# Piece of lanyard stuck in headphone jack. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 8, 2017, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889 "2017-12-08T07:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889/1 "2017-12-08T07:30:46Z")
I have one of those styluses that have a lanyard that plugs in the headphone jack. Like these: [https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BPK5964/](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BPK5964/) I dropped the phone and the lanyard plug broke off in the headphone jack. So now I have a piece of the plastic plug stuck down inside the jack where it can’t be gotten hold of, making the jack unusable. Any suggestions how to get it out? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889/2 "2017-12-08T08:25:09Z")
If the piece that’s stuck in the headphone jack is soft (plastic, for example) you could try a needle. Perhaps one of the nurses, or a patient there would have one that you could borrow? You could jab it into the piece and carefully pull it back out. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889/3 "2017-12-08T11:22:20Z")
I’ve discovered that Youtube has a large number of videos on this subject. They’re all about extracting a piece of a headphone jack that’s broken off, but it’s the same principle. Some involve super glue which strikes me as having a good chance of making things worse. One suggests using a very thin screw, inserting it in the hole, screwing it into the.broken piece, and pulling it out. I think that’s the.one I’ll try. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889/4 "2017-12-08T16:11:58Z")
Fixed this same issue a few weeks ago. Heated up a sewing pin with a lighter till hot, stuck it in the broken piece of plastic and let it cool for a few minutes. All it took was a gentle tug to remove the needle and piece of plastic. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-lanyard-stuck-in-headphone-jack/803889/5 "2017-12-08T16:24:04Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Fixed this same issue a few weeks ago. Heated up a sewing pin with a lighter till hot, stuck it in the broken piece of plastic and let it cool for a few minutes. All it took was a gentle tug to remove the needle and piece of plastic. This sounds perfect! I’ll have to wait till I’m out of here because I have neither a pin nor a lighter but if I don’t have it out before then I’ll definitely try it. It’s hard to see how it wouldn’t work.