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>
A very peculiar question. The rubber ring is often lost and I wonder if Apple does it on purpose. In any case, you will have more luck, searching for earbud caps. For example [Full Silicone](http://www.sourcingmap.com/silicone-earphone-cover-cap-for-ipod-pairs-white-p-3334.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=usfroogle) (designed for iPod headphones). If you google for *Earphone Cap* or similar, you’ll find a lot of colors/models/alternatives. Usually they are below 5 u$s. 

Either of those will cover your earphone completely, preventing the annoying pain from the sharp plastic border exposed by the missing rubber ring. 

Another small advantage of these things is that they prevent cerumen from going into your earphone.