How To Use Ear Hooks & Ear Wings (Keep Your Earbuds in Place)

Here’s everything you need to know about ear wings and hooks.

P.S. Wondering how to wear those bloody ear hooks without looking like a fool? Find out below.

How to Wear Ear Hooks & Ear Wings for Dummies

Ear hooks and ear wings often come with sports headphones that need extra stability. But how exactly do you wear them properly?

It’s quite simple:

1. Figure out the right sides (the right side should look like in the picture below)

That’s the hard part.

2. Insert the earbuds inside the ear canal and then hook the earhook behind your earlobe (or the other way around if you prefer it)

3. Play around with the angle, insertion to find the most comfortable fit for you

4. Bravo! You’ve learned how to use ear hooks and avoid eternal shame.

But, not all earphones have ear hooks or wings. Many, like the Apple AirPods, don’t have them, which often makes them fall out.

However, you can still get aftermarket hooks with a universal design that fits many different earbuds.

Stability is absolutely crucial when running or exercising.

The best way to tackle the problem is to use hooks and wings. These designs are common now, and more people are moving to in-ear headphones. See the best workout headphones, many come with wings.

EarPods and AirPods have been one of the key reasons for this growth. They don’t come with wings or hooks, so people have made compatible versions.

What’s the Difference Between Ear Hooks and Ear Wings?

• Ear wings sit inside the earlobe, and usually fix themselves in the Cymba conchae region

• Ear hooks shape around the outer side of the ear to keep the headphones stable (you’ve seen the picture above)

Key Features of Ear Hooks for Earbuds

What are the key features of ear hooks?

Should I buy ear hooks separately or buy a new pair of earbuds?

What should you look out for when you’re shopping for true wireless earbuds or other forms of wireless headphones?

Flexibility

The ear hooks need to be flexible enough to fit around ears of different shapes and sizes. It should be easy enough to get them around your ears.

The most common material is flexible silicone. Manufacturers are trying to make their ear hooks adjustable, so they’re suitable for everybody, to avoid needing different sizes.

Stability

As well as needing to be flexible, stability is key. They can’t keep falling off your ears otherwise, they are totally pointless. If you’re buying workout headphones or earbuds then stability is vital.

PowerBeats Pro have ear hooks and are one of the best for sports.

Also, rubbing can occur if they don’t sit in a stable position. This leads to the next issue…

Comfort

Hard, chaffing materials and unstable fit can rub on the skin and cause discomfort. Also, if they’re too hard and tight, they’ll hurt over time.

Durability

The hooks need to stay attached to the headphones and stay strong enough, so they don’t fall apart or need replacing after a few weeks.

The pair of wireless earbuds may need to be replaced as the wings can’t always be bought separately.

How Much Ear Hooks and Wings Cost

Here’s a ballpark figure of how much ear hooks and ear wings cost.

Also, we’ve briefly looked at both buying the ear hooks separately and buying wireless in-ear headphones with hooks attached as part of the design.

Ear Hook & Wing Headphones

If you are looking to buy headphones that already have wings attached, there are a lot of choices.

• You can find inexpensive wireless earbuds under $30 that have an ear hook design.
• Mid-range is anywhere from $50 to $100.
• At the top end of the market, you might be looking at spending $150-$250.

Our guide to the best ear hook headphones shows a number of models at different price ranges.

Buying Ear Hooks Separately

You can buy hooks for an existing pair of headphones. Also, you can buy replacement ear hooks for models that have them as part of the design.

There are many aftermarket hooks and wings for EarPods or AirPods. They tend to cost between $10 and $30. This is for a multipack.

Best Ear Hooks for Ear Buds

Below are the best ear hooks to buy for your wireless earbuds.

EarBuddyz 2.0 Ear Hooks for AirPods

Compatible: AirPods, EarPods
Style: Ear wings
Material: Silicone

These are brilliant ear wings, sold to convert your Apple AirPods of EarPods to a winged design. They’re incredibly easy to attach, and the soft silicone design is comfortable. They’re very affordable and sold as a pack of 3 (6 wings in total) for extra value.

AhaStyle Ear Hooks for AirPods

Compatible: AirPods, EarPods
Style: Ear hooks
Material: Silicone

The AhaStyle AirPods are also suited for use with both AirPods and EarPods. The hooks come in two different sizes so you can use those best suited to you. They also have a smart design that makes better noise isolating headphones out of AirPods.

EARBUDi Ear Hooks for EarPods

Compatible: EarPods
Style: Ear hooks
Material: Silicone

The EARBUDi hooks are bigger in design than many of the others. They loop around for extra stability and are suitable for people who need their ear hooks for exercise. The extra stability is handy. They do work with EarPods (wired) but not the wireless design, the AirPods. They’re also available in different colors.

Far End Gear BudLoks Earphone Sport Grips

Compatible: Universal (including EarPods)
Style: Ear hooks
Material: Silicone

These ear hooks are sold in three different sizes. They are compatible with other earbuds, too, but can be a bit hit and miss. They also offer a tight fit to stay in place, though they’re not the most comfortable. The BudLoks are sold in black or white designs.

Earhoox 2.0 – for Apple EarPods & AirPods

Compatible: AirPods, EarPods
Style: Ear hooks
Material: Silicone

Earhoox 2.0 are compatible with Apple earbuds (EarPods and AirPods). They fit either with ease and make them snugly fit within the ear. They’re very durable and also provide some extra isolation. This can improve the sound quality, though this is subjective.

How to Choose Ear Hooks for Earbuds

You need to decide what you are looking for from your buds. Do you need durable earbuds, stable to stand up to exercise? Do you need to avoid losing earbuds by keeping them tight to your ears?

Make sure the ear hooks you choose are suitable and compatible with your earphones. Be careful not to choose the wrong ones accidentally.

Some of the ear accessories claim to help sound isolation and assist the audio. This is a bonus feature, but the actual effects are minimal.

• For earphones (classical earbuds) there’s not much you can do about noise isolation.
• With in-ear earphones, you can change the ear tips to rightly-sized memory foam tips that fit in the ear canal tightly.

Apart from that, the main thing you should look for is stability and comfort.

Matija Ferjan

Matija Ferjan is a seasoned audio enthusiast reviewing headphones since 2015. He has personally tested hundreds of headphones and earbuds. He’s an active member of the Headphone Audio community and a true nitpicker, always looking for the “best-value-for-money” headphones.