People are wearing their AirPods upside down. Not as a fashion statement, but for a very specific reason. If you’re worried that the music will come out of the earbuds upside down, worry not. The impact of wearing them differently is practically zero.
Users wear AirPods upside down to increase the comfort of wearing the wireless earbuds. The proper way to wear Airpods upside down is by wearing the left AirPod in the right ear, while wearing the right AirPod in the left ear. Both wireless earbuds are worn upside down in the ‘fossa‘ of the ear.
Yeah, that part of the ear that’s kind of on the inside, so the wireless headphones won’t easily fall out of your ear. There isn’t a real science behind all this, you just turn and twist the earbud until it’s a comfortable fit for your ear. Everyone is different, after all.
The Benefits Of Wearing AirPods Upside Down
If you’re scared of looking like a total idiot, don’t be afraid to jump on this trend. There are a large number of people struggling with wobbly earbuds on a daily basis. Losing high-quality, wireless earbuds that keep falling out of your ears can be an expensive joke. So a lot of people are looking for ways to prevent this problem.
And to be honest, actively wearing your AirPods upside down will have a lot more practical benefits than people realize:
- Prevent them from falling out: Finding a better fit for your buds will allow you to do more activities without having to worry about your headphones randomly dropping on the ground.
- More comfortable long-term wearing: A tight fit will increase the comfort of wearing your buds, especially when you wear your AirPods while sleeping or lying down.
- Better overall sound quality: A tighter fit in your ears will immediately improve the overall noise canceling effect of your surroundings, but will also allow you to hear the music much better. Sound quality is highly correlated with how you wear your AirPods.
- You’ll look kinda fancy: Some people will call it a power move, others will call it a clown move. Whatever your opinion is, you’re sure to turn some heads when wearing your buds the wrong way around.
No, The Music Won’t Be Upside Down
Some people say music comes out of the speaker upside down in Australia. That’s a joke, guys and gals. Music is processed inside the brain. A lot of intricate instruments inside your ear will transform the sound waves regardless of how they enter your ear.
So if you’re worried about your music being upside down when wearing your AirPods in a reverse manner, you are experiencing some irrational worries and fears. The music will sound exactly the same, regardless of how it enters the ear canal.
¡ƃuᴉzɐɯɐ s’ʇɐɥʇ ‘ʇᴉɥs ʎloH
Yeah, it really is amazing what the human brain can do. Music can’t be ‘upside down’, but you can experience it coming from a slightly different position. Those lyrics won’t enter your mind in a reverse manner, that’s not possible. I mean, unless the laws of physics are reversed by Apple inside those AirPods. Which hasn’t been proven thus far (again, that’s a joke!).
How To Wear AirPods Properly
For different use cases, different AirPod wearing styles will apply. This is true for the original Apple buds, but also for the newer AirPods Pro. In summary, you can choose to wear your AirPods in the following way for an optimal user experience:
- Best sound: Wear your AirPods upside down, with the L-side on your right ear and the R-side on your left ear
- High alert: Loosely hang your AirPods in your ear in the normal position, so you can stay aware of your surroundings (best in traffic)
- Noise-canceling: Full focus and maximum bass is achieved by slightly pushing your AirPods into your ear canal
- Reduced bass: Place your Apple-brand earbuds in a reverse manner into your ears (speaker facing backward)
- Reduced pain: If your AirPods hurt after wearing them for a while, alternate the pods in each ear back and forth
Trying doesn’t hurt, and it won’t cost you anything if you already own those premium wireless Apple buds. So twist and turn your AirPods or EarPods around every once in a while, and see how it works out for you. Just don’t wear your wireless earbuds in the bathroom, okay.
The upside-down method might not be the most ‘proper’ way of wearing them. But some would argue that they are the most comfortable from a user-experience perspective. Do let me know what your favorite is in the comments below this article!
Featured image source: /u/bowb4zod
won’t that mess up the direction when you’re playing stereophonic sounds tho?
you can call it orientations or perspective or something, i’m not sure how to describe it
30 % of people have ear canals that run up instead of down. If you’re in this category anything that fits into your ear needs to be put in upside down. Otherwise they will keep falling out or be extremely uncomfortable.