Can vibrators reduce orgasms?

Do you lose the ability to orgasm with a partner if you use a vibrator too much?

 

While sex toys are great for pleasure and helping on those long nights alone, there is always the ‘too much of a good thing’ phrase to think about. This leads to the question, can using your toy too much or too often actually harm your orgasms? Well, according to many women, the answer is yes it can but is it just an “old wives tale”?

Women have reported that using their toys for prolonged amounts of time actually caused a desensitized feeling in their vaginas. There are women who have even reported that it required jackhammering their clit to achieve an orgasm because they used their vibrator too much. This makes us want to rethink how long we use our toys, but let’s get a little deeper into the topic.

When we talk about overuse of a toy, there are women who have been using their vibrators for years. The prolonged use could cause a loss of sensation, possibly permanently affecting orgasms. But, what do professionals have to say about it?

The Research

Debby Herbenick conducted a survey that consisted of over 2,000 Americans to better understand how vibrators affect us. Herbenick is a sexual health educator from the University of Indiana. She discovered just over half of  women used a vibrator one or more times, but the majority never used it for solo masturbation (53-47). It is more common for the user of vibrators to be younger, have higher education and be more ethnically and sexually diverse compared to women that had not used vibrators.

Additionally, Herbenick’s team discovered the use of vibrators also had a connection with improved sexual functions such as desire, arousal, level of lubrication and orgasm. Although, satisfaction levels were similar between all age groups, with the exception of women 45 to 60, stating they are more satisfied sexually compared to women the same age who had not used a vibrator.

Side Effects

Other than the focus of sensitivity being affected, the team researched different ‘side effects’ from using vibrators, such as numbness. The results showed that 71.5% of those who used vibrators said they never had any side effects from using their toys. In contrast, 16.5% stated using a vibrator lead to numbness, but for most it went by the following day.

Verdict

In the end, the survey provided results that do show the possibility of vibrators having certain side effects, such as numbness. But, the majority of women have never experienced any side effects and most of those who have, said it did not last long. This means, vibrators do have the possibility of causing sensitivity changes, but vaginal intercourse and oral sex can also cause sensitivity changes.

Unfortunately for most people, sex drive decreases with age so that might be the reason why some women believe that their vibrator caused a loss of sensitivity.  It also could be something psychological, maybe they got too comfortable and used to their vibrator and that led to anxiety with a partner which decreased the likelihood of orgasm with a partner.  If the same vibrator isn’t working for some women, it might not be a lack of sensitivity, it could be that you’re just bored of using the same toy.

There’s no scientific evidence which indicates that you can lose sensitivity in your clitoris by using a vibrator too much.  If you are worried though, I’d recommend only using a vibrator half the time and the other half can be spent with your partner.