Does sleeping with earbuds cause ear pain?

Sleeping with earbuds does not necessarily mean you will experience pain, however, there are a few risks associated that should be taken into consideration. In general, ears can become uncomfortable when wearing something in them for an extended period of time because of the pressure it puts on the Eustachian tube which connects your middle ear to your throat. If left unchecked, this could lead to painful inflammation and fluid build-up in the middle ear. Additionally, sleeping with earbuds puts you at risk for hearing loss if they are too loud or a foreign object is pushed into the ear canal while sleeping.
Therefore it is important to be aware of these potential problems and take action before any permanent damage is done. Use caution when using headphones or earbuds while sleeping (or anytime) and only use ones that fit properly without any excessive pressure on your ears or loud volumes that could cause hearing damage.