Are my ears just the wrong shape for earbuds?

Almost certainly not. Ear canals vary enormously (your own left and right differ), but earbuds ship with eartips tuned for an average that barely anyone is. The fix is adapting the eartip to your ear, with better sizing or a material that molds itself, rather than blaming the ear.

Do those ear hook attachments work?

Hooks and wings help with sport, but they treat the symptom: they hold an earbud whose seal has already failed, so sound quality stays mediocre. Fixing the seal at the eartip solves grip and sound at the same time, and doesn't block the charging case.

One earbud always falls out and the other never does. Why?

Because you have two differently shaped ear canals; almost everyone does. Wear a different eartip size per ear, or use a material that adapts per ear automatically, like memory foam.

Why don't manufacturers include foam ear tips in the box?

Because silicone lasts practically forever. A silicone ear tip can be used for 5 to 10 years, so manufacturers can bundle it once and forget about it. Memory foam adapts to your ear but wears out: with intensive daily use a set typically needs replacing after about three months, when the foam stops sealing properly. That is why foam ear tips are an upgrade you choose rather than a default in the box.

Earbuds keep falling out? 7 fixes that actually work

It's never both earbuds, is it? One sits like a rock and the other plans its escape from the moment you leave the house. Falling earbuds are a fit problem, not a you problem, and fit problems have fixes. Here are the seven that work, in the order worth trying.

First, understand the 10-second physics

An earbud stays in when its eartip presses against enough of your ear canal to create friction and a seal. Stock silicone tips are smooth domes that spring back to their own shape, so they touch your canal in a few spots only. Talking, chewing and walking all flex the canal; each flex breaks a little grip.

Silicone: gaps leak sound, ear tip slips

Memory foam: expands, seals, stays

The seven fixes

Find your real size. Try every eartip in the box, per ear. Most people wear whatever came pre-installed, which is a coin flip.
Size up when in doubt. A slightly-too-big eartip presses on more skin and grips better. Too small is the most common mistake.
Mix sizes. Different left and right sizes is the norm, not the exception.
Insert with a twist. Seat the earbud, rotate it slightly backwards and up. It locks behind the ridge of your ear canal.
Clean the eartips weekly. Skin oil turns silicone into a slide. A damp cloth is enough.
Replace old eartips. Silicone stretches and hardens with age; eartips older than a year of daily use grip a size worse than their label.
Switch to memory foam. Foam expands inside your ear and fills your canal's exact shape, so grip comes from the whole surface. It's the only fix on this list that changes the physics instead of optimizing them.

About that last step

Universal foam eartips fit most earbuds with a round nozzle, and we make an oval version for oval nozzles. Pull the old eartips off, click the foamigo eartips on, give the foam a squeeze and put them in: that's the whole trick.

Foam Eartips - Standard - Memory Foam Eartipsfrom €14.95View ear tips

1Old ear tips offGrip them low and pull; they come straight off.

2Click the foam onPress onto the nozzle until you hear the click.

3A little squeezePinch it a little between your fingers.

4In and expandThe foam grows back until it gently grips your ear.

One honest caveat: foam is a consumable. Where silicone lasts years, foam eartips need replacing after roughly three months of intensive use, when the material stops rebounding. That trade, grip and comfort against lifespan, is exactly why manufacturers still put silicone in the box.

Not sure what fits your earbuds?

Every earbud model has its own nozzle size and shape. The fit finder knows which foamigo eartips fit which model, verified by people who own them. Type your model and see.

About foamigo

From selling earbuds to fixing them

We sold thousands of wireless earbuds and kept hearing the same thing: great sound, shame they slip out. So we made memory-foam ear tips that take the shape of your ear. Straight from Amsterdam.

Read our story