Crazy weird ear buds problem

M70AB2

M70AB2

Well-Known Member
I listen to a lot of podcasts at work. I listen with a pair of Skull Candy Titan ear buds.

For some crazy reason, the right ear bud keeps shocking me. It’s very annoying.

What in the world is going on here? Is there any way to stop this?
 
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Normally the voltage of a headphone output is way too low to cause a shocking hazard. What are the buds hooked up to?
 
swechsler said:
Does it happen whether or not the cellphone is plugged into a charger?
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Yes. I have an adapter that allows me to charge and listen at the same time.

Interestingly, I was grocery shopping a short time ago while listening to my Sony mp3 player.

NO static electricity type shocks at all.
 
BmWr75 said:
Decent sounding earbuds are dirt cheap now. I'd just buy a new pair.
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Some or many sound terrible. I bought a pair years ago that quite literally sounded like I was underwater while music was playing. I am not exaggerating.
 
i know this sounds trite, but just consider them toast and look for that upgrade you were thinking about.
considering the cost of good earbuds, no point in wondering why. cant repair them, right?
one of my jlabs is not as phat as the other here recently. but they're 5 yrs old, get used regularly, been dropped a buncha times.
maybe some new mw08s or 7s. i had 06s before the jlabs, but lost the main one. they were spectacular.
after the new year, buds seem to go on sale.
 
Okay. I am now watching a YouTube video without the lightning cable adapter connected to a charger. No shocks.

This is making me think the lightning cable is shorting across the tab from where it’s charging to the right earbud audio feed.
 
+1 on a charging system failure, but I suggest it could be the adapter or the charger (or both). It is certainly a short circuit somewhere, and the phone is very unlikely since it's got no internal wires to foul. If you want to be sure, plug the buds into the phone directly and try it again. But based on the symptoms it is pretty high likelihood IMO.

Not to be alarmist, but a noticeable shock is a symptom of a possible short to the main AC power. Needless to say that is not optimal.

If the above is the case, there are a few very good alternatives. You can use a wireless charger if your phone is reasonably modern. Bluetooth headphones will solve the problem and also allow some mobility, but need to be charged. Try another charger and adapter worst case.
 
Mr Boochie said:
Tried different earbuds?
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I don’t think the earbuds have anything to do with it.

As I wrote, no shocks when listening to my mp3 player or my cellphone when not connected to the charger.

I am going to get my Fluke 179 out and measure for any voltage hitting the right earbud when the charger is connected and charging.
 
I'd try swapping out one piece at a time. First try changing the USB cable, then the power brick (I'm assuming you have more than one of each of those). If replacing neither one of those fixes the problem then it's most likely the adapter. While it's possible that the earbuds are also defective (I'm not familiar with all earbud designs, but I can't think of a reason why the case should be attached to one of the wires), that's probably not the root of the problem (that is, if you replace the earbuds, you might just be hiding the problem, not fixing it).

Is it possible this is static shock? Do you always put your earbuds in your ears in the same order? If you do, try doing the other ear first and see if that changes anything.
 
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