Earbuds that stay in place? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

julesp313 · 03-31-2011, 03:21 PM

I have small ears (the only part of me that is small!) and most earbuds slip out when I get sweaty. I currently have a pair that loop over my ears, and they stay sort of in place, but once the sweat gets in the way - and it invariably does every single time I work out - they start to slide out of my ears. I've tried a few different designs but not found anything great yet. I only use them in the gym but I'm happy to spend a decent amount on a pair that truly STAYS in my difficult ears! Any suggestions are most appreciated!

iriswhispers · 03-31-2011, 03:28 PM

I have the same problem and I have taken to using old-school headphones instead of ear buds most of the time. I just go crazy constantly adjusting or re-inserting the ear buds otherwise!

julesp313 · 03-31-2011, 03:38 PM

My only concern with the old-style headphones is just how nasty they would get with my sweatiness! I guess as long as they don't have the foam covers on them, they may be OK. Why can't companies make really well-fitting sports earbuds that are reasonably priced, easy to find, and have sweat-repelling magic?

iriswhispers · 03-31-2011, 03:41 PM

You can usually take the foam covers off and wash/replace them. But yeah... it can get kind of gross! I bet someone makes specialty ear buds for small ears, but who knows how to find them?

asweetchicagogirl1 · 03-31-2011, 03:54 PM

I love the Skullcandy earbuds...they are a bit pricy but stay put. Each package comes with three different size rubber-like things that go over the actual ear bud (one of which is really small and might work for you).

Andrbeck · 03-31-2011, 03:55 PM

I have the same problem it drives me nuts! I feel like its always just one side falling out which throws off my rhythm. I thought about just buying the old fashioned ones but had the same concern about the foam getting gross. And when you try to take them off it seems like the foam always rips. I think they make plastic covered ones.. those would be easy to clean.

Snoofie · 03-31-2011, 04:29 PM

I second the Skullcandy love! I had a pair once and they were *awesome*. I'm in need of a new pair now (I have the small ear issue myself *L*) and they're going to be Skullcandy. I've never had a pair that were a good as those.

souvenirdarling · 03-31-2011, 04:32 PM

I love inner-ear earphones. I also have small ears and use the smallest rubber piece. Skullcandy makes them, but so do other brands.

NaturalStupidit · 03-31-2011, 06:07 PM

I have the same problem! I just wound up getting those big, DJ headphones that basically fit over your ear. They get sweaty but I just make sure to wipe them down with disinfectant and spray with Lysol.

thatgirl76 · 03-31-2011, 06:15 PM

Ugh, so glad you asked about this! I almost fell off my treadmill the other day trying to keep mine in.

Gonna have to try Skullcandy

JenMusic · 03-31-2011, 07:45 PM

I have small ears (the ear canal part, at least!) and love, love, LOVE my Shure E3C in-ears. I've been using them since 2005. They come with both foam, soft rubber, and hard rubber ear "plugs," so you can figure out what works best for you. I bought mine on Amazon for around $80 and they were worth every penny. In fact, about a year after I got them, one of the wire leads started to split - I'm pretty sure it was because I was wearing them in freezing temps for long periods of time - and they were replaced for free.

Can't beat that!

Also, the sound is amazing!

Lauren201 · 03-31-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetchicagogal

I love the Skullcandy earbuds...they are a bit pricy but stay put. Each package comes with three different size rubber-like things that go over the actual ear bud (one of which is really small and might work for you).

Skullcandy was what I was going to recommend! They are so awesome. I love mine.

julesp313 · 03-31-2011, 08:46 PM

SweetChicago, Snoofie, LaurenI've tried Skullcandy - they don't stay in. I mean, I tried all three sizes of the "covers" for the earbuds, but every single damn time, the left one falls out when I get sweaty. I tend to sweat a lot on my head and it drips into my ears... gross, huh? Maybe I'm using the wrong Skullcandy ones? I don't know... I'm just so frustrated with my seemingly never-ending quest for these bloody things! And I shove those buds as far into the ear as I can get it... maybe there's a trick to sticking these buds into the ear to make 'em stay?

Andrbeck - I really don't fancy the idea of ones on the outside of my ears... I truly drip sweat into my ears and I think it would just be a nasty damp foamy mess after a half hour! But I'm glad it's not just me who's suffering!

Souvenir - I have the in-ear ones. I have probably 10 pairs of the things... all with various shapes and sizes of covers, various hooks over the ears... NONE of which stay in place! I am a freak of nature, I think...

Natural - I don't really like the over-ear ones. Maybe it's my downfall...

JenMusic - I'd heard of Shure from a friend of mine who's in music production, but I am so reluctant to spend that sort of money on yet another set of earbuds that may or may not stay in place. Maybe I can find a retailer that has a 30 day return policy, though part of me is kind of skeeved out at the idea of trying them and returning them after I've sweated all over them! I guess you can clean them with some sort of sanitizer.

I've got some Bose in-ear buds that work for non-workouts, but even those don't stay in - and again, they came with three sizes of covers and none of them stay in place. But when I'm not working out, the sound quality is amazing.

This is going to become my mission, I tell you... Right now I have some $25 ones from Target, that I think are Nike, and they're OK. They sort of stay in my ear, as long as every 10 minutes I take them out, wipe them, wipe my ear, and stick 'em back in. Annoying and I usually stumble like a crazy on the treadmill while I do it...

Keep the suggestions coming! I swear I'm not trying to be negative and shoot down every person's idea, it's just I've struggled with this for probably a few years and I welcome anyone's opinion on something I may not have yet tried!

JenMusic · 03-31-2011, 08:53 PM

Hmmmm . . . I see what you mean.

When I put mine in, I use the opposite hand to pull on the top of my ear, then twisting and putting the earbud in at the same time. Make sense? Probably not

, but you can find better explantions online.

The other thing I like about the Shure is that the wires go behind your ears, down your back. I think that helps them stay in.

All that being said, you may just have ears that make it really hard to keep earbuds in.

julesp313 · 03-31-2011, 09:06 PM

Jen - are yours the noise-cancelling ones? I can't find EC-3 on Amazon but there are a bunch of Shures to choose from. I like the idea of the wire going behind the ear - that would be much safer given my clutziness on the cardio machines. I do think my ears are just funky and not in a good way!