I've had gauges (5/8) for a while now and it never occured to me that certain types of jewerly could be better on your ears than others. Is this true? If so, which types are better? 

There are many types of plugs out there; glass, titanium, stainless steel, bone, horn, plastic, etc. Experiment and see what your body can accommodate.

My favorite types of plugs are glass and silicone.  I love glass for fresh stretches or when my ears feel irritated.  I like silicone because it's more comfortable and soft; great for sleeping in.  With silicone though, I need to moisturize my lobes more often because they dry out.

I really love horn, too.  I only wear my horn hanging style plugs for special occasions, though, since I don't want to pose a risk of breaking them accidentally (it's happened before, to a 4g pair).

My favorite material is bone, from a fallen enemy.

i also like glass

Glass is very nice and almost always calms my ears down when they decide to get fussy . Silicone's great to sleep in. I haven't worn any stone for quite a while, but it's also very nice. My everyday wear is metal/steel and glass, though. 

 my ears love wood and surgical steel

it also depends on the weather -- in winter when it's freaking cold outside, glass and esp. metal get really cold so I prefer organic plugs (horn and wood are my two favorites). if it's hot and humid, my ears don't seem to like silicone. I think glass and high-quality metal are probably the two best in-general types of materials for ears but there are lots of other nice plugs out there.

My ears love glass too. Glass is always good to come back to if my ears are feeling irritated. (from wearing steel with even the slightest amount of nickel in it.)

 Mmm. I adore glass plugs and my ears tolerate them best for fresh stretches.  But I also like stone and wood..   High grade steel works well for me too but anything less than Anatometal and I have issues.

 Glass and stone are my favs.

My favorite plug materials are glass, silicone, and stone. Not so much a fan of metal but that's more of my own personal aesthetics than the material itself.

crustcore:

My favorite material is bone, from a fallen enemy.

LOL - yes, that type of bone would be -much- better for your ears, since you would no longer have to 'hear them' either...  lol.

to the OP, 'better' is a qualifier that only you can decide for yourself...  everyone is going to be slightly different...  try some options out - and let us know which turns out to be 'better' for -you-...  gl, h.

 metal and plastic get very stinky and gross. bone and wood are nice, but be sure to oil the wood ones.metal and plastic are cheapest. silicone easily irritate you ears too.

buddhababy:

silicone easily irritate you ears too.

 

That has not been my experience at all. In fact, my ears love silicone and I find it very comfortable to wear and sleep in.

 hm, it may just be my ears. i'm also a swimmer so the water with the silicone may not be such a good mix, but i have had friends say something about it as well.