How to keep your earbuds in your ears when exercising

7/4/2010

Standard earbuds, like the ones that come with your iPod, stay put by resting in your ear canal. This works fine when just sitting around the house but doesn't work while exercising. Any activity more demanding than walking can have you continually stopping your workout to adjust them. Having earbuds that don't stay put is annoying and ruins the flow of your exercise.

Here are two solutions for earbuds falling out

Exercise Adapters

These adapters add an over-the-ear clip to your white iPod earbuds. This makes them much more stable and alleviates the need for the earbuds to have a perfect fit in your ear. Beyond exercising, these can also be a good solution if you get ear pain when wearing standard earbuds. There is more area over the tops of your ears so the weight of the earbuds can be distributed more evenly.

Price: About $10

Sport earbuds

If your are willing to buy an new set of earbuds there are a lot of sports versions that are custom made for use while running. Two earbuds that are recommended are the Sony MDR-J10 h and the Sennheiser MX85 Sport Series II's.

The Sony's are a great value option and can be had for under ten dollars. This is a good pick if you are worried that you will still break a few pairs when working out. These are at a price point where replacing them won't be too costly. The Sony's stay in place using an over-the-ear clip like the earbud adapters mentioned earlier.

Price: About $10

The Sennheiser MX85 Sport Series II's are another popular model of sport earbuds. This pair has “twist to fit” which uses adjustable stoppers that press against the outer ear to lock them in place. This is a good pick if you want earbuds that are less bulky than the over-the-ear variety. Finding the correct fit on these earbuds is key and it may take a bit of tweaking with the sizing knob to get a fit that stays in your ears.

Price: About $30