Can you wear a headband over your ears?

So you're wondering about wearing a regular headband over your ears, right? As someone who speaks with customers daily, that is a surprisingly common question. Honestly, most headbands aren't designed for that and can leave you with weird pressure points, a slipping headband, and probably a headache before too long. But I totally get why you're asking! You, and many others, want comfort. You want to listen to audio content without earbuds jammed into your ears, block out light, and reduce noise. That's exactly what we made SleepPhones® headphones for.

The difference lies in the design. We didn't just take a regular headband and stick speakers on it. We intentionally designed SleepPhones® to rest over the ears, not sit directly on them. While it's a pretty subtle change, it makes all the difference. Our headband is wider, the cut is just right, and the speakers are thin, padded, and removable, so it doesn't feel like you're clamping something around your head.

I recently received an email from a customer who, like myself, is a side sleeper. She tried everything to listen to audiobooks at night but nothing worked. Her earbuds kept falling out and traditional over the ear headphones were painful. She wrote that she was initially skeptical about SleepPhones® headphones but said that feeling disappeared the first night. The soft headband resting over her ears immediately comforted her. "It was an absolute game changer from the moment I put the headband on," she wrote. She even said that her husband appreciated that he couldn't hear her audiobooks.

Our products aren't just for sleeping, either! I have a friend who uses our moisture wicking RunPhones® headphones and swears by them. She said they stay in place, are much more comfortable than earbuds on long runs, help prevent sweat from getting in her eyes, and she can still stay safe by hearing the traffic.

So, can you wear a standard headband over your ears? Technically, yes. Will it be comfortable? Probably not. But SleepPhones® and RunPhones® headphones? Yes, because they are designed to be.

Find more answers on our "Frequently Asked Questions" page.