Earbuds are usually good enough for normal use but are not designed for everything. Some of the standard earbuds may come with cables too short for your needs. Maybe you have a roommate who goes to bed earlier than you do and need a longer cord so you can use earbuds when sitting away from the TV. Perhaps you are an abnormally tall person and standard earbuds are just a little short for you.

One option is buying a pair of retractable earphones. The benefit of these is that you'll have less tangles since the cord should be neatly rolled back into the housing after each use. A drawback is the thin cables that allow them to roll-up. They could potentially break from repeated use or improper care. Also, if you are looking for a really long cord these wouldn't be adequate as they usually cap out at 3-6 ft. Be selective when purchasing these, as a lot of the earbuds that come in a retractable style are made by off-brand companies with dubious quality. There are a couple of good pairs made by well-known companies though: Sony-MDR-KX70LW and Sony-MDR-Q68LW

If you don't want to buy a new pair of earbuds, you can just get an audio extension cord. They come in various lengths from three all the way up to 25ft, and are compatible with the standard 3.5mm audio jack. The best thing is that these are cheap and at most should run you ten bucks. Extension cords can also be bought in retractable versions if that is your preference.

Finally, if you aren't keen or extension cords or retractable earbuds, you can just get some with a little longer cords. Two common earbuds with cords that are a little longer are the SONY MDR-EX36V's and the Skullcand Ink'd line that come with cord lengths of 3.9' and 4.25' respectively.