The CNH Ear Pillow
CNH is a pressure sore caused by your ear pressing into the pillow night after night — the open centre takes that pressure off, so your ear can rest.
4.7 out of 52,144 reviews on Platinum Trusted Service 2026Get Yours“I originally thought I'd just use it when my ear was bad but it's comfortable enough to use all the time.”
John, December 2022, verified Feefo review
The pillow we’d point you to
- Nightly use
The Original P.W.A.H® V2
A refined, quilted PWAH for comfortable nightly use.
Price range: €85.00 through €145.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Trusted by thousands of people over 12+ years
Independent reviews, collected by Feefo — from the people who actually sleep on these pillows every night.
What is CNH (Chondrodermatitis) of the ear?
CNH, also known as “Chondrodermatitis Nodularis Helicis Chronica”, or “Winklers Disease”, is a pressure sore which forms on the ear.
It can affect anyone of any age, but if you are over 55 and habitually sleep on your side, and especially if you sleep on one side only, you are more likely to develop it.
Why did I develop CNH on my ear?
CNH (Chondrodermatitis) is caused by friction, pressure and time acting against the skin of your ear. And as we age, our skin becomes less resilient and less able to quickly repair itself.
A lifetime of sleeping on your side with you pillow rubbing against your ear ultimately causes the skin to break down while the body’s ability to repair itself is outpaced. It simply cannot keep up with the nightly damage caused by the friction of the pillow rubbing against your ear.
This is how a pressure sore gradually forms.
A CNH ear pressure sore will initially look like a small red patch of skin. It will be warm, sore to the touch and may appear flaky. It is often misdiagnosed as skin cancer so make sure to seek out professional medical advice before doing anything else.
Over time, as pressure and friction continues to work against the ear, the skin continues to deteriorate and the severity of the pressure sore increases from grades one through four.
A CNH pressure sore is essentially the same as a bed sore, and as with a bed sore, the pressure must be removed in order for it to heal.
What are the current treatments for CNH?
The typically prescribed treatments remain steroid creams and surgery. Whether that be surgical excision or cryotherapy. These can be effective remedies, although in both cases you’re still left with a sore ear and you will still need to use your pillow at night. The fact of the matter is; is neither intervention addresses the root cause of the problem and recurrence rates remain stubbornly high.
You may well have experienced some of this for yourself. You may even have been referred here by your doctor. That’s great. We are not doctors and this isn’t a replacement for medical advice. We are people that had the same problem as you and found a very effective solution.
Which leads us on to…
What is a CNH Pillow?
A CNH Pillow is a pillow with an integrated ear hole that alleviates friction and pressure on the ear.
How does it work?
The Original P.W.A.H® works by removing the friction and pressure that cause and aggravate CNH, so the ear can rest.
Conventional treatments simply do not address the root cause of the problem because night after night, your ear continues to rub against your pillow.
We all have to sleep with a pillow – that can’t be removed entirely – but a part of one can be removed. That is where our uniquely designed ear pillows come into play.
The Original P.W.A.H® is the result of over twelve years of continuous customer feedback and development, and we continue to refine the formula with our patent pending designs to this day.
People can suffer for years with little relief from conventional approaches. However, when using The Original P.W.A.H®, the pressure comes off straight away, and many people tell us it makes a real difference.
Further Reading & Resources
Here are some resources over at https://chondrodermatitis.com/ which you may find useful, such as:
Nutrition and CNH or The Pathology of a Pressure Sore.
And If you need to get in touch about anything at all, you can contact us below:
pressure on the sore when you lie on it — the one thing a pressure sore needs to settle.
See the range in action
Which pillow for CNH?
Take the weight off the ear — and keep things clean if you’re treating it.
The Original V1 sits on top of the pillow you already use; the P.W.A.H V2 is our plushest standalone pillow. And if you’re applying a steroid cream or ointment to the ear — common with CNH — the Waterproof Wipe-Clean P.W.A.H wipes clean, so the ointment doesn’t soak into or stain the pillow. Every one has a YKK® zip, so you can set the height to suit you.
- Everyday
The Original P.W.A.H® (V1)
Our best-selling ear pillow, a dependable everyday all-rounder.
Price range: €50.00 through €110.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page - Nightly use
The Original P.W.A.H® V2
A refined, quilted PWAH for comfortable nightly use.
Price range: €85.00 through €145.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page - Waterproof
The Waterproof & Wipe Clean P.W.A.H®
Waterproof and wipe-clean, ideal if you use creams.
Price range: €55.00 through €120.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Not sure which pillow is right for you?
Find Your Pillow →These are not cheap textiles, and you wouldn’t want them to be.
It’s expensive to make things this well. Well sourced materials with nothing hidden in them, made by people paid a proper wage, sewn from scratch here in Liverpool. Look at what else is out there: the rest of the market is made overseas, down to a price. We went the other way and chose quality over price. That’s why nobody else makes them like this.
- Made in Liverpool, England
- Premium YKK® zips
- OEKO-TEX® organic cotton
- Yorkshire coil fibre, spun since the 1950s
- Fairly paid team
CNH pillow questions, answered
Machine washable and tumble-dryable — wash at 30°C and tumble dry. Pop a tennis ball in the dryer with it to redistribute the filling and keep it plump. Full guidance is on our Care Instructions page.
Yes — that’s one of the main advantages of the pillow. Open the YKK® zip and add or remove filling until the height and firmness suit you: take some out for a lower, softer feel, or add more for firmer support. It’s worth experimenting over a few nights to find what works for your shoulder and sleeping position. There’s a short video showing how on our Care Instructions page.
The Original V1 works best placed on top of your usual pillow, so you keep the height and neck support you’re used to while gaining the ear relief. The V2 is designed as a standalone pillow, though it can also sit on top of a regular one if you prefer more loft.
CNH is a pressure sore caused and aggravated by your ear pressing into the pillow every night. The hole takes that pressure off, which is the one thing a pressure sore needs in order to settle — it’s why relieving pressure is a recognised part of managing CNH. It isn’t a cure, and it’s not a substitute for medical care: see your GP or dermatologist for diagnosis and treatment.
It’s a pressure-relief pillow, not a medical treatment. What it does is remove the friction and pressure on the ear that cause the sore in the first place, so your ear can rest while you sleep on your side. For steroid creams, surgery or any medical treatment, your doctor is the right person to see.
The hole lets you rest on the affected side without the sore taking any weight — it sits in the open centre instead of being pressed into the pillow. Many people with CNH say that’s the difference between a painful night and a comfortable one.
If you’re applying a steroid cream or ointment to the area (common with CNH), the Waterproof Wipe-Clean P.W.A.H is the one — its surface wipes clean, so ointment doesn’t soak into or stain the pillow. The V1 and V2 are perfect if you’re not using topical treatments. The pillow just keeps things clean while you follow your doctor’s treatment.
Try it for yourself
The Original Pillow with a Hole comes with a refund guarantee. If you are not satisfied, return it to us within 14 days of receipt, in any condition, and we will refund you. (But we’re sure you’ll love it.)
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