This is a 3D printable band designed to alleviate pain to the ears during extended use of facial masks with elastic ear loops. The band has a set of hooks for attaching the ear loops of the mask. It is simple to use and should not interfere with a user's ability to safely don or doff as mask.

The multiple sets of hooks can be used to adjust the tension for different people, hairstyles, and masks. Unnecessary hooks can be carefully trimmed with scissors.

This is design of choice for the BC Covid-19 3D printing group (https://www.bcc3d.ca/products/ear-savers/) and 10s of thousands have been printed and delivered. The design is based on Surgical Mask Strap Small v003 by Mike Rhone, which is a remix of the Surgical Mask Strap by marslam. Mike Rhone and Petko Ganachev took the overall shape of the original and modified the hook shapes for greater printability. The overall length was reduced to fit more printer beds, and the thickness was reduced to improve flexibility and reduce print time. Further optimizations completed by Ryan Gates:

Version 4:

• Optimized layer and tool-path, prints with 0.3 mm layer height and 0.72 mm line width
• Added ergonomic centre design, reduced total material usage
• Changed angle of hooks for less tangling in hair, and better mask retention
• Reduced overall height to improve nesting
• Added step-over to improve layer bonding and create a rounded surface for handling

Preliminary documentation is available at  https://docs.google.com/document/d/15-V81oS8I5RemRSrTbresdDm_2dw-AZuGhGRkiqIBxc/edit