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29 December 2005

There is something wrong with my ears. I hate earbuds. Hate them with a passion. They won't stay in, they hurt, they are a huge pain.

And, they came with my new mp3 player.[More:]

Are the earbuds that came with the zen micro freakishly large? Do I have absurdly small ears?

Can anyone recommend something (cheap) that doesn't involve jamming a chunk of plastic the size of a marble into my much-smaller-than-marbles ears? Ideally something that is (cheap) tiny and can be shoved in my pocket once I am at work.

I'm gonna tail onto this question as well, kellydamnit, because I have exactly the same problem. Yay! for you posting it.
posted by gaspode 29 December | 15:43
I have these "Street-style" headphones from Sony that fold up when you're not wearing them. So they're still much larger than a set of buds but they do fit in my coat pocket. As an additional benefit, you're less likely to go deaf by 30. :)

You could also get those phones that are kinda like earbuds but have a little plastic bit that wraps around your ear.

My ears are too LARGE for buds, not too small. I'm always amazed that anyone can actually use those things.
posted by selfnoise 29 December | 15:47
Besides, Creative's earbuds have absolutely terrible sound quality, if my experience has been any indication. So you'll be getting an upgrade on that front as well.
posted by selfnoise 29 December | 15:48
I asked a similar question here, and found dong's recommendation of the koss plugs affordable and comfortable.
posted by PinkStainlessTail 29 December | 15:50
There's nothing wrong with your ears. Earbuds suck. The only people that actually like earbuds are High School kids with invincibility complexes who don't care (yet) about their hearing who like to be able to hide their headphones from teachers and other authority figures.
posted by loquacious 29 December | 15:55
Oh I'm so with you on this!! I ended up with these huge earmufflike Sennheiser's which although make me look rather dorkish, are very comfortable and have extremely good sound quality.
posted by ramix 29 December | 15:55
These are the earphones I was thinking about. Although I swear I didn't pay 40 bucks for them... I think I paid twenty. Maybe I have a lesser model or something.

They look stupid, but they're SO comfortable to me. I never liked the buds or the over-the-head banded earphones... both were uncomfortable. I'd like to give a medal to the genius who figured out that side-band headphones might work.
posted by selfnoise 29 December | 15:58
I hate earbuds too. They're uncomfortable and make people look like Borg.
posted by jonmc 29 December | 16:02
I have one's similar to ramix's for home listening, but I love earbuds, because for years I had to disassemble regular headsets to keep them from pinching my ears against my glass frames. They do, though, take some getting used and aren't meant for everyone.

I use these because they're soft and squishy, but they take some manipulation to get correct sound quality. However, they do fit cleanly and comfortably under my hats, which tend to fit snugly over my ears.

And, loq, quit being a dork: some of us manage to listen to them without damaging our hearing. I've experienced greater hearing loss at the hands of public transportation vehicles than I ever have from 20 years of headphone usage.

kellydamnit, I'm not sure how much this will help you, but, seriously guys, not everyone who does as you choose not to is an idiot or a poseur.
posted by Frisbee Girl 29 December | 16:25
Oh yeah, and the squishy part of the earbud piece comes in three separate sizes. Bonus.
posted by Frisbee Girl 29 December | 16:31
Man, I hate the word earbud. It's so gross.
posted by Specklet 29 December | 17:52
I have these (which may or may not be there same ones Fris linked to) which fit my non-earbud wearing ears. These are the first ones that don't hurt and give great sound.
posted by YouCanCallMeAl 29 December | 18:32
The Kid From Brooklyn dot com. || C'mon out and play, y'damn kid!

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