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Posted

I really need to wear sunglasses, but they always hurt the area behind my ears after 15 or 20 minutes of wear. I've never been able to find a pair that isn't painful. I have worn contacts for over 30 years, because I have really bad vision, and while I have backup glasses, I am unable to wear them because of the pain they cause. Is there such a thing as glasses that do not hurt to the area behind your ears and cause headaches? I think I'm super sensitive to things squeezing my head as I can also not wear hats or a ponytail. 

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Posted (edited)

Yes. Usually it’s possible with light weight ones that have Flexi frames and the right fit and padding amount.  May take help from a good optometrist.

And with plenty of time to try them on and for them to be adjusted to be right. 

They may be more $ than you are hoping for.  Or you might more easily and less expensively be able to find a comfortable Rx pair glasses and a light weight clip on sun shield rather than special comfortable sunglasses for over contacts. 

Correction:

 

should say “Ultralight” weight.  Mine are “Flexon” but there are supposed to be companies with even lighter ones.    The lens must be ultralight too.  And then super bendable titanium helps a lot for the glasses to conform to person 

Edited by Pen
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Posted

I am in the very same position. Eyes are getting drier and it's increasingly more difficult to have contacts in for a whole day. Even sunglasses bother me sooner or later. I agree that it seems more like a sensitivity in my case as well. Also, some days I can wear them longer than on others. No clue what this is all about but I will be checking in here to see if someone has a clue.

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Posted (edited)

My optometrist's office has a genius technician who does glasses fitting. I go in and say, "it hurts here" and she disappears for a few moments, during which i hear the heat gun, like ArcticMama says, and then she comes back and I never even think about my glasses again. She also remembers everyone's birthdays.

Do know that you do not have to go to the glass place in your optometrists office. If the person there can't get you fixed up, try somewhere else.

Edited by SusanC
I'm very comma-conscious when posting at wtm
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Posted

OP there is absolutely no reason you should suffer with that.  As other previous responders have mentioned, with Plastic Frames you need to heat them up to adjust them and I would probably go into an Opticians office or to an Optometrist and hope that they can adjust them for you so that you do not suffer.

With Metal Frames, it is much easier.  I am wearing eyeglasses with a Metal Frame from Zenni Optical that I had made for use with this 14" Laptop.  The basic price of the eyeglasses was $6.95 and I think the non-reflective coating was an additional $4.95.  I have been using these eyeglasses for 11+ months. God knows how many times a day and put them on and take them off.  I do not have any issue with them hurting my ears as you described. 

For when you are in the house, where "Fashion" isn't an issue, consider getting eyeglasses with a Metal Frame.

Posted

I am very sensitive to things like headbands (cause tension headaches and kind of a sick feeling), and my ears are sensitive, period--when air moves past my ears, I get feel terribly nauseous. In spite of that, I have worn glasses comfortably for years. Sunglasses you just pick up at the store will be different than more pricey frames too. I do fine with both glasses and Rx sunglasses, but to put in contacts and buy sunglasses just anywhere--they don't feel great.

I think I may have some slight variation in shape behind my ears, and I think I am asymmetrical (most people are a bit). It's a bit unusual, but there is variation in precisely where nerves and muscles go from person to person. For example, my mom, my son, and I all have an odd place nerves run over the top of our feet--we have to push our shoe tongues to the side or get pinched nerves--as in, the nerve is damaged and I get a numb toe for weeks to months! (I have to also be really careful of sandal straps.) Of course, every shoe store employee or foot doctor wants us to put the tongue "back where it belongs" and thinks we're setting ourselves up for foot trouble.

Do you happen to get motion sick or have tight muscles in your head or neck? If you get motion sick, it could be that you need some intervention with your inner ear--maybe some vestibular training. Tight neck and head muscles can make the ear/jaw/neck area more sensitive to pressure and tightness, in my experience.

I do end up having glasses that slide just a tiny bit down my nose (not serious) as payment for not having super tight glasses, but it's not a big deal.

I have had opticians that listen when I say things are too tight and those that do not. The current practice is amazing. A previous practice not so much--I had to make an emergency trip while out of town to an optician to have them adjust my glasses--I was miserable. The temples on my glasses tend to fit somewhat snug on the top of my ear, but behind my ears, they are basically not angled toward my head much at all. Depending on the pair, they are even sometimes pushing outward a bit.

Oh, I thought of something else...some opticians don't really do a good job of finding the right sized frames for a face. One place we used to go would pull out special frames for me that were not as wide. They said locals tended to have really wide faces, lol! If frames are too wide, you have to pull in the temples to keep them on. If the frames are too tight, they pinch. Temples come in different lengths as well. 

Some frames are angled differently in the front which also affects how the temples sit.

This really should be fixable. Get some good recommendations for opticians to fit you, and then take the all the time you need. You can ask them to schedule you at a slower time of day. You can also ask to maybe try on some frames in advance of your actual eye exam (again, ask if you can browse at a slow time), narrow down what you like, and then maybe at your "real" appointment, they work hard at helping you decipher what the problem is with fit. 

Posted

it sounds like an adjustment issue.  an eyeglass place should be able to help you adjust them correctly.

Posted

I have had this issue and despite the very best efforts of an extremely accommodating and competent optometrist, have not been able to solve this with adjustments alone.  My solution was to buy silicone temple tips to pad the part behind the ear. 

I also have to be careful to match the width of the whole glasses to my head. If you have a larger or narrower than average head, this might  be an issue. 

  • 10 months later...
Posted (edited)

I have tried everything. Ultralight... adjustments... nothing really helped. As a matter of fact, I can’t wear hats without it hurting my head, watches without it hurting my wrist after a few minutes. It turns out that it is likely tied to an autoimmune disorder. If you have other issues, you may want to look into alternative issues. However, if ultralights and adjustments fix your issue, great. That’s the easiest route and would suggest that there is likely not an underlying issue. 

Edited by D Kearl
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Posted

I have extremely sensitive ears.  There's even a name for it, but I can't remember what it is!  Headbands hurt my ears, and even a winter hat will hurt after 30 minutes or so.  Sleeping on my side hurts, unless I have the perfect pillow (which I finally have  :)).  

That said, I do need to wear prescription sunglasses when I drive.  I have a pair that's comfortable now.  They're very lightweight and plastic, and although they do touch the skin behind my ears, they don't actually grip there.  The arms go straight out probably an inch beyond my ears, if that makes sense.  I probably wouldn't be able to swing my head around too much in them, since it isn't a tight grip, but they stay on just fine for driving and walking.    I wonder if you were to go to an actually eyeglass place rather than a drugstore type place if you could find more variety to try on.

Posted
10 hours ago, D Kearl said:

I have tried everything. Ultralight... adjustments... nothing really helped. As a matter of fact, I can’t wear hats without it hurting my head, watches without it hurting my wrist after a few minutes. It turns out that it is likely tied to an autoimmune disorder. If you have other issues, you may want to look into alternative issues. However, if ultralights and adjustments fix your issue, great. That’s the easiest route and would suggest that there is likely not an underlying issue. 

Thank you

Posted
9 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I only notice about half the time, lol! 

I always feel like I've been duped when I don't notice it!

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