Ear conditioning.
Honestly I’d buy it
I changed to IEMs.
The material your pads are made out of can significantly affect this. I swapped from leather pads to suede and I find the new ones far warmer than the old but that doesn't bother me.
If you can experiment with different pads you might find something that works for you.
Though be warned that the material can also affect the house cancelling performance so you have decided on that compromise too.
Using earphones or taking breaks
Take off the headphones!
Genuinely this. Just take them off, go make a coffee or drink some water or something. Take in the horrific sounds of the outdoors or of your neighbours toilet. Do some laundry. And then pop the headphones on again
Open backed headphones will vent your ears, and they have a richer soundscape
I've got closed headphones because I wear them in public, but i wonder how good it is for ventilation. (Definitely is good for soundscape)
Does it feel not hot at all, or just less so when wearing them for some time?
I have some open-back headphones (wired) that I can wear for hours and forget they're there. Not hot at all. The cushioned part is breathable too. They were a little snug at first, but great since then.
Depending on your level of comfort, over-ear headphones can be less or more hot than on-ear ones (rests around the ears vs on the ears). Openback headphones are open on the sides so they theoretically should be cooler as well.
I've not tried them but you can get replacement pads which apparently have a cooling gel in them. Eg these.
No idea if they're any good but would be interested in hearing from someone with first-hand experience.
One thing to note with big puffy replacement ear bands is they do affect the frequency response of your headphones.
I have a pair where the aftermarket pads are maybe 5mm thicker than the factory ones and they DESTROY the already bad bass response of my headphones. The different material also absorbs sound different so it changes how all frequencies sound a bit.
So if you’re already lacking in bass just know they will make it worse.
I've not tried these particular ones, but gel ear pads with noise cancelling headphones is pointless in my experience
The gel vibrates with exterior sounds and passes through to your skull, cancelling out the cancellation!
For what it’s worth, these wotsit cushions really bumped up the comfort on my Steelseries Nova 7s to the point where I find myself considerably less likely to need a break after an hour. Out of the box, they were cooking my head.
I swap between my speakers, headphones and IEMs. Good way to keep your ears from feeling too hot (from headphones) or fatigued (from IEMs). For most listening I use speakers but if there are other people around, I'll use my headphones since they're more comfortable and sound better than my IEMs.
On-ear and small band like ATH-M60x
Try on-ear headphones, like the Koss KPH40s and Koss Porta Pros. A pair of Koss KSC75s on a cheapo lightweight headband has been my professional and home setup for years now and I can wear them for hours and hours on end without fatigue.
You can also go with in-ear monitors. I personally get a mild headache from the audio seal, so I tend not to wear them for too long. Check out Crinacle and Hangout Audio for IEM recommendations.
This is why "on ear" headphones exist vs "over ear".
