Is there such a thing as ear buds that fit small ears without leakage?

April 11, 2013 2:10 PM

I regularly use an ipod on public transit and have a tendancy to listen to loud, raucous music. Is there an ear bud that doesn't broadcast?

I would prefer to keep my cover as a middle-aged professional woman and not necessarily out myself as an old punk. I'd prefer earbuds over headphones and although quality is important, I also tend to go thru earbuds pretty quickly so hate to spend too much. An added issue is smallish ears. Traditional Apple earbuds fit, the SkullCandys don't. I will take out my earbuds to see how loud they sound and they don't sound that loud to me, but my daughter claims that she can usually figure out what I'm listening to if she's within six feet of me. This is kind of embarrassing. Granted there may be differences in our hearing ability, I've been in front of way too many big speakers.

So three key things: sound quality, music doesn't leak to either my seat mates or fellow pole hangers and fits in my delicate lady ears.

posted by readery to Shopping (16 answers total)

I will take out my earbuds to see how loud they sound and they don't sound that loud to me, but my daughter claims that she can usually figure out what I'm listening to if she's within six feet of me. This is kind of embarrassing.

This is a volume issue, not a device issue. Have you had your hearing tested recently?
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 2:13 PM on April 11, 2013 [5 favorites]

Sennheiser makes some special models for women, that I believe are optimized for smaller ears.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:20 PM on April 11, 2013

Look for a pair of shure or etymotic in-ear headphones. I prefer the shure ones with the yellow foam sleeves that look like disposable earplugs. Yeah, you have to get replacement sleeves occasionally, but it's worth it. The other reason they might work well is that they block external sounds, so you can listen at a lower volume.
posted by unix at 2:22 PM on April 11, 2013

On the inexpensive side (under $20) and endorsed by CNET reviews:

Panasonic ErgoFit RP-HJE120-D
http://goo.gl/GEUZn

Panasonic RP HJE355
http://goo.gl/xyT2G

MEElectronics Hi-Fi Sound-Isolating
http://goo.gl/SDMCs

If you want to splurge...

I'm a big fan of Shure'e headphones, a popular model that sounds decent is this

yes they are $100, but worth it.
posted by bobdow at 2:30 PM on April 11, 2013

When you say that the traditional Apple ones work for you, it sounds like you're using hard earbuds? You might have better luck with the soft earbuds. I have a couple pairs of SkullCandy that were $20 each, and have lasted a year of terrible handling pretty well so far. Because they're soft, they conform to the shape of your ear better which (pulling this out of my ass) should result in less sound leakage? And also makes it easier to make them fit (the headphones come with three sizes of the actual in-ear cover + spares).
posted by jacalata at 2:36 PM on April 11, 2013

something that has multiple sized silicone tips for your ears will seal the music in (and block outside noise, thats how it works... and you don't have to listen as loud)

They're inexpensive, i bought these (or similar looking) sonys for under $20. sony mdr-ex37 earbuds
They're a little bassy for my liking, but that's the earbud style i would recommend over the old style foam covered, or just hard plastic apple style.
posted by TheAdamist at 2:37 PM on April 11, 2013

+1 for Sennheiser - they combine the best isolation I've come across (short of having custom-fit sleeves made by an audiologist) and belting audio reproduction for the price. They usually come with three different sizes of sleeve, the smallest of which I would imagine are suitable for delicate lady ears. They seem to have entries at every price-point - so you should be able to find something that suits - though I would add that they seem to last me longer than many lesser brands, which lets me spend a little more and get a higher quality model than I would with earbuds that I know will fall apart within six months.
posted by kxr at 2:37 PM on April 11, 2013

As stated above, Shure, Etymotic, and Sennheiser have quality products that will not only have replaceable or molded tips that can fill your ear better, but will have more balanced sound quality.

I'm more of a full-size headphone listener, but If I were to spend less than $100 on In-Ear Monitors (IEM's), I'd probably go with the MEElectronics or these Klipsch S4's. If I were to replace my full-size Sennheiser HD25-ii and could afford to... probably the Sennheiser IE80. But I'm not rich and tend to lose stuff that's smaller than a beer bottle, so no go.

If you're used to the quality of Apple and Skullcandy (they sound really tinny to me... I love huge bass and luscious vocals), you would probably be happy with anything in the $50-$100 as far as sound quality and build quality. Here is an ultimate beanplater's comparison list of IEM's.

Tinnitus can only get worse with age, yo. I highly suggest that you get those ears checked out and lower the volume so you can enjoy your hearing for more years. Yadda yadda boom boom boom.
posted by Giggilituffin at 2:38 PM on April 11, 2013

What you're looking for are canalphones or in-ear monitors. They differ from earbuds in that they form a tight seal with your outer ear canal. Because of this, leakage is much less of a problem than with earbuds or headphones.

Monoprice has these bad boys for under $10 and they're renowned for great quality at a tiny price. I use them daily.
posted by blue t-shirt at 2:57 PM on April 11, 2013

You really really really REALLY can't go wrong for a first step on the route to better headphones with a pair of Soundmagic PL-30 earbuds for about $30 on ebay. They shoot far above their price range and come with a range of different sizes of ear bud to fit all ear sizes in foam and rubber. (I prefer the foam ones) They're the own brand of a manufacturer in China who manufacturers for Sony etc. I love mine and I've spent some stupid money on audio gear in the past. I haven't heard anything better in the under $100 range. And they're cheap enough that if you lose or break them it doesn't really matter...
posted by Mr Ed at 5:34 PM on April 11, 2013

I have fairly small ear canals, as far as I can tell, and have been pleased with the MEElectronics M9P in-ear headphones I have. They come with an assortment of earbud tips, which lets you choose the ones that work best for you. I find the basic double-flanged ones that come installed on them work well; when I seat them snugly in my ear canals, I get good sound isolation from my surroundings (and have never gotten complaints about sound bleeding out — but I don't tend to listen to things very loud), and when I want to be able to hear what's going on around me (e.g, walking down the street), I just dislodge them slightly and am good to go.
posted by Lexica at 9:07 PM on April 11, 2013

As another small ear canal owner, I have a pair of Shure that are very good at noise isolation, although most insert sizes are too large for me.

The best-fitting pair of headphones I've had were the small rubber gaskets on the Beats headphones that came with my HTC Rezound. I've seen them on ebay for cheap.
posted by bookdragoness at 9:10 PM on April 11, 2013

I have small ears and I buy earbuds that come with 3 sizes of rubber tips and I use the smallest one. Never had a problem.
posted by Cygnet at 3:58 AM on April 12, 2013

Also, if you get noise-cancelling headphones, you can turn the volume way down, because your music doesn't have to compete with the subway noise and other drek. I have these, and they are the only thing that has allowed me to listen to podcasts on the subway or in the machine room at the gym, so they're pretty effective at a low price. I'm small, but have never had any awareness of having unusually small ears, but these came with a variety of bud sizes, so you can probably get the perfect fit.
posted by acm at 7:21 AM on April 12, 2013

You probably want canalphones, not earbuds. Earbuds float in front of the ear canal. Canalphones plug up the canal. They're usually more efficient (louder) too but some people find them uncomfortable. My Klipsch canalphones have very tiny drivers. They're much smaller than my Sennheisers. I would suggest you take a look at those (S4, S4i X10i, etc.)
posted by chairface at 7:48 AM on April 12, 2013

I use a set of Etymotic MC5 earphones. They do a very good job of supressing noise both ways, depending a bit on the particular tip you use with them. Etymotic even sells other styles of tips on their website than they include with the earphones. As a lady with tiny sensitive ear canals, I use the ones that are little flesh toned foam earplugs. My mother likes one of the flange styles (she has the HF5 set). The MC5's are around $55, while the HF5's are around $100. As far as I can tell, the HF5 set doesn't actually sound better but the electronics/drivers are smaller.
posted by monopas at 5:06 PM on April 12, 2013