Wearing glasses should be comfortable, but many people experience persistent discomfort or pain behind their ears. This issue is usually a direct result of an improper fit, where the frame’s temple arms exert excessive pressure or friction. Finding relief involves a systematic approach, starting with diagnosing the cause, followed by careful adjustments or using external aids. Addressing this problem is necessary for physical comfort and to ensure the glasses maintain the correct optical alignment for clear vision.
Identifying the Source of the Pain
Discomfort behind the ears stems from specific mechanical issues related to how the frame interacts with your head. The most common cause is concentrated pressure from the temple tips, which are the curved ends of the arms resting behind the ear. If the curve is too tight or the temple arm is too short, it presses hard against the mastoid bone or the soft ear cartilage.
Friction or rubbing is another factor, occurring when the frame is too loose and slides slightly with facial movements. This constant movement irritates the skin, often resulting from improper temple length or incorrect “pantoscopic tilt,” which is the vertical angle of the lens face. Additionally, poor weight distribution, such as heavy lenses or frames improperly balanced on the nose, shifts the burden onto the small contact area of the ear hooks, increasing localized pressure.
Immediate At-Home Adjustments
Safe, temporary adjustments can often alleviate minor discomfort, especially with metal frames. If a metal frame feels too tight laterally, gently widen the temple arms outward to reduce squeezing pressure on the sides of your head. To do this, hold the lens securely and apply slight outward pressure on the temple arm near the hinge.
Adjusting the ear tip “drop”—the curve that hooks behind the ear—can also relieve direct pressure points. If the tip is pinching the ear, slightly straighten the curve to loosen it, or make the curve more pronounced to tighten a loose frame. For plastic or acetate frames, the material must be made pliable first, usually by soaking the temple end in warm water for about 30 seconds. Never use excessive heat or attempt complex bends, as this can easily damage the frame and potentially void the warranty.
When to Seek Professional Adjustment
Home adjustments are often insufficient or too risky in certain scenarios, making professional intervention necessary. If your glasses are made of delicate materials like titanium, high-end acetates, or rimless designs, they should only be adjusted by an optician. These materials require specialized tools and heat application that are not safely manageable at home.
A professional can perform precise adjustments beyond simple bending, such as correcting the pantoscopic tilt or verifying frame alignment using precision pliers. Opticians also check critical measurements like the pupillary distance (PD) and vertex distance, which relates to the lens-to-eye measurement. An incorrect PD means the optical center of the lens is misaligned with your pupil, which can cause eye strain.
Comfort Aids and Long-Term Prevention
External aids offer a non-invasive solution to improve comfort without altering the physical frame structure. Silicone or rubber sleeves slide directly onto the temple tips to provide a soft cushion between the frame and the skin. These sleeves increase the contact area, which effectively reduces the pressure exerted per square millimeter.
Anti-slip products, such as frame wax or specialized grip enhancers, can be applied directly to the bridge or temple arms to increase friction. This prevents the frame from sliding down the nose, reducing irritating rubbing behind the ears. For long-term prevention, choosing lighter frame materials like titanium or composite plastics for future purchases is beneficial. Lighter frames naturally reduce the overall downward force on the ears.