Question: The soft ring around the OEM iPhone earbud is gone, and now it is painful to use these headphones. These soft-rubber rings don't last long either.

The apple store suggested that I buy a new headphone for $30 to fix the issue. Genius!

Is there something available that I can glue in the place where the soft ring used to be? If not, how do I fix this?

**My earbuds**

![alt text](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iSsb5.jpg)

**New earbuds**

![alt text](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R6wmz.jpg)

Answer: 
This video shows how to replace the rubber ring using the end of a water balloon: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5CMVrpKxrE>
[White foam covers](http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=white%20foam%20earbud) might do the trick. I use black ones on my Sennheiser earbuds and they make them much more comfortable. eBay is awash with them — usually it's only a few dollars for 50 pairs — though you'll have to be patient as most come from China.