The most common type of headphones that most people use today is in-ear headphones, also known as earbuds or earphones.
They’re among the key items that most average students consider carrying along while going outdoors, be it a typical lecture or a meet-up and to be honest I love them too, I usually use them when I go out to buy groceries or while working out.
Which begs the question, why are headphones better than earbuds?
The most common thing isn’t always the best and even sound professionals, ardent gamers, and your average audiophile prefer using over-ear headphones (over-ears) because of their superior sound performance, which is due to larger drivers, and the comfort they provide, which makes them the best of all headphones.
If you’ve been seeking to get an in-depth understanding of what distinguishes headphones from earphones, then you’re in the right place.
Read along!
Headphones vs Earbuds
In many cases, these two terms are used interchangeably. However, earphones are usually inserted inside the ear canal of the user, while headphones are meant to be worn around the head.
Going by their ratings, they’re all great. Like anything, it depends on a user’s preferences.
■ In-Ear vs. Over-Ear Headphones: Portability
In-ear headphones are ultra-portable because of their small size. Once folded, they occupy a smaller volume of the pocket, pouches, or bags as compared to over-ear headphones.
The ease to twist in-ear headphones while putting them into your pocket can, however, get annoying when pulling them back.
Regardless of how neatly you folded them, in most instances, they intertwine to form into a Gordian knot that may turn into a real frustration. But still, there are in-ear headphones that have tangle-free cords. To avoid the frustrations, always endeavor to acquire such.
With over-ear headphones, you can wrap the cords around the adjustable headbands and the foldable hinges, or perhaps put them inside a travel case that they come with.
Either way, they will still occupy a considerable volume, which disqualifies them from what most people would consider ideal for carrying along during a trip.
Being the largest in all categories, they are way too bulky to be compared with the small portable in-ear headphones.
The only way to make them portable is by probably putting them on and rest on your couch, assured of being flown to your desired destination.
■ In-Ear vs. Over-Ear Headphones: Comfort
Over-ear headphones are more comfortable to use, especially when you’ll spend some considerable time. They fit and cover your ears entirely, hence isolating you from ambient noise.
Earbuds fit into the ear canal and seal it. Other models have fitted wrappers to enhance grasping, and hence comfort.
However, the comfort experienced is usually diverse, ranging from one person to another. Different people have different tastes and preferences.
Similarly, some people will find it comfortable using in-ear headphones, while to others, it will be a heck.
There are earbud models that are fitted with memory foam or comply ear tips. These features further enhance comfort, unlike the ordinary ones fitted with plastic or silicon.
Ordinary earbuds come in different sizes. You should, therefore, identify your best size to enhance comfort. However, using them for a long duration still feels unsatisfying for most people.
There are contexts where they rank the highest. For instance, during outdoor activities like jogging, in-ear headphones will be a great choice in keeping you comfortable while listening to music.
Choosing those with wrappers will make the experience even much better, as they are firmly fixed and won’t fall out easily while jogging.
Also, by the virtue that they don’t contain sweat like most over-ear headphones, comfort is much guaranteed.
Over-ear headphones, on the contrary, will give you the perfect comfort that you so deserve. They perfectly cover and safeguards your ears from sores and the pain you may encounter when using in-ear headphones.
Their bulkiness results from the many components incorporated to enhance sound quality. At times, this can become unbearable.
To counter this, pads are usually added on the headband to cushion your head and hence making them more comfortable.
Therefore, when purchasing one, it will be a wise decision to choose one with a padded headband and with the right size of ear cups.
■ In-Ear vs. Over-Ear Headphones: Performance and Sound Quality
The performance of over-head headphones remains unprecedented to that of earphones. They have high-performance components incorporated which scale up their quality.
Over the recent past, the basic performance of earbuds has evolved extensively. Since quality and price flex together, there has been a diverse variety of these models.
Some are cheap and of course, low-quality, and can be purchased from local stores. Nevertheless, they have good functionalities suitable for common applications.
However, you may also need to order high-performance earphones, which you can purchase from an established brand like Shure.
Essentially, the best part of earbuds is that they can seal your ears entirely, which is essential, especially when working from a noisy environment. In this condition, you can perform much better. The limiting quality factor on earbuds is their small drivers. They cannot support the highs and lows supported by the other models: on-ear and over-ear headphones.
When fitted to the ear canal, they’re pretty close to the eardrum, which enhances how effectively the music is directed to the target.
Besides, there is a unique type of earbuds that incorporates planar magnetic design features. A typical example is Audeze’s iSINE20 in-ear headphones (Amazon link)
Over-ear headphones are fitted with large, advanced drivers to swing from extremely low frequencies to high frequencies fully.
Once you have them on, they create a virtual environment and isolates you from the surrounding noise. At the same time, they set a wide sound stage to give an amazing experience.
Essentially, when it comes to sound quality and performance features, over-ear headphones will always be the best option.
Long-Term Hearing Health Effects of Earbuds and Headphones
Listening to loud music for a prolonged period can pose a big danger to your hearing health.
Similarly, headphones can harm your ears resulting in a condition called noise-induced hearing loss. Plus, it can cause skin complications such as acne.
■ What Is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?
Essentially, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is a medical condition that results from exposure to loud sound.
Being exposed to very loud sounds for just a short while can drive you into this condition. The loud sound damages hearing structures in the inner ear, which then results in NIHL.
■ Can Earbuds and Headphones Cause Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?
A quick answer is yes; both can cause NIHL when precautionary measures are not observed. However, the good news is that it is preventable. You can keep yourself safe by maintaining a low volume every time.
The key reasons which may get you into this condition are two: High music volume and a prolonged period of exposure to loud sounds.
Your place of work may expose you to loud sounds, or you may encounter noise pollution on the streets, which can put you at higher risk.
Earbuds and headphones are equally harmful. Tuning the volume past the critical value feeds your eardrum with loud blasts, which is a big threat to your hearing ability.
Actually, according to audiologists, exposing yourself to your phones full volume for just five minutes can damage your ears for good.
Research shows that cases of NIHL have taken a steeply increasing curve over the last couple of years. The contributing sources being not only earbuds and headphones but also traffic, concerts, sirens, and heavy equipment.
But how do you know the right music volume for your ears? Well, listening to soft music from your earbuds and headphones won’t be a risk your hearing because the soft music ranges below 1 decibel, which is accepted.
However, beyond 85 decibels, the sounds become detrimental and is a threat to your hearing health.
Continuous exposure to these sounds becomes even more dangerous. Examples of sounds past this level include jackhammers (130dB), gunshots (100dB), trains (90db) and jet plane engines (140db)
■ Now to the Real Comparison
Earbuds pose much more danger of hearing damage compared to headphones.
Both earphones and headphones can cause NIHL. However, the risk is much higher with earbuds. The reason being, they are put on and fitted into the ear canal, which is close to the eardrum.
This implies that the loud music from the earbuds is pumped right into your eardrum, which is extremely dangerous. In fact, they multiply the music level to about 9 decibels.
With headphones, you are more secure. They hang outside your ears, and the music cannot find direct access to the eardrum. Unlike earbuds, the natural amplification of sound is significantly reduced.
■ Your Listening Volume Might Be the Most Important Factor
By virtue of minimal exposure to hearing damage when using headphones, it doesn’t flag you to become ignorant about your music levels and hearing health. There are more health tips you should consider embracing.
One of the noteworthy tips is the 60-60 rule. The rule directs that no one should listen to music for more than 60 minutes, with a volume exceeding 60% the rated volume. Basically, it is meant to restrict both the volume levels and the period of exposure.
■ Should Children Use Earphones and Headphones?
Children can use headphones and earbuds, but it also depends on the volume combination, duration of exposure, and their ear canal size. Like we’ve seen before, listening for once won’t damage the child’s hearing system, prolonged exposure will do.
Despite that there is no scientific specification of how old one should be to use headphones or earbuds, it is almost conclusive to say that a small volume for adults will be way high for a child, due to their small ear canal.
However, prevention is better than cure. As a parent, you should keep your child off the headphones and earbuds until they are of age.
According to the WHO, “You should make sure that your children avoid the use of headphones when possible and use only headphones that provide information about the risks for hearing loss.
Parents should also ensure that their children do not increase the volume when they are not supervised.
Some devices may be equipped with parental control that allows parents to control the loudness level of the device.”
Why Should You Always Go for Quality?
Whether it is an earbud, headphone, mobile phone, or literally anything, always go for the most quality product as per the weight of your wallet. In this regard, headphones are the best.
With any amount from $10, you can purchase many types of in-ear headphones from local outlets.
However, they won’t be as good as the over-ear headphones from established manufacturers. That’s why understanding the features of the three models of headphones is very critical in making an informed decision while purchasing.
There are many limitations associated with earbuds. One key setback is its low quality. Their small speakers just fit into the ear canal, and hardly prevent the surrounding noise from distracting the user.
Besides, they are only efficient in transmitting soft sound, not bass. Actually, what makes users increase the volume more is this odd transmission of sound.
Unlike in-ear headphones, over-ear headphones cover the ear entirely and don’t push the music directly into the eardrum.
As a result, the space between them acts as a buffer, which creates space for transmission of bass sound to the ear canal.
This is an appreciable advantage over in-ear headphones, which sends the sound directly into the ear. The quality of sound is thus enhanced.
However, there are also cons associated with over-ear headphones. It is hard to get high-quality headphones.
Most of those offered in the market are of either average or low quality, which do not transmit bass as supposed.
Nevertheless, with the few drawbacks, headphones are by far, much better than earbuds. Thus, it’s a worthwhile asset to add to your toolbox, especially if you are a gamer or a sound professional.
Conclusion
In summary, both in-ear and over-ear headphones have their place in any audiophile’s toolbox. The main distinguishing factors are the context in which they are used and user preferences on features such as portability, comfort, performance, sound quality, not to mention their impact on hearing health.