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New diamond studs bothering ears, please help!

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
Hi there. I've been wearing white gold studs for over 10 years every day. On Thursday, I got new 1.20ctw studs from IDJ. They're beautiful. My last studs that I wore daily are .80ctw size. The new ones have a jumbo back, which I've never used before. I put them in on Thursday and could definitely feel their presence. I don't know if that makes sense but they are bigger than any of my others and I was definitely aware of them, you know? I wore them on Thursday, took them out to sleep, and then wore them on Friday. It's now Saturday morning and my piercings feels a little irritated. No redness, swelling, rashes, and signs of infection or allergy.

I'm definitely not an expert and I'm not sure why my ears seem to dislike these earrings so much? They do weigh more than my last studs, the diamonds are bigger and the backs are bigger. Do you think that it's just simply the extra weight? Will my ears eventually get used to them? They are a four prong basket setting instead of a 3 prong martini setting, so they don't nestle in my ear as much as my last pair. I would think that would be a good thing though. Should I ask the vendor for the regular backs? Maybe that would help with the weight? If there is something irritating my ears, would it just be the setting? Maybe use a different metal?

How long should I wait before contacting the vendor? While I certainly don't think they did anything wrong, I would like to be able to wear my earrings with comfort. It's Saturday morning now and I haven't worn them since Friday evening. The piercing is still a little tender.

Thank you for the guidance!
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
So they’re not itchy right?
I know I’m allergic to nickel and my ears get super itchy and swell when it comes into contact with nickel.

Do you have the hypoallergenic disc backings from Amazon? I shared the link in another thread. If you have those you can try it and see if you have a similar reaction.

Also check it’s not too tight on your ear. I’ve been tightly pushing my studs to the back of my ear and the earring back so as to have it on securely. But if I do it too tightly it hurts my ears.

Can you share a photo of the earrings and the backs? And how it lays on your ears?
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
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53,978
PS I would wait a bit before trying again until your ears/piercings recover.
 

vintageinjune

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Jan 4, 2012
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1,089
Did you trade in your old earrings? If not and you still have the backs from the first set, I'd pop those on (after the ears fully recover for a fresh start) to see if that solves the issue (or really, any normal size earring back from other earrings, just to see if the weight is the issue).

I cannot think of a reason to not send an email and let the vendor know that you are experiencing this issue. The worst case scenario is an allergy to something in the metal, in which case you'll need a new setting, best case is you give it a few days, put the earrings back on (not too tightly) and have magically adjusted. Somewhere in between, maybe you need smaller earring backs.

Giving them a heads up so they are better prepared to assist you should the need arise is always appreciated. Certainly their goal is yours - for you to enjoy your earrings and wear them comfortably!

Congratulations on your upgraded earrings by the way.
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
So they’re not itchy right?
I know I’m allergic to nickel and my ears get super itchy and swell when it comes into contact with nickel.

Do you have the hypoallergenic disc backings from Amazon? I shared the link in another thread. If you have those you can try it and see if you have a similar reaction.

Also check it’s not too tight on your ear. I’ve been tightly pushing my studs to the back of my ear and the earring back so as to have it on securely. But if I do it too tightly it hurts my ears.

Can you share a photo of the earrings and the backs? And how it lays on your ears?

No, they’re definitely not itchy. It’s that tender, irritated feeling that you get when you haven’t worn earrings for a while and start to wear them again.

I’m wondering if the combination of the bigger stones and the heavier jumbo backs is just too much for my ears. I did check the backs because I thought of them being too tight as well and the post is just barely over the end, enough to be secure but not tight.
Here are a couple of pics, it’s really hard to get good ear shots! And a few of the back and the smaller back from my smaller studs. Please ignore the red ear on the second pic, that’s always like that. Not from the earrings.

6B89EB5B-E309-46DA-BF23-8AFD37553827.jpeg E4C6934F-C52E-4BD8-89C3-E9AF5AF4D7DA.jpeg 52F33EF1-83F3-404B-8B67-3C26B69B7B7A.jpeg D949F2E4-872D-4F07-AB20-43A0C23B45D0.jpeg
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
Did you trade in your old earrings? If not and you still have the backs from the first set, I'd pop those on (after the ears fully recover for a fresh start) to see if that solves the issue (or really, any normal size earring back from other earrings, just to see if the weight is the issue).

I cannot think of a reason to not send an email and let the vendor know that you are experiencing this issue. The worst case scenario is an allergy to something in the metal, in which case you'll need a new setting, best case is you give it a few days, put the earrings back on (not too tightly) and have magically adjusted. Somewhere in between, maybe you need smaller earring backs.

Giving them a heads up so they are better prepared to assist you should the need arise is always appreciated. Certainly their goal is yours - for you to enjoy your earrings and wear them comfortably!

Congratulations on your upgraded earrings by the way.

Thank you for the advice! I didn’t trade in my old earrings so I just went and tested to see if the old backs would fit the new ones. They do! I tried them on to see if they would droop and if they’d feel okay. They do feel lighter in my ears. My ears are still tender though so it’s not like I can tell 100% but it seems better. I wonder if I just can’t wear the jumbo backs.

I think I will reach out to the vendor and tell them the issue. That’s a good idea. I’m hoping that they can send me some regular backs and that’ll be the end of it. I would assume that if it was an allergy, it would be worse by now. But I don’t want to rule it out.
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
Are the new posts the same diameter as the old posts?

I can’t measure them exactly but they must be pretty close. I was able to switch around the backs. I tried on the regular backs from my old earrings and they seem to fit just fine. I do wonder if the heavier backs are making the posts sit differently in my ears and that’s causing the irritation. It feels like that haven’t wore earrings for a while and you just started wearing them again feeling.
 

missy

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Jun 8, 2008
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No, they’re definitely not itchy. It’s that tender, irritated feeling that you get when you haven’t worn earrings for a while and start to wear them again.

I’m wondering if the combination of the bigger stones and the heavier jumbo backs is just too much for my ears. I did check the backs because I thought of them being too tight as well and the post is just barely over the end, enough to be secure but not tight.
Here are a couple of pics, it’s really hard to get good ear shots! And a few of the back and the smaller back from my smaller studs. Please ignore the red ear on the second pic, that’s always like that. Not from the earrings.

6B89EB5B-E309-46DA-BF23-8AFD37553827.jpeg E4C6934F-C52E-4BD8-89C3-E9AF5AF4D7DA.jpeg 52F33EF1-83F3-404B-8B67-3C26B69B7B7A.jpeg D949F2E4-872D-4F07-AB20-43A0C23B45D0.jpeg

I just wanted to add these are beautiful on you!
And your photos are great! I cannot take ear selfies for the life of me lol.

Yeah in that case I would use your old earring backs and see how it feels. But definitely wait til your ears are not tender anymore so you can really evaluate it properly.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Jan 11, 2006
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58,547
Those backs don't look like jumbo to me because I have some (and don't like them). But regular size small backs are totally fine with studs that size. I wear regular/medium size backs with mine and they are 1.28 cts each.

Your studs look beautiful on you!
 
Last edited:

MaisOuiMadame

Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Jan 9, 2015
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3,451
I have to be super diligent disinfecting all earrings. I have to disinfect the posts , backs and the ear and basically use the disinfectant as lubricant for the posts. If not my ears will also swell up und redden.
Maybe worth a try?
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
Thank you all for the suggestions! I reached out to the vendor and they are sending me some different backs. I'm hoping that it will fix the problem. If it doesn't, it must be something with the metal in the post. I'm assuming that they'll need to be re-set, which is a big bummer. I would rather stay with a silver/white color so I guess I'll have to go for platinum. Not really thrilled with the extra cost when you don't even really see the setting but I want to be able to wear them so we'll see. I'm still hoping that the different backs will help though!
 

K98

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
57
No, they’re definitely not itchy. It’s that tender, irritated feeling that you get when you haven’t worn earrings for a while and start to wear them again.

I’m wondering if the combination of the bigger stones and the heavier jumbo backs is just too much for my ears. I did check the backs because I thought of them being too tight as well and the post is just barely over the end, enough to be secure but not tight.
Here are a couple of pics, it’s really hard to get good ear shots! And a few of the back and the smaller back from my smaller studs. Please ignore the red ear on the second pic, that’s always like that. Not from the earrings.

6B89EB5B-E309-46DA-BF23-8AFD37553827.jpeg E4C6934F-C52E-4BD8-89C3-E9AF5AF4D7DA.jpeg 52F33EF1-83F3-404B-8B67-3C26B69B7B7A.jpeg D949F2E4-872D-4F07-AB20-43A0C23B45D0.jpeg

That tender feeling happened to me when I got studs with a thicker gauge post than my previous ones. Could it be that? Sometimes the nicer the setting, the sturdier the post, but it takes ears a while to adapt!
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
That tender feeling happened to me when I got studs with a thicker gauge post than my previous ones. Could it be that? Sometimes the nicer the setting, the sturdier the post, but it takes ears a while to adapt!

That’s exactly what I’m thinking too. My last pair are smaller (.80ctw) and from BGD so they’re nice but the post is probably smaller. I can use the backs from them on my new ones but they may not be the exact same size.

I use to wear a pair of screwback post studs and when I got my BGD studs last year, I didn’t wear the screwback ones for a few months. When I tried to wear them again, they hurt my ears so bad even putting them in that I just gave up. The screwback posts are way thicker than the IDJ ones but I’m thinking it’s a different post than I’m used to.
 

AprilBaby

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jul 17, 2008
Messages
13,234
Get the Amazon silicon disk backs.
 

monipod

Brilliant_Rock
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Jun 25, 2019
Messages
1,041
It's important to remember that your ears will always try and close up earring holes (slowly but surely) so if you think of your piercings as active wounds, it'll be sensitive to any change, however minor. I have a daith (inner ear) piercing that has taken two years to tolerate the metalware. I don't say 'heal' because as soon as I take the ring out, it will immediately try and fill the hole in. If I sleep on it oddly or the ring has rotated too much, I know about it!

I'd try the smaller backs but I think it'll just take time for your ears to get used to a new pair or earrings. The weight difference isn't huge but it might be to your ears.
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
It's important to remember that your ears will always try and close up earring holes (slowly but surely) so if you think of your piercings as active wounds, it'll be sensitive to any change, however minor. I have a daith (inner ear) piercing that has taken two years to tolerate the metalware. I don't say 'heal' because as soon as I take the ring out, it will immediately try and fill the hole in. If I sleep on it oddly or the ring has rotated too much, I know about it!

I'd try the smaller backs but I think it'll just take time for your ears to get used to a new pair or earrings. The weight difference isn't huge but it might be to your ears.

Thank you for this! My piercing (which I've had for like 20 years) seems to be pretty sensitive. If I don't wear earrings for a few days, the piercing does start to close. I'm guessing that it's weight from the earrings and maybe the backs.
 

monipod

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Messages
1,041
Thank you for this! My piercing (which I've had for like 20 years) seems to be pretty sensitive. If I don't wear earrings for a few days, the piercing does start to close. I'm guessing that it's weight from the earrings and maybe the backs.

I found a nice .50 tcw pair of studs last year that is my 24/7 pair because my main piercing which was done over 40 years ago will still try to close if I don't keep earrings in for more than a month! It's then a struggle to earrings in and man it hurts. Definitely give it time. They look amazing so worth the patience!
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
I just wanted to give an update about my earrings. I reached out to the vendor and they sent me a couple of new backs to try. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to help. My ears were always irritated when I wore them and would stay that way for days after.

I contacted the vendor again and was able to send them back to get reset in platinum setting instead of white gold. I’ve never had an issue with any white gold setting so I don’t know if it is a new allergy for me or just that specific pair. While I was doing it, I went ahead and asked for the 3 prong martini setting instead of the 4 prong basket. I love both and since I’ve always worn the martini setting, I thought it would be a better choice, since I was resetting them anyway.

I shipped them back last Monday and I got them back today! I was very impressed with their turn around time. I think they look fantastic in the martini setting. I haven’t worn any kind of earrings since last week and I just tried these on. They definitely feel annoyed from that but I didn’t wear them for long today. I guess I’ll just have to keep trying them in baby steps so that they don’t get irritated. I am glad to have my earrings back though, even if I can’t wear them all day yet.

D76D5256-EB32-4082-87EE-CEE3DC636F7D.jpeg 02978B98-9F63-43D9-B070-98AC4924DFAA.jpeg
 

sth66

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 19, 2020
Messages
23
Please give us an update on how your ears are adjusting. I'm going through the same thing and I'm so discouraged. I actually had an infection in one ear, went on antibiotics and it cleared up nicely. That was about a week and a half ago. Now I'm having trouble with the other ear and super paranoid it's gonna get infected. It doesn't look red (yet), maybe ever so slightly swollen though it's hard for me to tell, and the hole looks "normal" and definitely not itchy. It's just sore and NOT happy, no matter what earrings I put in. I already payed $200 to have the backs switched from the screwbacks (of which I paid extra to have put on (UGH) in the first place, to the Protektor backs. It's making me sick to think I may have to pay even more to have them totally reset in Platinum. I've never had an issue with my ears or wearing gold before and the piercings are 40+ old. What I thought was gonna be a fun, new adventure of buying my first pair of diamond anything for myself, has turned into the most expensive nightmare! Blahhhh
 

chele162

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
90
Please give us an update on how your ears are adjusting. I'm going through the same thing and I'm so discouraged. I actually had an infection in one ear, went on antibiotics and it cleared up nicely. That was about a week and a half ago. Now I'm having trouble with the other ear and super paranoid it's gonna get infected. It doesn't look red (yet), maybe ever so slightly swollen though it's hard for me to tell, and the hole looks "normal" and definitely not itchy. It's just sore and NOT happy, no matter what earrings I put in. I already payed $200 to have the backs switched from the screwbacks (of which I paid extra to have put on (UGH) in the first place, to the Protektor backs. It's making me sick to think I may have to pay even more to have them totally reset in Platinum. I've never had an issue with my ears or wearing gold before and the piercings are 40+ old. What I thought was gonna be a fun, new adventure of buying my first pair of diamond anything for myself, has turned into the most expensive nightmare! Blahhhh

Oh no! That sounds really miserable, I’m so sorry. I totally get the discouraged feeling. I’ve definitely felt that way too. My whole thing has been going on for almost a month and I still can’t wear them without my ears getting irritated.

At this point, I just can’t wear any earrings. Even earrings that I’ve worn forever and haven’t ever had a problem with still make me ears mad. When I got the reset ones on Monday, I put them in and wore them for about 45 minutes. I could feel my ears getting annoyed so I didn’t want to push it so I just put them in their box. I think the piercing was just so irritated, I just have to give it a rest. At this point, I haven’t worn any earrings in a little over a week (aside from the 45 minutes). Something I haven’t done in years.

I’m thankful that my ears didn’t get infected, that sounds horrible. I’m sorry that I don’t have a good answer. I’ve always taken forever for stuff to heal so I guess that’s where I’m at. I don’t understand how one set of earrings that are the same material (maybe not exact mixture but still white gold) could cause this much trouble. I don’t know if I’ll have to wear platinum all the time or just this specific pair. I hated to pay the premium for platinum but I just literally changed everything but the diamonds because you know those aren’t the problem. And I didn’t want to have to keep shipping them back to the vendor.

Can I ask where you got your earrings? Not that I think it matters, I’m just curious.
 

snowballs mom

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
112
Please give us an update on how your ears are adjusting. I'm going through the same thing and I'm so discouraged. I actually had an infection in one ear, went on antibiotics and it cleared up nicely. That was about a week and a half ago. Now I'm having trouble with the other ear and super paranoid it's gonna get infected. It doesn't look red (yet), maybe ever so slightly swollen though it's hard for me to tell, and the hole looks "normal" and definitely not itchy. It's just sore and NOT happy, no matter what earrings I put in. I already payed $200 to have the backs switched from the screwbacks (of which I paid extra to have put on (UGH) in the first place, to the Protektor backs. It's making me sick to think I may have to pay even more to have them totally reset in Platinum. I've never had an issue with my ears or wearing gold before and the piercings are 40+ old. What I thought was gonna be a fun, new adventure of buying my first pair of diamond anything for myself, has turned into the most expensive nightmare! Blahhhh

I was having similar problems with my white gold studs. My piercings are at least 45 years old, but they are really small - I have always used very thin posts. I bought a pair in white gold with the Protektor backs and posts and found them to be somewhat irritating. I think I really messed up my ears by using Swarovski backs with those earrings - I ended up with a bad reaction that included itchy blisters on the backs of my ears. Applying Neosporin ointment for a few days cleared up the blisters. I then wore yellow or rose gold for a while, and coated the posts with Neosporin prior to inserting them every morning.

I recently tried the white gold studs again, but with silicon backs instead of metal - so far so good.
 

sth66

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 19, 2020
Messages
23
Oh no! That sounds really miserable, I’m so sorry. I totally get the discouraged feeling. I’ve definitely felt that way too. My whole thing has been going on for almost a month and I still can’t wear them without my ears getting irritated.

At this point, I just can’t wear any earrings. Even earrings that I’ve worn forever and haven’t ever had a problem with still make me ears mad. When I got the reset ones on Monday, I put them in and wore them for about 45 minutes. I could feel my ears getting annoyed so I didn’t want to push it so I just put them in their box. I think the piercing was just so irritated, I just have to give it a rest. At this point, I haven’t worn any earrings in a little over a week (aside from the 45 minutes). Something I haven’t done in years.

I’m thankful that my ears didn’t get infected, that sounds horrible. I’m sorry that I don’t have a good answer. I’ve always taken forever for stuff to heal so I guess that’s where I’m at. I don’t understand how one set of earrings that are the same material (maybe not exact mixture but still white gold) could cause this much trouble. I don’t know if I’ll have to wear platinum all the time or just this specific pair. I hated to pay the premium for platinum but I just literally changed everything but the diamonds because you know those aren’t the problem. And I didn’t want to have to keep shipping them back to the vendor.

Can I ask where you got your earrings? Not that I think it matters, I’m just curious.

I got them from JA. I love them. I’ve never had screwbacks before, but thought I’d try them, as I would be so upset if so lost an earring, as I’ve already been traumatized with losing the main diamond in my engagement ring. The posts on the screwbacks were very thin, but I think the rough surface may have kicked the inside of my piercing. The newer protector backs and posts are a lot thicker and I’m wondering if my ear holes just need to adjust to the bigger size? I put my thinner post gold balls back in and will just keep them in and see if my ear heals over time. But even those are irritating the one side. It’s so bizarre. I haven’t had issues with earrings or infections for decades. What I worry about is spending more money and switching them to platinum, only to have my ears react the same way. I too have been dealing with this for a good month and a half. It’s getting really tiring and making me absolutely batty! I’m thinking of going to a piercer and asking their advice. I’ve read that sometimes, if your holes are too small, you may have to get them re-pierced or they can make the holes a bit bigger. I don’t know. I’m just sick of dealing with it.
 

sth66

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 19, 2020
Messages
23
I was having similar problems with my white gold studs. My piercings are at least 45 years old, but they are really small - I have always used very thin posts. I bought a pair in white gold with the Protektor backs and posts and found them to be somewhat irritating. I think I really messed up my ears by using Swarovski backs with those earrings - I ended up with a bad reaction that included itchy blisters on the backs of my ears. Applying Neosporin ointment for a few days cleared up the blisters. I then wore yellow or rose gold for a while, and coated the posts with Neosporin prior to inserting them every morning.

I recently tried the white gold studs again, but with silicon backs instead of metal - so far so good.

The Protector posts and backs are pretty thick. My ears never had problems with yellow gold. The new earrings are white gold. Even when I switch the earrings back to the yellow gold, the one side still gets mad. Being that the other side seems fine, I’m not convinced it’s a an allergy issue. I don’t know. It’s just crazy. Not sure if I should just take out the earrings for awhile or leave them in. Ugh
 

snowballs mom

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
112
The Protector posts and backs are pretty thick. My ears never had problems with yellow gold. The new earrings are white gold. Even when I switch the earrings back to the yellow gold, the one side still gets mad. Being that the other side seems fine, I’m not convinced it’s a an allergy issue. I don’t know. It’s just crazy. Not sure if I should just take out the earrings for awhile or leave them in. Ugh
I think the thickness of the Protektor posts and the groove at the end caused the initial irritation - I had difficulty getting them through my ear. I am thinking that they may have caused little tears in the skin that made me more susceptible to irritation from whatever metal is in the Swarovski backs. Going earring-free for a few days along with using antibiotic ointment really did help.
 

LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Oct 24, 2012
Messages
12,631
To OP, yeah, I am guessing it's the metal and not the size of the backings. Hope platinum solves the issue. When I got my ears pierced 5-6 years ago, I had to wear platinum studs for 4 years. It was the third time I tried piercing my ears (twice during my teens) and I had tried 24K gold. This was the first time I tried platinum. A year ago I switched to 18k WG and no issues. Finally...

Give platinum a chance. good luck!
 

heididdl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
2,928
Ugh so sorry your going through this. I am about to embark on a similar project with ID jewelry I think I will go right for the platinum as I don't want to have any problems with my new studs.
 
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