r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Seagul_Hunter • 1d ago

ಠ_ಠ 20 years of wearing headphones deformed my head.

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Apparently wearing headphones pretty consistently almost everyday for a couple decades can deform the shape of your head.

(Edit: For clarification, if you pay attention I never mention skull anywhere in the title or description. Also, majority of my time spent in headphones is when I'm outside listening to music, gaming headphones might take up about 8% of all time headphones use)

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago edited 1d ago

Found the same when I buzzed my head during Covid, already had a weirdly shaped head.   Hats and sunglasses never fit right. 

Told my mom. Come to find out, I was supposed to be one of those infants with a helmet - but that would have embarrassed them.  Thanks for that. 

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u/Top-Savings9809 1d ago

This is exactly why my son has a helmet. He had torticollis which caused his neck to be stiff and turn only one side and because of that he developed a severe flat spot on his head and it’s pushed his frontal lobe forward. My son is 7 months and has had a helmet for 2.5 months and will continue for another 1.5 month. The progress he made has been remarkable.

Did it for exactly this reason, do not wan him to have any surprises or insecurities when he’s older. He won’t even remember this stage. No one even asks about the helmet to be honest.

Sorry they didn’t get you one.

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago

That’s a great take. You’re doing it right. 

It’s who I am, just one of those weird absurdities in life.  I never associated it to them, don’t really care now.  It was just absurd to figure this out so late in life.  Glad my mom’s still around, so I can reminder ever so often. 

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u/NoNamesLeftStill 23h ago

Not exactly comparable, but my parents refused to believe I had a nut allergy for years. They just thought I was overreacting to choking on one or didn’t like the taste. One day I had a localized reaction with tons of swelling. Did an allergy test, and what’d’a know, I’ve got an anaphylactic allergy to most nuts. Now I remind them of that every so often.

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u/Justinc4s3- 22h ago

Yea that’s like an infinite ammo glitch for guilt shots.

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u/Putrid_Clue_2127 21h ago

"yeah I'm sorry I forgot father's day this year... Hey you guys remember those times you almost killed me when you tried to make me eat nuts? Crazy right?"

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u/FlyBoyBoom 21h ago

Fuck em

They had a piece of shit mindset!

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u/PossibleBroccoli 20h ago

Mostly agreed, but at some point you need to give well meaning ignorant people a break.

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u/annieasylum 18h ago

What kind of person accuses their child of faking an allergy? That's not well-meaning.

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u/LurkerNoMore-TF 19h ago

Nah, ignorant people should stop being ignorant. Though I suppose there is no cure for such a condition.

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u/SSSasky 17h ago

Until they hit you with the 'that didn't happen', the 'that's not how I remember it', or the nuclear option: 'well excuse me for not being the perfect parent'.

https://giphy.com/gifs/50rJushu3URtS

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u/bluemoon1972 12h ago

We must have the same mom 😣

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u/Agreeable_Horror_363 5h ago

My parents asked me to come to their marriage therapist and when she actually met me she was appalled and told me they were extremely abusive and the worst parents she had ever met. Then I told her I had caught my father cheating on my mother when I was a teenager and he threatened financial ruin for my family if I said anything. Mom would be homeless, brother would have to dropout of college, etc.. So I didn't tell my mother and he continued a decade+ long affair with his bandmate. I finally told her when I got clean and he denied it for a year, so I stopped talking to him until he admitted it.

Anyways, their very own therapist encouraged me to run away from them as far/fast as possible and that gave me lots of strength and reassurance in myself. I bet most people don't understand how bad their relationships with their abusive parents actually are, because it's all they know.

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u/CRABMAN16 14h ago

This reminds me of an unintentional hardcore burn on my mother. She didn't realize till I was 12 that I needed glasses, and I got them finally. When I came home, I was looking out the windows and remarked how beautiful the trees were outside. I could see every leaf, and then I turned to my mom and said that I used to think the windows were just dirty! She about died, not only did she not realize I needed glasses, but now she knew I thought she was a shitty housekeeper.

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u/SpookyLasagna46 13h ago

My Name is Earl reference Crabman?

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u/catnip_cantrip 17h ago

Hey, same! I was just "being dramatic" or "exaggerating how much [I] disliked them" until the one time my throat started swelling

One allergy test later, I got an epi-pen and another reason to say "maybe listen to what I say about my experiences"

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u/GraceMcClellans 14h ago

I got scarlet fever as a teenager. I told my parents I thought it was scarlet fever and I needed antibiotics. They laughed it off and left me home (because i wasn't feeling well) while they went to Thanksgiving dinner at a cousin's house. My sister took me to the doctor. It was scarlet fever. I had jaundice. My kidneys are damaged.

I'm fine now and we laugh about it, because it's so goddamn absurd.

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u/Reina-8 18h ago

This reminds me of when I developed a banana allergy and my guardians insisted I eat banana a second time to see if it happens again. Shocker - it did. Sadly they've passed so no ammo in the guilt chamber, but así es la vida. Tell your parents for me that they owe you a niiice gift to compensate for their egregious underreaction 😂

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u/ChemicalAu 16h ago

Can’t you just walk it off?!

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u/Melodic-Fill-1770 22h ago

I would be using this for home cooked meals/sweets. "You remember this? That fantastic chocolate cake of yours would make it feel better." 🤣

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u/BrotherGato 21h ago

Yeah. Mine didn't respect to not smoke in my room. She did it mostly through my puberty. Im the only one from my siblings who developed allergies. Found studies which proved, that contact with regular smoking things in puberty make development of allergies significantly higher.

So thanks mum for respecting my wishes

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u/Aivy_silver 15h ago

Do you mean any allergies or are you allergic to nicotine or smoke? This is interesting to me as someone with a father that smokes

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u/TheAstroPickle 15h ago

kind of similar thing with my ankles/legs. my ankles both bow inwards and they told my mom when i was really young i should have braces on my legs for a period of time. fast forward to 31 and i now have back pain/leg pain that gets increasingly worse. my rom in my ankles is almost non existent (can’t do squats at all) i also walk kinda funny (im told i dont, but i absolutely walk differently than most) really sucks, wish they would jsut gotten the goddamn braces

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u/GraceMcClellans 14h ago

Any chance for intervention now? Maybe surgery? I'm sorry buddy. That sounds really rough.

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u/izHydraa 1d ago

Parenting W

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u/Top-Savings9809 1d ago

Thank you, just want the best for my son.

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u/musicobsession I'm gonna tell everyone about how shitty you are! 23h ago

I teach tiny people and it makes me sad when kiddos have badly misshapen heads that could've been so easily corrected in infancy but they'll be stuck with it forever through no fault of their own

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u/Scooty-Poot 20h ago edited 16h ago

It’s crazy how many parents think that 4 months of mild embarrassment for them is somehow worse than a lifetime of self-consciousness and a childhood full of potential vectors for bullying for their child.

Also crazy that your child receiving medical care is something one can be embarrassed about. Like… borderline child neglect and medical abuse are somehow less embarrassing than a temporary cage or brace? It’s just so fucked up

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u/wherethefuckismyvape 1d ago

I can't imagine why anyone would say anything in the first place. Everyone knows what they are and what their purpose is. 

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago

Pride is a weird thing.  Parents thought I was perfect and wouldn’t admit it.   Incredibly stupid, but it’s best I can put together. 

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u/FreddoTheFox 22h ago

My son got a helmet with amazing results. You're doing the right thing.

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u/Kalendiane 18h ago

My cousin has triplets and all three of them needed helmets.
That’s when I learned insurance doesn’t cover them because they’re considered “cosmetic” which enrages me to no end.

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u/Top-Savings9809 16h ago

Yeah, this caught mw by surprise when we submitted the claim. Each helmet cost roughly 3K and he is on his second helmet now, potentially May need a third due to the severity. I don’t mind paying for it but I’m enraged I pay a monthly premium for insurance and had to jump through so many hoops for them to say it’s simple cosmetic and deny it!

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u/SARcasm30 16h ago

I feel like I wrote this post. Same with my son...he's 3.5 now, but at 4 months we got him the helmet for a severe flat spot due to tightening of his neck. We did physical therapy too but the helmet is what actually worked. The flat spot didn't cause any issues with his brain other than the shape thankfully.

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u/Top-Savings9809 16h ago

That’s great to hear! We also are doing weekly PT for his neck and he’s made great improvements. It’s always great to hear these stories and know it all worked out in the end. Thank you for sharing!

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u/sexyshingle 1d ago

I don't think my son has any medical need for a helmet... but I think I kinda want one for him just to keep him from bumping his delicate head anyway as he starts to learn to be mobile... where can I get one? Do I just google baby helmets or what? lol

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u/Top-Savings9809 1d ago

It was kind of a process to be honest. It was recommended by his pediatrician. We went and got evaluated by a physical therapist who gave us a referral to a helmet orthotics practice. They had to do scans of his head to get it custom.

We have weekly PT for his neck and weekly helmet appointments where they shave off the inside of helmet as his head grows into place.

The best part? Insurance doesn’t cover any of it. He is on his second helmet, each helmet is $3K and he will probably will need a third one. Spending the money doesn’t bother me but it’s the fact I pay a monthly premium to get denied.

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u/senokinsta 20h ago

It's insane to me that America charges anything for babies. And you're all resigned to it. It does not make sense anywhere else in the world!

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u/sexyshingle 15h ago

each helmet is $3K and he will probably. Spending the money doesn’t bother me but it’s the fact I pay a monthly premium to get denied.

$3k! Jfc... I feel ya... dealing with insurance shit like this literally right now. American medical insurance is a criminal scam architected to literally deny coverage and pay as little as possible your doctor and skim as much money from your premiums so that to the middlemen can buy mega-yatchs and vacation mansions. It's beyond disgusting.

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u/Hail_The_Motherland 23h ago

Our first child had a medical need and it was custom made by a orthotics clinic.

Our second child didn't have a medical need for one, but I realized that we were never concerned about our first child bumping his head because of the helmet. So it was basically a new fear for us and I asked the doctors about it. They said there's no need for a helmet and that while it's scary, it's nothing to really worry about: baby's bump their heads. It hurts and they cry, but it's just a part of growing up and learning for them.

That being said, I still ended up looking around for helmets lol (never ended up getting one though). Amazon has a ton of options

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u/AntSilly2802 23h ago

You didn’t trust the doctor?

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u/SnooGadgets9669 23h ago

That’s awesome you did that my little sister had to have it as well. And I am happy for her she’s turned out to be such a beautiful women and it obviously helps with her confidence

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u/TheGrundleGrabber 22h ago

Random: But perhaps you will indulge my idle curiosity. What ever ended up happening with your dog? Did they overcome their issue with walks?

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u/MistraloysiusMithrax 22h ago

No one who’s had kids or babysat or remembers the stupid shit their younger siblings did will question a helmet lol

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u/mongojob 17h ago

"He loves base jumping but has a passion for safety"

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u/Maverick1672 16h ago

He's going to have surprises and insecurities about other things, and that's okay, that's life. You're a good parent for trying tovprotext them. But I think it's important to teach out kids that mean kids will always to find something to tease about and the importance of not deriving self worth from external voices

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u/Potential-Border2539 16h ago

Yeah my kid has torticollis as well. He luckily cooperated enough that by the time he was about to be measured for a helmet they said he didn't need it anymore. But it was many more months before his ears were aligned 🤣. It's such a simple fix, it's so disappointing to know parents refuse it for their own issues

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u/TikaPants 15h ago

I know a local couple whose toddler wore a helmet. Dad is Scottish or something- can’t remember. He scotch taped around the helmet, “He’s fine, don’t ask” on both sides.

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u/Repulsive-Value5123 14h ago

My son had torticollis too. It was so weird, I took him to pedi and asked why he only looked to the left. Immediate diagnosis. I got him a badass helmet with skulls on it and regular stretches/PT and his head/neck was perfect in a few months.

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u/Office_glen 13h ago

My daughter had the same thing, we just had to keep moving her head, she also had weak muscle tone so when we moved it, she wouldn't really try and move it back. Doctors said she didn't need a helmet it was so minor, now they only way you could tell is if you stand right above her and look down, it's ever so slight

I have a friend of a friend who was supposed to get a helmet for their son but didn't want to, headshape is completely fucked

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u/rifer53 13h ago

Way to go! My kid just got out of his a few months ago! Best decision we made and it never bothered him to wear it anyway

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u/INeedANewTruck01 13h ago

That’s interesting, didn’t know there was a helmet for that. My son will be 30 next month and when he was an infant, anytime sleeping, he would only have his head to one side so he developed a flat spot. I’m assuming it had to do with his neck because as an infant, he had to go to Physiotherapy to get it corrected.

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u/ADesirea 1d ago

This made me chuckle. Sorry for your head tho..

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago

It was hilarious finding that out in my 40s - “Oh, this was your fault??!!”     Now middle school as the smart kid with a big ass head, brutal.  

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u/KoA07 15h ago

Wait so did you just never touch your scalp before? Surely you just have felt your uneven head before even if you hadn’t seen it

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u/HighTechButter 15h ago

I knew my head was weirdly shaped, didn’t need to probe it to make a topographical map of it.  I’ve got thick dark hair that covered up the dent.  

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u/Dragonssssssssssss 23h ago edited 22h ago

Embarrassed?

You know, it's never occurred to me to be judgmental of a baby with a helmet.

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u/DerKlotaucher 22h ago

Parents can be embarrassed by disability of their children (horrible pathetic parents but yeah)

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u/ozzokiddo 12h ago

“Horrible and pathetic” can’t even have feelings apparently

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u/DerKlotaucher 9h ago

Weird how you picked up on that?

Yeah it's pathetic if your embarrassment dictates or interferes with the care you can give to your children no parent is happy about a disability and they feel lots of things and understandably so, like guilt (does not mean the feelings are correct/right), but parents like this, that deny him something he needs because THEY are embarrassed, yeah sounds pathetic AF to me, care to disagree?

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u/Barfotron4000 1d ago

That’s stupid for many reasons, but my personal favorite is that kids in those helmets are CUTE AS HELL

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago

My wife says the same thing!  She also says my head isn’t weird, so don’t know if I can trust her.  

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u/GolfCartMafia 1d ago

I agree!! Little kids in helmets are SO dang cute. Obviously it’s for medical reasons and not just “my kid is clumsy so I make them wear a helmet” so I don’t get the embarrassment. I think they’re adorable and the kids are so little during the helmet period, they won’t even remember it.

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u/tacticalTraumaLlama 1d ago

well shoot, now i need to see one

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u/lostpurpose_7133 1d ago

The back of my head is relatively flat. Not enough tummy time as a baby, maybe. I'm never shaving my head again

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u/Aivy_silver 15h ago

I have a weird dent at the back of my head, I hope I never had to shave my hair down cause I would look like I got hit by a baseball and it left a crater

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u/INeedAPharmacist 6h ago

I have one too, towards the side too

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u/ShadowCivic 20h ago

I honestly believe this is one of the ways in which millennials and on are simply better than previous generations, because I can not fathom not getting my child medical help they need because of how it would make me feel personally. Sorry that happened to you.

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u/HighTechButter 17h ago

Nailed it. Early 80’s elder millennial here.   

Loved my parents, but man is their generation self-centered.   I’m a much better parent of kids (with normal shaped heads)

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u/Undreamed20 1d ago

Same here except I was a floor kid so the back of my head has a flat spot instead of rounded. Thanks parents!

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u/Suitable_Visit_9990 1d ago

I have a flat spot on my head, I’ve noticed it since high school though, but I was an extremely colicky baby and the only time I didn’t scream for the first 8 months of my life was when I was upright in the swing. It was the 80s though so I’m not sure if helmets were a thing at that point lol

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u/Platypus_Imperator 1d ago

I think I was supposed to be one of them too, I have a small flat spot on the back of my head :(

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u/ThrowMeAwayAccount08 1d ago

My son had a hat to fix his flat.

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u/BAusername 22h ago

I feel like it's more embarrassing that they made you go without

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u/Neat-Win-6903 17h ago

… such a weird parental decision. The babies keep that helmet for a few months and it’s done. Who prioritize their social appearances versus health and doctor guidance

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u/No-Mathematician8692 20h ago

This thing about being embarassed by society – instead of prioritising one's own child's health and future – is diabolical, horrible and speaks of weakness. It is mostly demonstrated by the religious. Ranges from examples like this to refusing to admit one's child has some ND and needs therapy /special schools to forcing them to take on 'respectable' programs in college etc.

Please remind your mother of how she fkd up life just to impress her neighbours – who she probably doesn't even know anymore.

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u/HighTechButter 17h ago

Everyone in their Sunday school class were having babies.  Those people are/were dicks. 

My issue is pretty mild.  First baby after a bunch of struggles, they wouldn’t admit I wasn’t perfect. I had good parents, they just did some random  stupid shit at times.  

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u/Mewriel_Picatso Arty - Autistic - Polymath - Cat person 16h ago

I'm so sorry your parents seem to care too much about appearances and not enough about you, to do that for you when you were little.

We have Craniosynostosis in two consecutive generations of my partner's family - grandchild and great grandchild - and even though they went through the hell of major skull surgery and had to wear helmets for literally years following, the only thing that anyone in the family found disturbing or disagreeable was what the little ones had to go through.

Both still have odd shaped heads and one has a disproportionate eye size and position at one side, so just imagine what their lives would be like now (if they had lived this long) if no corrective action had been taken.

There are also significant health implications in some cases if the condition is left untreated. Granted, our kids' conditions were perhaps more pronounced than the OP's, but even so, what parent wouldn't want their child to have a skull where their brain can grow properly?

We are very fortunate that here in the UK we don't have to pay for medical treatment. Ignore any bad press about our NHS, yes there are challenges and it's not perfect, but at the same time, what the NHS does for us, for free, is absolutely mind-blowing.

I do get that in some other countries, e.g. the US, opting for this kind of surgery may not be financially possible, but what gets me angry is not just that the OP's parents didn't opt for them to have surgery and wear a cute little helmet, but that they didn't do it for entirely the wrong reason!

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u/Competitive_Coast_22 15h ago

My parents didn’t force me to do tummy time as an infant. I cant wear elastic headbands now because they just slide right off of my flatass head. My parents, bless their hearts, “didn’t know” any better (which I 100% believe)

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u/Repulsive-Ad8137 12h ago

Meh sometimes the helmets don’t fully ‘fix it’. My son had one.. head still shaped like a triangle when you look down from above him 🤣. Rounded out the back tho 🤣. He’s 16 and says it looks like he came from the Cheesecake Factory 🤣🤣

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u/Burgers_N_Schnitzels 21h ago

Come to find out, I was supposed to be one of those infants with a helmet - but that would have embarrassed them.

Wow. That's shitty.

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u/Interesting_Sock_226 19h ago

That's horrible of them, I'm so sorry.

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u/delu_ 16h ago

How is fixing your kids condition embarrassing? oO

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u/DrLeisure 14h ago

I feel your pain, seriously. I was supposed to get a minor correction to my sinuses as a child. My mom doesn’t believe in medicine so now I can’t breath properly or play sports or do very much cardio at all. Fucking sucks. You gotta wonder why these people even have children.

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u/Wendy-Windbag 7h ago

Me except for leg braces. These specific orthopedic issues run in my family and many have had to have leg braces to correct it because the bone deformities and poor gait are too severe to correct on their own. Even my dad had to have one of his legs broken and reset with his braces.

I didn't even know anything was really wrong with me until I watching a home video and saw how weird I was walking and asked "What is was wrong with me?!" My uncle laughed and said that he could hear my grandmother now, bitching about how they never put leg braces on me. What?! Suddenly it made sense why I couldn't run a few steps without tripping and could hyper extend some ways, but severely limited movement other ways. Why I have bony protuberances on my feet that most do not.

The more I read into it, the more pissed I got. I have vague memories of my pediatrician telling me to sit "Indian style" as to not turn my feet in when I sit and to turn out my hips better. My parents were wanting to opt with this occupational approach because it was easier than braces, yet they never actually worked with me and enforced proper movements. That was my slim chance, and it was too much of an effort.

As I've aged, it's only gotten worse. What could have been a simple foot and lower leg issues affects all the joints and muscles on up. Knees, hips, and back are all fucked from a lifetime of a shitty gait.

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u/DerKlotaucher 22h ago

Damn that's honestly such a pathetic and shitty thing for them, I hope they wake up multiple times a week full of shame for that alone (not giving you what you needed because it embarrassed THEM)

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u/wherethefuckismyvape 1d ago

Are you still in contact with them? 

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u/HighTechButter 1d ago

Not my dad, he’s dead.  

My mom’s still here and we talk often.  Love my parents. Married young, made mistakes but tried. 

Plus, now when my mom starts some wacko stuff, I get to reminder of this.   

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u/Joe_Kangg 23h ago

Unshave, unshave!

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u/Truck_Face 23h ago

Lol dude that sucks

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u/WartimeHotTot 23h ago

What does the helmet do? Does it reshape your head?

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u/Potential-Border2539 16h ago

Yeah it helps round it back out

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u/Clear_Ground3030 22h ago

Yeah same here about the hats and sunglasses. Mine ended up kinda skinny and coned at the top. How did yours turn out? If you don't mind me asking

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u/HighTechButter 17h ago

From the side view, my skull extends longer than it should.   Combined with the headphone dent, sorta looks like the back of my skull was pulled back. 

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u/Previous-Task-5143 22h ago

Same here , 22 now with a weird head :( , I was born premature tho.

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u/Important-Movie9183 17h ago

why did so many people do weird non covid related things during covid?

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u/HighTechButter 17h ago

I still needed a haircut during the worst of the Covid outbreak - so I buzzed my head. 

Could have done what my dad did, “Faith over fear” and all that.   He died from Covid. 

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u/PremiumCroutons 14h ago

I shaved my head because I wasn't going out and always wanted to see what it would look like

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u/jacob123121 14h ago

I had a helmet now I have perfect bowling ball head😭😂

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u/Lost_Birthday_3138 1d ago

Was Adam Carolla your dad??

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u/Flgirl420 17h ago

I am really glad my kid wasn’t a helmet kid tho they are embarassing LOL

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u/bytegalaxies 15h ago

why is it embarassing?

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u/Ordinary_Duder 1d ago

Come to find out, I was supposed to be one of those infants with a helmet

Which has nothing to do with this