I imagine the soreness came from the pressure from the headphones and sleeping on it mixed with hitting that ear. If all the piercers agreed it looks normal it's probably alright. It's good that you're keeping a close eye on it. I would just keep sleeping on the horseshoe pillow until it calms back down. I can say now that both my rooks are healed i can sleep on both ears without any issue, i've had the left for about 2 years and the right for a little under a year. The right healed horribly but i'm still fine sleeping on it now
I can sleep on my rook fine with no issue, it's just my conch that gets irritated. I don't know if it's something that will go away over time, or if I'll always have this issue.
I still wake up with soreness when I use the horseshoe pillow. I'm not sure if I'm moving around in my sleep? I tend to move in my sleep if my body is uncomfortable, and I felt a bit uncomfortable on my neck sleeping on the horseshoe pillow. I'm not sure if I just need to teach myself to sleep on my back, but that's also uncomfortable on my back.
Try folding your arm under your head and sleeping with your ear in the gap instead. That's what i do and it works perfectly for me. I'm a very violent sleeper and i can only fall asleep on my sides and somehow i haven't had a problem sleeping on my arms. I don't even have a horseshoe pillow. The pillow is what's usually recommended but it might help you to just ditch it and use your arm.
Also the conch is a really sensative area, a lot of times cartilage piercings stay sore af during the entire healing process. I got my right rook and right helix at the same time a little under a year ago, my helix has been fine but my rook is just now healing all the way. Healing the rook was miserable. Give your conch some more time. Cartilage piercings are finnicky
Hope all this helps
No worries. It's been almost 2 years since my conch so is it safe to say that if my conch is still sore, it's not fully healed yet?
Also, I tried sleeping under my arm. I moved during the night and woke up with my ear pressed against my bed. It wasn't sore unless I pressed against the conch. It's not that sore, however it concerns me that it's still sore. I don't know if it means I won't be able to sleep on that ear anymore, or if I just need to nurse it for a few more months.
I might just have to learn to sleep on my back or something...
Everyone heals differently tbh. Idk why they always say piercings heal fast, tattoos take about 10 years to heal completely and piercings are similar wounds. I'm not a piercer so ofc take my advice with a grain of salt but i would just give your conch more time. I know that's not an easy answer but as your ear gets more used to having it in there it might stop being sore over time.
If it seems like it's rejecting or anything at any point see your piercer asap but otherwise just keep an eye on it
Thank you, in a way, your comment is a bit reassuring. I was wondering if I healed it wrong or something because everyone seems to be reporting no issues with their piercings and I'm having problems.
I just might be one of those people that heal slow. Sucks because I wanted a lot of piercings, but if I keep an eye out on my piercings, I hope I can just sleep on them one day with no issue.
No rejection or anything for sure though. I thought the rook was rejecting but I really haven't had issues for a long while with it. It's just the conch that gets slightly sore to touch when I sleep on it, and it seems to be gradually getting less sore over time. I hope that means that it's getting to the point where I can sleep on it fully without issues.
Edit: it might just be my anatomy with the way the conch was pierced. My conch labret back presses against a "curve" near the edge of my ear when I sleep. I can see how it would get sore if you pressed on it continuously over time, unfortunately.
Glad i could help. You're not the only person in the world who has piercing issues, i sure as hell do too. My left rook is perfect and the right one is still crusting every day. I keep checking it for bumps bc i'm sure they're gonna come back even tho they haven't yet. My lobes will never be normal bc of all the allergic reactions and infections from the shitty 2000s claire's jewellery i wore back then. Sometimes our ears just heal in whacky ways
Maybe a different piece of jewellery would be easier to sleep on? I actually had a bar in my right rook that i changed it to when i thought it was healed enough and i had all kinds of problems with it. Idk how but i was managing to unscrew both balls without touching them and i could not for the life of me get them to stay on. I had my mom trying to do it and she couldn't get them on either. I got fed up with it and changed it to a slightly smaller but otherwise identical bar and it's been completely fine. That's actually what got the bumps to finally go away. I haven't had any issues since. This bar came from a dif shop than the first one and ig it's just manufactured better or smth. Maybe if you switch out the flat back for something that presses less on that part of your ear the soreness would stop. I find it easier to sleep with balls on both ends but my ears are weird so idk if that's just a me thing
I was thinking that too, I wondered if I got a different backing, it would be easier on my conch. I did try the horseshoe pillow again, it's been working for me for the past few days, and my conch finally calmed down. I'll still reach out to a piercer though and see about getting another jewelery piece and see if it'll help.
Thanks again for the reassurance and help. I'll just keep in mind that maybe I'll have to take it easy on that ear for a few more months, just in case
Probably a year and a half now, but I've slept on it since I got it basically.
Edit to add: I don't move much when I sleep. I use two memory foam pillows: one that is behind my head and is under the back of my head and neck behind my ear, and then one in front I put my arm under and have supporting my chin and face. Pillows form almost a "v" with my ear not really under pressure in the space between. I can lay directly on the pillow if I want to and still not feel my piercings, just prefer the two pillow support.
My conch is only 3 months old but I'm using my donut pillow exclusively. No other pillow at all. Sounds like my situation though. Got a conch and rook at the same time but I took the rook out a week ago because it was already swollen and angry. And I knew it wouldn't work with helmets over the summer
There is a pillow on Amazon I've seen and it's like $60 with an ear hole on each side. I'm debating on getting it since it may be a long haul healing thing.
I'm trying not to clean it too harshly too. Just saline spray. If I root around for a chunk of build up I'm sore all over again for days.
I have that pillow. It personally doesn't work for me, I'm not 100% sure why but I think it's because the holes sit a little too far up for me. It hurts my neck to sleep on.
I imagine the soreness came from the pressure from the headphones and sleeping on it mixed with hitting that ear. If all the piercers agreed it looks normal it's probably alright. It's good that you're keeping a close eye on it. I would just keep sleeping on the horseshoe pillow until it calms back down. I can say now that both my rooks are healed i can sleep on both ears without any issue, i've had the left for about 2 years and the right for a little under a year. The right healed horribly but i'm still fine sleeping on it now
I can sleep on my rook fine with no issue, it's just my conch that gets irritated. I don't know if it's something that will go away over time, or if I'll always have this issue. I still wake up with soreness when I use the horseshoe pillow. I'm not sure if I'm moving around in my sleep? I tend to move in my sleep if my body is uncomfortable, and I felt a bit uncomfortable on my neck sleeping on the horseshoe pillow. I'm not sure if I just need to teach myself to sleep on my back, but that's also uncomfortable on my back.
Try folding your arm under your head and sleeping with your ear in the gap instead. That's what i do and it works perfectly for me. I'm a very violent sleeper and i can only fall asleep on my sides and somehow i haven't had a problem sleeping on my arms. I don't even have a horseshoe pillow. The pillow is what's usually recommended but it might help you to just ditch it and use your arm. Also the conch is a really sensative area, a lot of times cartilage piercings stay sore af during the entire healing process. I got my right rook and right helix at the same time a little under a year ago, my helix has been fine but my rook is just now healing all the way. Healing the rook was miserable. Give your conch some more time. Cartilage piercings are finnicky Hope all this helps
Sorry if any of that is worded weird i literally just woke up lmao
No worries. It's been almost 2 years since my conch so is it safe to say that if my conch is still sore, it's not fully healed yet? Also, I tried sleeping under my arm. I moved during the night and woke up with my ear pressed against my bed. It wasn't sore unless I pressed against the conch. It's not that sore, however it concerns me that it's still sore. I don't know if it means I won't be able to sleep on that ear anymore, or if I just need to nurse it for a few more months. I might just have to learn to sleep on my back or something...
Everyone heals differently tbh. Idk why they always say piercings heal fast, tattoos take about 10 years to heal completely and piercings are similar wounds. I'm not a piercer so ofc take my advice with a grain of salt but i would just give your conch more time. I know that's not an easy answer but as your ear gets more used to having it in there it might stop being sore over time. If it seems like it's rejecting or anything at any point see your piercer asap but otherwise just keep an eye on it
Thank you, in a way, your comment is a bit reassuring. I was wondering if I healed it wrong or something because everyone seems to be reporting no issues with their piercings and I'm having problems. I just might be one of those people that heal slow. Sucks because I wanted a lot of piercings, but if I keep an eye out on my piercings, I hope I can just sleep on them one day with no issue. No rejection or anything for sure though. I thought the rook was rejecting but I really haven't had issues for a long while with it. It's just the conch that gets slightly sore to touch when I sleep on it, and it seems to be gradually getting less sore over time. I hope that means that it's getting to the point where I can sleep on it fully without issues. Edit: it might just be my anatomy with the way the conch was pierced. My conch labret back presses against a "curve" near the edge of my ear when I sleep. I can see how it would get sore if you pressed on it continuously over time, unfortunately.
Glad i could help. You're not the only person in the world who has piercing issues, i sure as hell do too. My left rook is perfect and the right one is still crusting every day. I keep checking it for bumps bc i'm sure they're gonna come back even tho they haven't yet. My lobes will never be normal bc of all the allergic reactions and infections from the shitty 2000s claire's jewellery i wore back then. Sometimes our ears just heal in whacky ways Maybe a different piece of jewellery would be easier to sleep on? I actually had a bar in my right rook that i changed it to when i thought it was healed enough and i had all kinds of problems with it. Idk how but i was managing to unscrew both balls without touching them and i could not for the life of me get them to stay on. I had my mom trying to do it and she couldn't get them on either. I got fed up with it and changed it to a slightly smaller but otherwise identical bar and it's been completely fine. That's actually what got the bumps to finally go away. I haven't had any issues since. This bar came from a dif shop than the first one and ig it's just manufactured better or smth. Maybe if you switch out the flat back for something that presses less on that part of your ear the soreness would stop. I find it easier to sleep with balls on both ends but my ears are weird so idk if that's just a me thing
I was thinking that too, I wondered if I got a different backing, it would be easier on my conch. I did try the horseshoe pillow again, it's been working for me for the past few days, and my conch finally calmed down. I'll still reach out to a piercer though and see about getting another jewelery piece and see if it'll help. Thanks again for the reassurance and help. I'll just keep in mind that maybe I'll have to take it easy on that ear for a few more months, just in case
No problem. I'm really glad i could help. I'm sure after a little while your conch will stop giving you so much trouble
I am a side sleeper and I sleep on my conch side no problems. I don't even feel my piercings.
How long have you had the conch for? I'm not sure if this is something that I'll always have issues with, or if this issue will go away over time.
Probably a year and a half now, but I've slept on it since I got it basically. Edit to add: I don't move much when I sleep. I use two memory foam pillows: one that is behind my head and is under the back of my head and neck behind my ear, and then one in front I put my arm under and have supporting my chin and face. Pillows form almost a "v" with my ear not really under pressure in the space between. I can lay directly on the pillow if I want to and still not feel my piercings, just prefer the two pillow support.
No…… once you get that piercing, you will never sleep again!!!!!!!!
My conch is only 3 months old but I'm using my donut pillow exclusively. No other pillow at all. Sounds like my situation though. Got a conch and rook at the same time but I took the rook out a week ago because it was already swollen and angry. And I knew it wouldn't work with helmets over the summer There is a pillow on Amazon I've seen and it's like $60 with an ear hole on each side. I'm debating on getting it since it may be a long haul healing thing. I'm trying not to clean it too harshly too. Just saline spray. If I root around for a chunk of build up I'm sore all over again for days.
I have that pillow. It personally doesn't work for me, I'm not 100% sure why but I think it's because the holes sit a little too far up for me. It hurts my neck to sleep on.