I ’ve successfully removed my Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220 earphones thousands of times in the few month I ’ve had them . Today , however , I spoil the surgical operation .
The whole matter transpire at the Gizmodo office in New York City this good afternoon . Right when I removed my earphones I knew something was wrong . I quick looked down at the cords in my fist and saw one earbud ’s driver , bare , without its protective gum elastic sleeve . My veneration tighten into a knot in my stomach .
Without thinking I tried to tweet the plastic cup out with my nails , but this only push it deeper into my ear canal . At this breaker point I started to panic a fiddling — I could feel the piece of plastic deep in my ear and was experiencing that unique irritation that follow with having a foreign target in your body when you do n’t want it there .
Determined , I kept pinching at it with my fingers , but that only drove it deeper and deep . My imaginativeness turn against me . “ What if I ca n’t get this matter out , ” I marvel . “ What if this bankrupt my hearing , ” I thought . I tried fight on the back of my pinna , where it connects to the skull , trust to get up behind the earbud and press it out from the inside . That did n’t work either .
At this point I could barely even strain the shaping man with my finger . As you could see in the photograph above , only a sliver could be take care peek out of my ear epithelial duct , like a crescent moon .
Through all of this , I tried to keep the problem discreet , but eventually I had to allow in to myself that I was n’t going to get this fucker out by myself . Reluctantly , I let the two Gizmodo houseman in on my shameful secret .
I offer the idea that we fish it out with a Biro pen , but they quick brush off that ( apparently the earbud was beseech against the problem solving part of my brain , because this was understandably a dreadful idea ) . Intern Kevin leap into action mechanism and after some rooting around in the office return with a pair of charge card tweezer .
As he bend my head to the side , he said something about having shaky hands , but at that point I was barely lucid . I feel the plastic push button deeper for a moment , and then felt it joggle side to side for a little longer . Then , in the end , I felt my spike canal intimation for the first prison term in min that had seemed like hr . The earbud was removed !
So have this be a lesson to you all : treat your earpiece gently . Most of the time it ’s smashing that they fit so snugly in your ear . But some of the time that perfect fit can be a nightmare .
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