Are they not _fantastic_? The insertion depth can be uncomfortable at first, but the experience of listening to 'loud' music, then removing the earphones and noticing that the ambient noise was even louder is just amazing.
>they can get more fatiguing than I'd like after a few hours of listening due to the horizontal snugness
They get quite loose over time. I've had mine for a while, and I can barely feel I'm wearing them.
I’ve got the same Sony model as the author and you do definitely know when you’ve been wearing them a long time. It’s not painful for me personally but it does sometimes feel like a relief to take them off. I got them early during lockdown and was disappointed that noise cancellation doesn’t mean silence, so my screaming kids can still get through to me. But at the same time I did have one call where my colleagues had to inform me my fire alarm was going off. Either way, I adore the headphones. I remember the delight in the early days whenever I realised there was a favourite song I’d not yet listened to on them. I’m going through that again now, having realised I can plug in a wire and listen to lossless music.
I feel nauseated when I use in-ear earphones that reach deep inside. This entire article is not relevant to me. The earphones that I can bear are these : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y4S55RC/. The design reaches inside a little bit, but not too much, and they sound quite decent. I suppose the AirPods (but not the Pro) are similar in design.
I got some off-the-shelf ones, so they don't fit as well as custom molded ones, but I've still never had discomfort. I love them, I wear them everywhere, as they make sound levels much more comfortable.
I enjoy mine but trying to wear them for long periods of time or overnight was not great for my ears (they are more airtight than normal headphones, which seems to exacerbate ear infections or other damage)
While I personally have no problems, I know a few people who can't keep them in. It seems to be very much based on if you're lucky enough to have the ear shape that Apple decided to target.
I don't see how that's true, but I'm open to having my mind changed. But a comfortable listening level with well-insulated headphones/IEMs for prolonged hours shouldn't be damaging. It can be tiring but having periods of quiet (home life, sleep) re-invigorates them.
Does anyone else really struggle with comfort when using headphones which go into the ear canal (IEMs)? I know there is better sound isolation, but for some reason I cannot stand the minor pressure of them in my ears.
I've had some conversations where I just tap to pause and leave them in. You can hear the environment pretty decently with them in, and they don't cause discomfort. If I have anything else to worry about, I can forget to take them out for a bit, in much the same way you can forget you have sunglasses on your head. I would say that they mostly don't cause an impediment for normal activities in a functional sense, but for now, they can in the social aspect. I couldn't ride a rollercoaster or do jumping jacks in them, but I can hear the environment just fine, and they don't fall out easily, even if jogging.
I used ear buds for the first time in years today (nothing special, soundcore) and they'd be decent if not every single step I take while walking got transferred into my ears. It's quite loud and distracts from the music. This alone makes me buy over ear headphones...
I find any kind of headphones to be painful/disturbing after a while. On-ear are the worst (who the F * * * thought pressing your ears into your head was a good idea?), followed by in-ear. The only ones I can wear for any amount of time are over-ear but eventually (if nothing else) your ears will be all warm and that will be disturbing as well.
Besides I really enjoy just silence sometimes, being forced to listen to music does not necessarily improve my focus.
Then perhaps you should read any of the many reviews by people who have had preproduction units... They pretty strongly lean towards them being comfortable and hard to dislodge - to a surprising extent. Tests in reviews I've seen have included running, dancing, headbanging, and jumping up and down intentionally trying to dislodge them.
Seems that the fact there's no cord to pull on them, and all of the mass is inside your ear makes them pretty stable.
The main thing I can't stand about many sealed in-ear headphones is that lightly jostling the wire causes a massive bass thump in my ear. Regardless of fit, effectively this means I can't move at all while listening to them. The effect is so loud that I marvel that anybody can ignore it.
I admit I just got a pair but haven't really tried them out yet. I imagine it would take a lot of habit breaking for me to get comfortable with them walking around. If you're actually listening to music etc.--i.e. actually have a reason to have them in your ear--I think I'd still find it isolating.
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