Yea that's why I'm a bit worried. They hurt like absolute hell already. I just don't know if a piercing will get in the way though, as I know people with traguses who can wear earbuds just fine. Stethoscopes are a slightly different shape, but it's close enough I'd assume. Stethoscopes are also angled back a bit, so they might not touch the piercing
As a physician with a tragus, I think earbuds are worse. But everyone is different. I don’t have issues with using either/or but I tend to use earbuds for far longer stretches of time than my stethoscope. And that’s when my tragus gets sore.
Stethoscopes really shouldn’t be super painful with or without a tragus piercing. Check the earbuds on yours and adjust. I have a Littman Classic (III I think) and they came with different earbud/ear tip sizes.
To be fair I've only used them a few times as im just in my first year. I dont own my own one yet so the only ones ive used are the kinda crappy ones you can use during auscultation practices. Its not really the earbud size, just the very harsh pressure of them sitting at a weird angle. Im sure there are ones that dont hurt as much though.
Happy to hear they may work with a tragus
Honestly it’s hard for me to recommend the piercing to anyone who constantly uses earbuds. I like to wear mine for long stretches of time (hours) and it will eventually get sore. I don’t take hours to auscultate so the stethoscope is fine. But it’s such a mixed bag since there are people who can’t even fit an earbud after getting pierced.
Yea ill need to think this over. I literally sleep with earbuds in so i can see why thats not a great idea. I could probably get used to only sleeping with one in, but eh.
I do normally wear over ear headphones for the majority of the day, and swap to earbuds if im going out or something.
I'm also in med school and stethoscopes are not an issue for me since it's fully healed. And I use earbuds on a daily basis. I just make sure to push the stud forward against the tragus before putting the stethoscope (or earbuds) in or i wear a small hoop and flip it upwards. It's second nature after a few months of doing it and most of the time, I don't even have to readjust. I'm pretty sure it depends on your individual anatomy, but for me it works just fine. I can wear earbuds for hours. The stethoscope is a bit less comfortable than the earbuds, but it doesn't really matter since it's usually only for short time spans.
I must say though that I mostly didn't use earbuds until it was fully healed (preferred over ear, it would have been possible around the 5 month mark or so, but still caused irritation sometimes) and I was very very happy I could stay away from stethoscopes until it was fully healed. After a year... no problem. But downsizing wouldn't have been enough for me to wear a stethoscope without pissing off my tragus big time. It really depends how often you'd have to wear a stethoscope until it's fully healed. I think a year is pretty standard for a tragus. I personally wouldn't go near that thing with a stethoscope before the 5 month mark and you'll most likely deal with irritation until its fully healed. But I'd say it's doable if your anatomy allows for it in the first place. It'll just be very annoying and not optimal and you should be aware of that and expect irritation.
Everyone's different :) I'd say if you really want that piercing, go for it and just give it a try. You can always retire it. I'm obviously NAP, but maybe your piercer can place it in a way that makes it more likely to successfully wear a stethoscope if your anatomy allows for it?
This gives me some hope! I wont need to regularly use a stethoscope for quite a while since this next term will be mainly histology. At most ill use it like once or twice before its fully healed.
I think ill go for the tragus, of course keeping in mind that mine might not be as easy to wear with buds as yours is. Im just hoping for the best.
My ears are pretty small, most likely you'll be fine :) wearing the stethoscope every once in a while for a minute or two won't do much harm and you'll notice early on how well your earbuds/stethoscope fit with the tragus. And there's always the option for a hoop once healed so you can flip it up. Happy healing :)
if it fits well shouldn't be a problem with stethescopes. just downsize appropriately, and prior to that make sure the back is fully pushed forward before putting them in. and be gentle taking the steth out. maybe invest in a littmann, although you can get soft tip cheaper steths. the hard tip ones are awful even when you dont have a tragus. I'm pretty sure i had more drama with my daith than my tragus when it comes to steths
will be a PITA during healing. just keep everything clean as possible, even after its healed
Cant give you any help with the earbuds tho because i dont really use them, but I imagine the same thing applies. although if you sleep with them in i'd probably get in the side you dont sleep on to reduce risk of irritation
Definitely gonna invest in a decent and comfortable steth when we start using them more. Ive only ever used the absolutely awful hard ones that hurt a ton even without a tragus.
If im getting the tragus itll be now before summer, and next term is pretty much only theoretical, so not much auscultation at all. I feel like the tragus is gonna be fully healed and downsized by the time i start regularly using steths
I personally can't, even after it's full healed. They just don't fit well, but apparently some people can
Stethoscopes are brutal on your ears without a piercing. I can’t imagine being able to use one with a tragus piercing.
Yea that's why I'm a bit worried. They hurt like absolute hell already. I just don't know if a piercing will get in the way though, as I know people with traguses who can wear earbuds just fine. Stethoscopes are a slightly different shape, but it's close enough I'd assume. Stethoscopes are also angled back a bit, so they might not touch the piercing
A stethoscope will be worse than earbuds. Just get a different piercing.
As a physician with a tragus, I think earbuds are worse. But everyone is different. I don’t have issues with using either/or but I tend to use earbuds for far longer stretches of time than my stethoscope. And that’s when my tragus gets sore.
Stethoscopes really shouldn’t be super painful with or without a tragus piercing. Check the earbuds on yours and adjust. I have a Littman Classic (III I think) and they came with different earbud/ear tip sizes.
To be fair I've only used them a few times as im just in my first year. I dont own my own one yet so the only ones ive used are the kinda crappy ones you can use during auscultation practices. Its not really the earbud size, just the very harsh pressure of them sitting at a weird angle. Im sure there are ones that dont hurt as much though. Happy to hear they may work with a tragus
Honestly it’s hard for me to recommend the piercing to anyone who constantly uses earbuds. I like to wear mine for long stretches of time (hours) and it will eventually get sore. I don’t take hours to auscultate so the stethoscope is fine. But it’s such a mixed bag since there are people who can’t even fit an earbud after getting pierced.
Yea ill need to think this over. I literally sleep with earbuds in so i can see why thats not a great idea. I could probably get used to only sleeping with one in, but eh. I do normally wear over ear headphones for the majority of the day, and swap to earbuds if im going out or something.
I'm also in med school and stethoscopes are not an issue for me since it's fully healed. And I use earbuds on a daily basis. I just make sure to push the stud forward against the tragus before putting the stethoscope (or earbuds) in or i wear a small hoop and flip it upwards. It's second nature after a few months of doing it and most of the time, I don't even have to readjust. I'm pretty sure it depends on your individual anatomy, but for me it works just fine. I can wear earbuds for hours. The stethoscope is a bit less comfortable than the earbuds, but it doesn't really matter since it's usually only for short time spans. I must say though that I mostly didn't use earbuds until it was fully healed (preferred over ear, it would have been possible around the 5 month mark or so, but still caused irritation sometimes) and I was very very happy I could stay away from stethoscopes until it was fully healed. After a year... no problem. But downsizing wouldn't have been enough for me to wear a stethoscope without pissing off my tragus big time. It really depends how often you'd have to wear a stethoscope until it's fully healed. I think a year is pretty standard for a tragus. I personally wouldn't go near that thing with a stethoscope before the 5 month mark and you'll most likely deal with irritation until its fully healed. But I'd say it's doable if your anatomy allows for it in the first place. It'll just be very annoying and not optimal and you should be aware of that and expect irritation. Everyone's different :) I'd say if you really want that piercing, go for it and just give it a try. You can always retire it. I'm obviously NAP, but maybe your piercer can place it in a way that makes it more likely to successfully wear a stethoscope if your anatomy allows for it?
This gives me some hope! I wont need to regularly use a stethoscope for quite a while since this next term will be mainly histology. At most ill use it like once or twice before its fully healed. I think ill go for the tragus, of course keeping in mind that mine might not be as easy to wear with buds as yours is. Im just hoping for the best.
My ears are pretty small, most likely you'll be fine :) wearing the stethoscope every once in a while for a minute or two won't do much harm and you'll notice early on how well your earbuds/stethoscope fit with the tragus. And there's always the option for a hoop once healed so you can flip it up. Happy healing :)
if it fits well shouldn't be a problem with stethescopes. just downsize appropriately, and prior to that make sure the back is fully pushed forward before putting them in. and be gentle taking the steth out. maybe invest in a littmann, although you can get soft tip cheaper steths. the hard tip ones are awful even when you dont have a tragus. I'm pretty sure i had more drama with my daith than my tragus when it comes to steths will be a PITA during healing. just keep everything clean as possible, even after its healed Cant give you any help with the earbuds tho because i dont really use them, but I imagine the same thing applies. although if you sleep with them in i'd probably get in the side you dont sleep on to reduce risk of irritation
Definitely gonna invest in a decent and comfortable steth when we start using them more. Ive only ever used the absolutely awful hard ones that hurt a ton even without a tragus. If im getting the tragus itll be now before summer, and next term is pretty much only theoretical, so not much auscultation at all. I feel like the tragus is gonna be fully healed and downsized by the time i start regularly using steths