Its fine if you replace the squishy ear part or clean it.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
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Does Anybody Else?
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I dont know man. Even with cleaning that's still ick factor. I mean would you buy a used dildo?
Surgical stuff is reused, or do you think every clamp is disposable?
Surgical stuff is also being cleaned/sanitized/disinfected a whole hell of a lot better than you could clean an earbud.
Yeah I don't think earbuds would survive and autoclave.
That’s true. Though nothing like that is on some of the AirPods, at least natively.
Alcohol is your friend.
Your not licking ghese things, are you?
I think OP has a point: we re now in an era where most earbuds do not have the large, plastic piece that fits on it, but rather the plastic is making contact with the inside of the ear.
I also have personally now cleaned my earwax from the little foil that guards where the sound comes from..! It's kind of gross to share such a thing, right, but I know that anybody who is getting longevity out of their earbuds will have done the same... Plus these are mine, only mine, and the only other person who shares them at all with me is my wife...
So, I would not be excited to buy second hand earbuds and owuld likely personally sanitize them even if I had bought them from a store where they were sanitized already. I would not so far as to say I would not get the earbuds. If they are a steal and quite new, sure, I would... But I totally understand the OP's sensibilities here.
You get it! Lol honestly I was curious how everyone felt since I see these often. Surly I can’t be the only person who’s grossed out by the thought of buying second hand earbuds…
And you reminded me how I clean mine too. You can see the earwax as you clean it and it’s gross enough when it’s my own, let alone thinking about someone else’s that was there before mine. No amount of alcohol makes me feel better about that.
I do not find them gross. Only painful.
Nope.