Headphones Cauliflower Ear | Causes & Treatment

According to Dr. Ronald A. Holfman, Director of Ear institute New York, Cauliflower Ear is a deformity of the outer ear that occurs secondary to trauma infection or bleeding. What happens is that thick scarring occurs that obliterates the standard curves of our ears and it just looks like a big, fat glump.

Once this occurs, it’s difficult to rectify and requires careful plastic surgery, re-sculpting of the cartilage, and resurfacing of the ear.

Can you get cauliflower from headphone use?

No, You won’t get Cauliflower Ears from headphones. But, if you have cauliflower ear, the consistent use of In-Ear headphones may give you Hair Loss Headaches, or pain in your cauliflower ear. There are some headphones that we will guide you on later and they are best in comfort level and provides you with a clean and soothing sound. So, ultimately avoids any damage to ears (cauliflower ears).

The cauliflower ear is a condition of the external ear. This all happens because of trauma or blunt trauma to the external ear. For example, in boxing, whenever it is a slap on the face of the boxer’s ear or maybe an assuring force on-ear or it may be following an insect bite. 

There have no bad consequences of headphones in the case of cauliflower ears. In this long time period using and reviewing headphones and different audio products, we did not face or listen to any case of cauliflower ear from headphones.

What happens is that there is a small hematoma (blood clot) that accumulates below the ear skin and this cuts off the blood supply to the cartilage. Since cartilage is devoid of blood supply. Now, it will start shrinking which causes the deformity, something which looks like cauliflower.

Dr. Gayatri S. Pandit

Which Headphones are good for cauliflower?

We have already discussed that there are no harmful consequences of using headphones in this case rather it has helped people suffering from cauliflower ears.

We recommend over-the-ear headphones with some padding around the ear caps which has obviously helped many people suffering from headphones and they feel so comfortable to the ear if you also face cauliflower ear somehow, you must use these headphones and they don’t put much force on the ears.

You must take special care for picking headphones for the person suffering from cauliflower ear.

• Headphones must be over the ear. So, they don’t get fully inserted into ears and avoid touching the inner ear.
• Always go for headphones which soft padding around the ear caps as they provide comfort to the affected person.
• Keep your headband slightly stretchy and avoid any push to the ears directly.

Best Headphones for Cauliflower Ear

Through extensive research and testing, I’ve put together a list of options that will meet the needs of different types of persons affected by Cauliflower Ear. So whether it’s price, performance, or its particular use, we’ve got you covered. 

Thanks to the extra low price, the title of Best Budget over Ear headphones on the market in 2022 quite deservedly went to the Anchor Soundcore Life Q 30. 

Anchor Soundcore Life Q 30

This model is based on the Q 20 model and has active noise cancelation combined with quality specs such as NFC. 

Battery Life

You can safely use them for your travels thanks to the practical carrying case or in the office, but also on the sofa at home during a relaxation for hours. Because they have an above-average battery life compared to the competition.

Next one of the best qualities of the Sound Core Live Q 30 is the battery life. In fact, they have an estimated duration of up to 40 hours of total playback per charge while using ANC. If you disable it, you’ll get about 60 hours of operation on a single charge when emptied. The battery charges in about 2 hours and a short charge of 5 minutes will still provide 4 hours of listening.

Comfort

The headphones have a leather lining and guarantee comfort that lasts all day. Their ergonomic design allows easy adjustment to the shape of your head as well as the headband, which can be adjusted for a better fit. The person affected by Cauliflower ear needs better comfort than a good sound to feel relaxed rather than pain. So, it provides a good comfort level.

Audio Quality

By activating NFC on your smartphone and touching headphones, you can very easily listen to your favorite music on Spotify. The two built-in drivers are 40 with a frequency range of 16 kHz, reproducing powerful bass and clear treble for a detailed sound. Everything is certified in high resolution with a bass boost function and a full equalizer that can be controlled via an app.

While built-in dual microphones have a noise reduction algorithm that can detect and filter low frequencies up to 95% to enhance your voice and make calls clearer. 

Controls

Operation is simple. While touching the right handset for one to 2 seconds will activate the transparency mode so you can hear traffic noise and exit the noise cancelation mode, which you can reactivate by pressing the ANC button on the left-hand side. For the listed price, we are thoroughly impressed.

Bose Quiet at Comfort 45

The next product on our list for today is the Bose Quiet at Comfort 45, which justifiably won the title of Best value over-ear headphones on the market in 2022. 

Design & Comfort

Bose’s latest effort in the Quiet Comfort series offers excellent noise cancelation, a well-rounded sound, and an updated design. From an aesthetic point of view, the Quiet Comfort 35 is a fairly ordinary-looking headset. It provides the ultimate comfort and is useful for cauliflower ear because they are most concerned about getting any itch from the headphones which hurt ears. So, Bose Quiet at Comfort 45 is definitely their ultimate choice.

So although it has kept the same profile as its predecessors, the design updates give this model a modern look. 

The structure of the headband is reinforced with nylon-filled glass to maintain shape and protect against falls. 

Controls

On the left-hand side is a button to switch between noise-canceling modes and on the right, you’ll find buttons for Play, Pause, and volume, plus a switch to turn the headphones on and off. 

USB Port

You still have a classic three-and-a-half millimeter port. While the USB port has been upgraded to USBC, the design is still foldable to fold the headphones over, or you can choose to put them in a carrying case to prevent scratches and dirt. 

Battery Life

Bose never seems to be worried about matching the battery life of its competitors. Whether it’s the Quiet Comfort headphones or the 700 noise-canceling headphones, the battery life is about 20 hours. With fast charging via the new USB-C port, you can extend battery life faster.

Sound

Sound of Bose Quiet at Comfort 45 is a clean and detailed and sharp presentation. Bose’s active EC is used to modulate performance regardless of the volume level and its sense of Dynamics is well-developed with a clear difference.

In transmitting all frequencies of the track, cans work well at the higher end of the frequency range.

AfterShokz Headphones

These are aftershock’s new sweat-resistant bone-conduction headphones. The $150 Trex air. The trimmed-down sequel to the well-received Trex Titanium is percent lighter than the Titanium, weighing one 4oz, and is even more comfortable to wear and seems to be just as durable.

In case you don’t know what a bone conduction headphone is, it’s one that delivers sound through your cheekbones. That’s right. The headphone driver doesn’t go in your ears or cover them. It sits directly in front of them, resting on your face. So, you can consider it the best for cauliflower ears as it has no direct contact with your ear meanwhile you enjoy music and play games with them on your ears.

Design & Comfort

The big benefit of the technology is that thanks to its open design, you can hear what’s going on around you while listening to music or having a phone conversation through headphones. That Openness allows runners and bikers to hear traffic and important safety feature. 

Sound

I’m not going to tell you the headphone sounds great because it doesn’t, comparatively speaking anyway. But it sounds a whole lot better than early aftershocks models I tested a few years ago, you’re still not going to get that really rich immersive sound with good clarity and strong bass. 

The sensation is more like listening to good background music from speakers. You can’t see it’s both in your head and not in your head if that makes any sense. Anyway, check out our full-text review for a deeper dive into the headphone. 

But my quick take is this is a wireless sports headphone to keep an eye on, especially if you’re looking for an alternative to your typical in-ear or on-ear around-the-next style headphone.

Cauliflower Ear | Causes and Prevention 

Cartilage scaffold is covered on both sides by the skin and in grappling sports anytime where that ear is traumatized whether it’s struck or rolled or folded. You run the risk of injury in that area anytime you have separation of the skin from the cartilage scaffold, your body’s going attempt to heal it and in doing so delivers blood.

There is not a lot stopping blood continuing to fill the area because it’s pretty much wide open and so on occasions, you will see folks who are rappers and have that pop of caliber so it filled all that space and it’s a big kind of a bloody mess.

So, what we need to do is first get things rained so you could see your local medical professional. You can see a lot of folks who have experience in draining these and the most important piece is compression. 

Whether you just have a hot ear or you feel that cauliflower ear coming on and it’s tender or actually pops and you drain it. So, you need compression.

Now, arrange two different kits:

• Cauli cure starter kit. It will have magnets of different sizes.
• Combat kit and a headgear that is specifically designed to accommodate having that cure device in while you train.

Ear pop and drain can take up to ten days to heal. When you get the cauliflower ear, it’s just hot and tender. You can wear a hottie that will apply compression to get the healing between the skin and scaffold for 24 hours.

Auricular Hematoma Treatment to Prevent Cauliflower Ear

Auricular Hematoma can turn into a permanent cauliflower ear if not treated properly.

• First of all, make an inclusion.
• Now, decompress the hematoma.
• Now, quilt mattress stitch to tack skin down against the cartilage to prevent Hambantota reoccurrence.

• Now, an incision will remain open and it will be closed on its own over time.

Some of us do have children who are used to listening to music at loud volumes with their headsets on their heads. But, few of us have tried to convince them to leave this habit and there is a huge link between headphones and hearing loss.

What is Cauliflower Ear in MMA/Jiu-Jitsu?

If you are a fan of wrestling, MMA/Jiu-Jitsu, or other combat sports, chances are you are familiar with cauliflower ear. In MMA, they are as common as tattoos or bad judges. You’d have to look pretty hard to find someone on the roster not sporting a pair of puffed-up ears.

Cauliflower ear usually comes from blunt force trauma to the upper ear or pin-up such as repeated punches or friction during wrestling which causes ear swelling called Acute Auricular Hematoma.

The collection of blood (clot) blocks the normal flow of blood that would normally get through. The skin on the ear can also be separated from the cartilage that gives the ear its ‘ear shape.’ Because the blood flow is blocked, the surrounding cartilage will get fold on its own and forms rigid scar tissue through Fibrosis called Fibrocartilage which hardens and gives cauliflower ear its signature look.

Remember! Once cartilage gets hardened, cauliflower ear will be permanent aside from plastic surgery.

While Hamentoma is fresh and still has liquid inside the ear. A doctor can help drain the ear with the needle and clamp to prevent further swelling either with a magnet or another clamping tool.

The treatment will help the severity of the ear, but it’s still likely that it will have some permanent deformities. It may sound crazy but many fighters will submit to their own hands and get creative by using a needle of their own or even cutting a hole in the ear to drain the blood.

They also get created with the clamping methods using pins like binder clips or wood clamps to keep the swelling down.

We don’t endorse this method and recommend you seek help from a medical professional if needed. Cauliflower ear can become easier and easier to get once you have some to start. The existing scar tissue is easily damaged and repeated occurrences cause worse cauliflower ears which can become very painful.

When Kimbo Slice burst Jamie Thompson’s ear right open in extreme cases, it can cause lasting damage to your hearing. So, definitely no more In-Ear headphones.

People Also Ask

Can you wear headphones with cauliflower ears?

Yes! You can wear certain types of over-the-ear headphones which have more comfort level and they sound much cleaned and more detailed. We have covered the best headphones for cauliflower ears above in detail.

Can you hear out of a cauliflower ear?

You can hear out of a cauliflower ear but it won’t allow you to experience loud sounds or heavy bass music which can hurt your ears and may also damage hearing loss or Headphone Hair. You should take care of these minor things when you get a cauliflower ear.

How long does cauliflower ear take to develop?

You must keep in your mind that almost a week is required to get your cauliflower ear cured and hardened with the filled fluid. So, you will look normal after this.

You must give up to 8 weeks for the perichondrium to completely attach to the cartilage surface.

What are the symbols of the Cauliflower ear?

• Tinnitus (ringing in their ears).
• Ear pain
• Headache
• Redness
• Minor hearing loss
• Ear Bleeding