Maybe I just have odd ears, but I’ve never found a pair of in ear earbuds that actually fit my ears. Oh, if they have wings on them or whatever, they’ll stick in, but that seems like cheating, and those too can be very uncomfortable. The promise of earbuds is that you don’t have to have heavy, hot, and obnoxious headphones over your ears. The reality is that the convenience comes with a big downside: comfort, fit, and often, pain.

And it’s not as if they’re automatically cheaper than regular headphones. Sure, some are, but many can be very pricey. The AirPods Pro that I just had to have cost something like $250. Worst money I’ve ever spent. Not only are they uncomfortable, they also fall out of my ears all the damn time. And when they do, they get lost. Apple will tell you that the lost bud will play a sound, but it is so faint that you can hardly hear it. (They also tend to fall into white backgrounds, making them even harder to find). And yes, I’ve tried all the tips. I’ve even had “custom” ones made that were supposedly designed for my exact ear. Yeah, that too was a waste of money.

I’ve had others as well, none of them have been a good fit.

Maybe, as I said, I just have oddly shaped ear holes. Having to make one design for all the shapes of ears on there has to be hard, but I have another thought. I don’t think anyone really thinks these things are the height of comfort. They’re just convenient. And most people are willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort for the ability to take good sounding headphones with them wherever they go.

For me, I’m quite done. I have these Apple pieces of shit, and I’ll use them until the battery dies forever or I lose them (accidentally or on purpose), whichever comes first. After that, I’m done with earbuds. I’ll go back to Bose, pony up a few hundred dollars, and get some real headphones. Ones that don’t fall off everytime I turn my head a certain way.

What about you? Think earbuds/earpods, are horrible? Sound off in the comments or email me.

This was day 24 of Blaugust 2025.