Wearing them for five hours sent him to the ER.
A Redditor, cgcmake, recently warned users about the potential health risks of adjusting the AirPods Max’s headband too tightly, especially for those with larger head sizes. This is after he had to go to the emergency room because of temporary blindness as a result of wearing headphones.
The Unseen Risk of Wearing AirPods Max
In a recent post on the r/Airpodsmax subreddit, the OP shared a serious warning about using Apple’s AirPods Max headphones.
As someone with a “large and tall head”, he wanted to make the headphones more comfortable by adjusting the headband to its smallest setting. However, this attempt led to a severe health issue.
The OP wore the adjusted headphones for over five hours. This resulted in a severe ophthalmic headache due to restricted blood flow around the temples caused by the tightness of the metal band.
The situation became so severe that he experienced blurred vision and couldn’t see much on his right side, making reading impossible for an hour.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he reached out to the health emergency line and had to visit the emergency room. At the hospital, a doctor diagnosed the problem as being caused by the headphones’ pressure.
The story shared by the OP was actually a repost from a note after his original post was deleted from the forum.
He detailed this frightening experience to serve as a warning to others about the potential risks of adjusting the AirPods Max headband too tightly. He advised against wearing these headphones for long periods without taking enough breaks to stretch.
He also pointed out an oversight by Apple in not providing warnings about these potential health hazards.
Similar Experiences Shared by Other Users
Cgcmake’s case, although on the extreme side, isn’t an isolated case. A quick search through the r/AirPodsMax shows that multiple users have already reported getting headaches due to the AirPods Max’s clamping force and weight.
For one, Polari826 shared a story of enduring “nasty headaches” and a migraine triggered by the headphones. He detailed that the headphones felt comfortable at first. But, it didn’t last.
For others, that wasn’t the case. Some have reported immediate headaches upon wearing the headphones, citing the clamping force as a likely cause. Worse, the pain was more unbearable for people who wear glasses.
The Collective Search for Comfort
The community’s reaction to the shared experiences included a mixture of concern, advice, and potential solutions. Some suggestions included changing the earcup material to reduce irritation.
Others recommend stretching the headphones out to decrease the tightness.
To support those who talk about stretching the headphones, some users also referred to a Reddit post from three years ago. This post details a user’s experiment and suggestions on how to solve the AirPods Max’s clamping force issue.
However, there are also multiple accounts that swear that the AirPods Max will be comfortable after a while. In their experience, the headphones did start feeling too tight, but either they got stretched out after a few uses or their head got used to the feeling of wearing them.
For other users, enduring pain for the sake of sound quality isn’t worth it. They advised those affected to return the headphones or find a more comfortable alternative.
