# Why/how do iPhone headphones' volumes wear out so quickly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618 "2008-12-17T19:51:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/1 "2008-12-17T19:51:01Z")
Alright, since Christmas of last year I have bought 3 different pairs of headphones for my iPhone (because they are ridiculously breakable and the plastic on the side comes off, but that’s not what I’m asking about). What I’m asking about is their tendency to get very noticeably quieter after just a few months of use. I’m assuming that this is what is happening because when I first bought them, I never turned the volume up past the halfway mark because it was \*way \*to loud past that. Later on, though, I noticed that I was turning it up to at least halfway under regular conditions, but I thought it was just that I had gotten used to a louder sound. Then they broke, and I bought a new pair. This pair was very loud again, and I again never turned it up past halfway. Eventually, though, this pair too got softer (without my noticing), until the front fell off the right earbud and I had to buy a third pair. The new pair is also very loud compared to the ones I was using before and so I made the connection that these headphones are louder when I buy them than they are later. Why is this, and how does it happen? Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/2 "2008-12-17T19:52:31Z")
> [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > Why is this, and how does it happen? It’s not the headphones. You are going deaf. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/3 "2008-12-17T20:27:54Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > It’s not the headphones. You are going deaf. If I were going deaf, new pairs wouldn’t be louder than used pairs. The new pairs would be the same volume to me as the old ones before they broke, which they are not. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/4 "2008-12-17T21:03:18Z")
The apple headphones are cheap junk. Everyone I’ve ever had out of the box has failed. I just stopped expecting them to work worth a damn and started buying other sets. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/5 "2008-12-17T21:30:37Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > The apple headphones are cheap junk. Everyone I’ve ever had out of the box has failed. I just stopped expecting them to work worth a damn and started buying other sets. No argument here (except I love that combination microphone/pause-skip button), but do any of our science Dopers know about the mechanics of speaker wear? (If they do, in fact, degrade over time.) Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/6 "2008-12-17T21:36:38Z")
The speakers shouldn’t degrade. The likeliest scenario is that the wire is getting bent and worn out and that this impacting the signal reaching the earbuds. My IPod earbuds went bad after a couple of months - it was actually just the right earbud, and I’m assuming the wire got bent too severely. The headphone wires get a lot of abuse. My current set is still doing pretty well (non-Apple earbuds). Do you notice any difference in volume from one ear to the other? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/7 "2008-12-17T21:37:55Z")
Earwax. Seriously. I have a pair of [these Sony earbuds](http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/09/23/review-sony-mdr-ex71sl-earbuds) and I very nearly threw them out when one side stopped working. Turns out that all the sound comes through a tiny pinhole-sized hole in the earpiece (easier to see when you take off the rubber earplug part), and that had got clogged with earwax. I cleaned it out and it was good as new. I only found this out from reading reviews on Amazon. If your earphones are a similar design, try it. You might be amazed! Edit to add: You can see the tiny hole in the second photo down on that site. I cleaned it out with the end of a paperclip. BTW, I have sung the praises of these earphones before - they are the best I have ever used. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/8 "2008-12-17T21:53:28Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > The speakers shouldn’t degrade. The electromagnet won’t, but I’d immagine the cone could. Does the sound get muddier as well as quieter? ---
**Author:** ![Wiltshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea5d25/32.png) [@Wiltshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wiltshire)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/9 "2008-12-17T21:56:36Z")
Colophon, this is creepy. I almost thought I accidentally hit the submit button when I saw your post. Here’s what I intended to write. I swear I made no edits to it after reading yours. > [@](#): > > Earwax. > > I have a pair of Sonys with the same symptoms. After a while, the little holes in there clog up and the sound gets muffled. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference if you use cover pads or not. > > Three times now, I cleaned them with a makeshift suction device made from a length of hose with a little rubber stopper. - Urk. Yes, I _do_ hope the hose is long enough. :eek: > > Always sound as good as new. (compared them with a spare pair) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/10 "2008-12-18T00:33:59Z")
iPod earphones (of all types) have taught me that I have a seemingly limitless amount of earwax in my ears. Especially my right ear. I think that ear is more wax than ear. ---
**Author:** ![JackofHearts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@JackofHearts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackofHearts)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/11 "2008-12-18T00:53:05Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > The speakers shouldn’t degrade. The likeliest scenario is that the wire is getting bent and worn out and that this impacting the signal reaching the earbuds. My IPod earbuds went bad after a couple of months - it was actually just the right earbud, and I’m assuming the wire got bent too severely. The headphone wires get a lot of abuse. My current set is still doing pretty well (non-Apple earbuds). > > Do you notice any difference in volume from one ear to the other? From my experience, this is the most likely. I think with all the connections - to the mic, then back to the wire, etc, there are just more places to wear out. Since I use my iPhone in the gym as an iPod a lot, I deal with sweat, and moving them around a lot, and basically just putting lots of wear and stress on mine. I just recently finally found a pair of stereo bluetooth ones I like, to get rid of the wires altogether. Hopefully this is the last set of iPhone headphones I have to buy for a while… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/12 "2008-12-18T12:39:38Z")
I used to think it was the wires getting damaged, but now I’m pretty sure I’ve chucked out several pairs of earbuds that were just gummed up with wax. Unless you actually hear a crackling noise when you waggle the wire (which probably does indicate a dodgy connection), just try giving them a good clean before you toss them. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-how-do-iphone-headphones-volumes-wear-out-so-quickly/477618/13 "2008-12-18T22:34:18Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > iPod earphones (of all types) have taught me that I have a seemingly limitless amount of earwax in my ears. Especially my right ear. I think that ear is more wax than ear. Yes this is the reason. Look at them closely the holes get clogged up. They should put some kind of felt or cloth over it. Like the kind of headphones that don’t go IN your ear but cover them. They have the cloth.