What if you can't hear one?How to deal with earphone troubles that you should remember

Many people will enjoy music and videos while commuting to work or school. "Earphones" are now an indispensable item. However, when using earphones, one may not be heard. Here are three causes and ways to fix them before considering repairs or replacements.

What is the cause when one of the earphones cannot be heard?

It would be a problem if you could only hear one of the earphones you use all the time. I'm disappointed if I just bought it.

Once you know the cause, the solution will be clear, so let's find out the cause. There are three main reasons why you can hear only one earphone.

Configuration problem

If you can't hear one of the earphones, it may be due to a misconfiguration. Especially for "wireless earphones", there may be cases where Bluetooth pairing is not successful. To check, let's unpair and reconfigure.

Another possible problem is the volume setting. Especially in the case of a personal computer, the balance between the left and right volume of the sound can be changed, so if the balance setting is incorrect, you may hear only one of them.

Earphone or cord issues

It is possible that the earphone or cord itself is out of order. If you use the same earphones for many years, they may break due to deterioration over time or strong impact.

In particular, low-priced earphones are inevitably weak in durability and are prone to failure and disconnection. Of course, if only one earphone is broken, you will not be able to hear only one. In this case, repair or replacement will be required, so be sure to handle it carefully.

In the case of wireless earphones, the battery of the earphone itself may be dead.

contact failure

Poor contact is one of the reasons why one earphone cannot be heard. You may expect dust and dirt to stick to the plugs of your earphones, but sometimes oxidation can form a film that requires careful care.

It seems that some people think that "the earphones do not need to be cleaned", but if you leave them as they are, you may not be able to connect properly, you may hear only one or the volume may be low, so be careful. Let's attach it.

How to fix in case of smartphone

Then, I will introduce the "how to fix" that you are interested in. First, let's see how to fix smartphones, which are indispensable to many people in their daily lives.

For iPhone

Here's what iPhone users should try when one of their earphones becomes inaudible:

It's a rudimentary thing, but there are cases where the volume is unexpectedly zero and you can't hear the sound. It's a pattern that makes me wonder what that is.

Also, stop other apps running in the background and check the Bluetooth connection and audio output destination.

If you really don't know the solution, restarting the iPhone itself may help.

For Android

Even if you can only hear one earphone on Android, basically check the same as iPhone.

If you can't hear sound from the earphones or hear sound from the speakers even though the earphones are connected, it is recommended to restart Android first.

If that doesn't work, try connecting the earphones to another smartphone or TV and check if they can be used normally. Also, make sure that the earphone jack is free of dust and dirt, and clean it just in case. It can be cleaned with an air spray, cotton swab, toothpick, etc.

Also check that the volume is not zero and that there are no problems with the installed apps.

If wireless, try re-pairing

For Bluetooth wireless earphones, try re-pairing first. If you can only hear one, it is possible that only one has been paired. It may also be a misconfiguration.

Another unexpected blind spot is when only one is out of charge. Dust may have accumulated in the charging case and charging may not have been successful. Not only the Bluetooth earphones, but also the care of the earphone charging case is important.

How to fix in case of PC

In the case of a PC, the cause is often a "sound setting error", except for the failure of the PC itself or earphones. Know the solution to enjoy the sound comfortably on your PC.

Here's what you should try for both Windows and Mac when you can't hear one of your earphones on your PC.

For Windows

If you can't hear one of the earphones in Windows 10, check if there is a problem with the balance between the left and right volumes.

There is a "speaker" icon on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Right-click on it and click "Open Sound Settings".

The "Sound" setting screen will open. Click "Device Properties" under "Output". This "balance" will be displayed, so check if the volume on either the right or left is zero, or if the volumes on the left and right are different.

For Mac

For Mac, it is the same as Windows, so first check the balance of the left and right volumes. Operate as follows.

1. Open "System Preferences"

2. Select "Sound"

3. Open "Output Tab"

4. Return "balance" to the center of the left and right

The cause of the imbalance between the left and right is unknown, but surprisingly many people have solved it this way. It's easy to check, so give it a try.

How to fix in case of TV

Some people may be watching TV with earphones because they are concerned about sound leakage to the surroundings. Here's a solution you'll want to try if the earphones connected to your TV only produce sound from one side.

The point is whether the TV is "monaural" or "stereo".

In the case of monaural

If you're using an older TV, make sure it's monaural. When I plug in a stereo earphone to a monaural TV, I can only hear one (left side). Plugging in monaural earphones should be fine, but plugging in stereo earphones causes problems.

To plug a stereo earphone into a monaural plug and hear both, you need an "adapter" to convert from monaural to stereo. If you are not particular about earphones, you can buy monaural earphones as there are binaural types. You can buy it at a large electronics store or on the Internet.

It seems that there are still more monaural TVs in hospitals. In that case, try a conversion adapter.

For stereo

If you can hear only one of them even though it is stereo, there may be a problem with the earphone itself or poor contact. If dust collects in the earphone jack or if it is inserted shallowly, you may hear only one of them. Make sure to insert it all the way.

It's surprisingly easy to collect dust, so it's best to clean it regularly with a cotton swab or tissue. When cleaning, handle it carefully so as not to put too much force on it. It will cause a malfunction.