DIY

How to Replace Earring Earwires

Knowing how to replace earring ear wires (or ear hooks) is one of those things most people never need to know. Buuuut. I bought these earrings years ago in Yellowstone. They’re made of some sort of semi-precious stone, and very pretty.

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However. Some sadistic bastard put ear wires on them that are roughly twice as thick as regular ear wires, resulting in extreme pain whenever I try to wear them. Which is why in all the years I’ve had them, I’ve worn them once. For four hours. And it was not fun.

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Exhibit A – my earring on the left, a regular gauge ear wire on the right.

After awhile I decided to just replace the ear wires, a solution that took an embarrassingly long time to arrive at.

I thought I’d do a quick tutorial on how to replace earring hooks, in case someone out there in The Big World has the same problem.

You’ll need replacements. You can find silver ear hooks or ear wires on Amazon (affiliate link, yo.)

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You’ll also need small needlenose pliers. These are actually beading pliers that I bought at Hobby Lobby roughly 700 years ago. It was a good purchase, I use these little buggers all the time.
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Find the loop on the earwire that holds the dangling part of the earring. Open ‘er up and slip off the beaded part.

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Open up the loops on the new earwires. Slip the earrings onto the new earwires. Smush the loop closed again with the pliers.
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And that’s that. 2 minutes to pain free earrings.