their cat or dog.

Sharing earbuds with someone who has ear mites inside their ear canal might be really dangerous since earphones can easily function as a vehicle of transmission. Some species of mites can function as a vector for disease transmission and cause allergenic disease. However, you don’t need to worry too much about this since the vast majority of mite species are actually harmless to humans.

2. The flu

In case you don’t know, “the flu” is the common term used to refer to an infectious disease caused by a virus called influenza. It is one of the most common diseases and everyone has it at least once a year (and especially during the winter).

Influenza transmission can definitely occur through earphone sharing. The virus is spread through the air and can easily adhere to any surface, so you should avoid putting a sick person’s earphones in your ears – and don’t share yours if someone else asks for them.

3. Ear fungus

Otomycosis is the medical term used to refer to one of the most common fungal infections that can affect the ears. And again, it can be transmitted to you when you use the earbuds of someone infected.

This fungal infection usually occurs in tropical regions and during summer months as the fungus needs both warmth and moisture to grow. Symptoms include pain, inflammation, swelling, itching, redness, discharge of fluids from the ears, and hearing problems.

4. Baby cockroaches

It might sound crazy to you, but having baby cockroaches inside the ear is much more common than you think. And it makes perfect sense: the ears are a small, humid, and warm place, just as cockroaches like.

In addition to this, cockroaches are also attracted by the chemicals present in ear wax.

Once inside your ear, the cockroaches might get stuck and pushed deeper inside the canal. Eventually, the cockroach will die and decompose. The bacteria inside the cockroach will then be released to the ear and potentially lead to a dangerous ear infection.

Dirty earbuds full of wear wax are just as attractive as the human ear itself, so there’s a slim chance that cockroaches might lay their eggs in there. Again, don’t use another person’s earphones and make sure you clean yours regularly. You don’t want your ears to host an entire family of little baby cockroaches.

5. Germs and bacteria

Ear wax can build up on earphones and trap bacteria and germs, creating a favorable environment for them to survive, grow, and multiply. After some time, bacteria can become numerous enough to lead to an ear infection.

If a pair of earphones goes from ear to ear passing through several different people, bacteria can be spread to all of them. You can see how unsanitary this sharing process is.

A middle ear infection is an infection in the region behind the eardrum. In adults, symptoms include ear pain, discharge of fluid from the ear, and hearing problems. Ear infection treatment usually begins with pain management and depending on the state and development of the infection, there might be a need to take antibiotics.
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By now it should be clear why sharing earphones is so bad. That doesn’t mean that you should never ever use another person’s earbuds or share yours.

But if you do it, be extremely cautious and always check the condition of the earphones – it is perfectly visible when they haven’t been cleaned for years. If the owner keeps them clean, the chances of any of the health complications aforementioned occurring are very, very small.

However, it is certain that the number of microbes inside your ear will increase. Here’s an interesting statement made by doctor Kelly Reynold, professor at the University of Arizona that will make you question your sharing habits: “when you share headphones, you’re doubling the microbial flora in your ears and introducing new bacteria”.

This idea is reinforced by a study conducted by the Manipal University in India. The researchers tested earbuds of people who shared them for microbial contamination and found that more than 90% of them had high levels of potentially harmful bacteria. In contrast, less than 10% of the earbuds that weren’t shared had those dangerous microorganisms.