Hoping you don't break my stereo, because it's the one thing that I couldn't live without

[venta]

I'm the sort of anti-social type who sits at my desk all day with headphones on. The lovely pair of Sennheisers I bought well over a decade ago were looking rather shabby by the time I started newJob so they have been promoted sideways to be headphones-plugged-into-the-piano at home. I set off to buy some new ones

Comments

[shermarama]

I've got some over-the-head ones I like, that only become uncomfortable after somewhere between one and two hours, but most others I've tried, including the softphone headsets we've all been issued with at work, become uncomfortable after about ten minutes due to pressure on the ears. But I find the in-ear silicone bobble type ones to be remarkably good for long-term use too, especially as compared to the old solid-plastic type. (And my comfy over-the-head ones are, umm, now I think about it, fifteen years old now so they're not really available any more.)

Not whingy!

[uitlander]

After many years experimenting, and throwing away earphones that made my ears hurt after an hour or so, I discovered Sennheiser - soft, in the ear. Headphones. I bought three pairs on the grounds that these things vanish or get broken. I'm now on pair #3, which are getting rather manky, and wondering what to replace them with.

[venta]

I think this may be the problem - "a couple of hours" isn't what I want, I want a whole day! Maybe headphones just aren't designed for that :)

[damerell]

[grahamb]

I tend to listen to music at my desk and on the way home. So I use my headphones for about 10ish hours a day?

I've had a similar sort of problem but with 'in ear' headphones (or earphones? Can never work out what to call those) which some years ago seemed to be phased out for 'in canal' headphones. Which annoy the hell out of me. The feeling of discomfort you described with noise cancelling headphones is pretty good description.

I tend to listen to music on the way into work. The in ear ones manage not to block out important street noise, cars etc.The canal ones manage to block out everything and suddenly make you aware of your own breathing and heartbeat etc.

So I ended up ordering on a whim a phillips something or other from the states which I've been using for a few years now to replace my Sony in ear headphones which died a while back. Not looking forward to when they break and having to go through this all over again...