I'm looking for two recommendations:

1) Earbuds that don't hurt your ears. I have Anker Soundcore earbuds that work fine, but after an hour or two, they start to really hurt my ears, to the point where I have to take them out. So, I end up not being able to use them on longer airplane flights.

2) An earbud alternative to a headset. I'm getting demoted from an office to a cubicle. I'm on calls a lot, and all IT provides is a headset, which I don't want (meaning I don't want anything that I wear on my head).

Great if one recommendation can cover both needs, but not required.

I'm assuming you need wireless?

Is your primary concern phone calls or do you have a need for music, ANC, etc?

Budget? Sub $100? $100-150? $150-200?

aezmvp said:

---

I'm assuming you need wireless?

Is your primary concern phone calls or do you have a need for music, ANC, etc?

Budget? Sub $100? $100-150? $150-200?

---

Wireless is def preferred.

At work, primary concern is calls/Teams meetings. I may or may not need a microphone. I don't know how my computer mic will function with an aux/alt "speaker". I've been exclusively using my computer mic/speakers since I've had my own office for 12+ years. Comfort is also super important here, since I might be wearing it for several hours in a day.

For travel/airplanes, it's for listening.

Budget is flexible. I'd prefer to spend as little as possible, but the ones for work will get daily use. So I'd be willing to spend more to make sure it's comfortable and functional.

Ones for travel aren't as big of a priority since that's more of an occasional use. I can make do with the buds I have on most flights.

Both Airpod 4 and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have been very problematic for me with Teams with Windows 11.

You can max out the volume and barely hear Teams conversations if there is ANY ambient noise in your room. Even w/noise cancelling enabled on the airpods, they're still 99% worthless with Teams.

I've seen different "tricks" to get them to work but sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. An example is to disable the earbud mic in teams and use the laptop mic. That worked once, but MS figured it out and shut it down to make the experience suck again (my guess).

That's good to know but disappointing re the Bose as I was looking at those to solve the ear discomfort problem.

I've tried several ear bud options for VOIP and video calls, and they just suck as microphones. I'm in the business and sell headsets to my customers, so I try to demo as much as I can. Now, if you're just using your PC's mic, then that shouldn't be as much of an issue. The recent buds I've tried were the Pixel Pro and Jabra ones. I believe the Pixel Pro has the better audio quality. Both options pick up every little sound I make, so the person I'm speaking with gets to hear everything.

Best headset i've ever used for video/voice calls were the Plantronics UC5200 headsets. However, after being purchased by Poly and now HP, their quality has suffered. The original Plantronics headset I had lasted me 5-6 years. After it finally died, I bought a new Poly branded set, and that thing lasted almost 8 months.

Are there any headset options that go around the back of the neck? I just don't want something pressing on the top or back of my head all day.

How about something like this? Goes around the back of the neck, and could solve the ear comfort issue.

That might work! It's sort of what I had in mind when I asked about behind the neck. Anyone tried it?

I don't have that headset personally, but someone i work with has it and he seems to really like it

I've never used the bone conduction headset but my last CFO and 6-7 of my coworkers used them and all had good things to say.

It's not responsive to what you're looking for, but the Plantronics Voyager 5200 and Focus UC headsets are outstanding for mic pickup and background noise rejection.

I used to have similar problems with Apple AirPods...after an hour or so, my ears would hurt and itch.

These Comply memory-foam tips completely prevent that feeling. Now, I can wear my AirPods for hours with no discomfort.
https://www.complyfoam.com/

I started with this Comply S/M/L set (to decide which size I preferred)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KPNKN2

Note: these memory-foam tips are not everlasting...they'll need to be replaced at some point.

TXTransplant said:

---

Anyone tried it?

---

Check Youtube for reviews... pretty much with any tech purchase I make in todays world I can find multiple videos of people reviewing the product to find out if I think it will work for me.

I have the Shokz open run pro without the mic. I use it a LOT at work because it allows me to listen to music or podcasts but still notice if someone comes up behind me or calls my name from the next office over.

I use it for calls and teams meetings and haven't had anyone complain about the mic quality. Since I don't have the flip down mic, mine just picks up normally and it kinda sucks not having a mic to flip up to mute. But I use mine a ton outside of work and didn't want a mic all the time when I'm wearing them in public.

One note - they SUCK for airplanes. I can't hear anything unless I also wear earbuds to block out a lot of noise.

They are very, very comfortable. I literally wear them all day long at work and sometimes forget that I have them on if I'm not listening to anything. I've let a couple coworkers try them and both of them ended up buying a set.

If you are worried about noise in your cubicle I probably wouldn't recommend, but if your office is fairly quiet like any normal room you'll probably be fine. I'd highly recommend them.

After having the same issue with Airpod Pros hurting/itching after a couple of hours, I bought these:
https://www.jbl.com/wireless-earbuds/SOUNDGEAR-SENSE.html

I have not tried using them for Team meetings, but I can listen to The Ticket at minimal volume and not have trouble hearing them over office noise

This is great feedback; thank you all so much!

The newest AirPod 4s are incredibly uncomfortable. They've actually regressed in comfort. Not sure what happened here unless the new functionality they've added required a regressive design.

Can only handle them for about an hour like others have said.

In regards to wired behind the head, if you are just using it for work calls you might be fine. But I had some for lawn work and any time I was turning my head it seemed to catch, which was really annoying.

I've always had issues with Apple earbuds and after extensive searching I've been using JVC marshmallow wireless noise cancelling earbuds for over a year and I love them. I had some Beats earbuds and they stopped pairing to my phone in less than a year. They're only like $50 on amazon right now, you should try those if you haven't yet.

Caesar4 said:

---

I used to have similar problems with Apple AirPods...after an hour or so, my ears would hurt and itch.

These Comply memory-foam tips completely prevent that feeling. Now, I can wear my AirPods for hours with no discomfort.
https://www.complyfoam.com/

I started with this Comply S/M/L set (to decide which size I preferred)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KPNKN2

Note: these memory-foam tips are not everlasting...they'll need to be replaced at some point.

---

AirPod Pro user here as well (used to like the standard AirPods but they changed the shape on the 3s and now they don't fit me well at all), I tried the Comply tips after they were recommended here but seemed like they fell apart pretty quickly for the price.

Tried these silicone ones from SpinFit and really like them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BPX2VTF7

That aside, I'm fully remote and on Teams for a lot of my day and really like the AirPod Pros for calls.

fig96 said:

---

I tried the Comply tips after they were recommended here but seemed like they fell apart pretty quickly for the price.

---

They fell apart? I've had my original AirPods Pro's for 4 years and i've only ever replaced the Comply tips once, and that was just because they eventually got kinda gross.

After a couple months I started finding black bits falling off of them everywhere, ditched them for the SpinFits after about 6 months. They were comfortable, just not durable enough for me.

Sometimes I long for the days of my yellow and black Sony Walkman cassette player.

I'm on my second pair of Jabra Elite Active earbuds, this time the Active 8.

Good ANC, I like the eq settings, and I fell asleep with one in my right ear last night, so comfort is great.

Scriffer said:

---

I'm on my second pair of Jabra Elite Active earbuds, this time the Active 8.

Good ANC, I like the eq settings, and I fell asleep with one in my right ear last night, so comfort is great.

---

Another fan of Jabras. I routinely fall asleep with them too, they have been durable, and sound quality is good.

I have the original Bose open and the most recent version of the Bose open and both work great for me. What I figured out regarding the sound is the placement of them on my ear is what makes the audio level different.