I haven?t even ran into any issues swapping between only using one earbud to stereo or vice versa. I don?t know if pine sap caused the damage, or was this item painted and then assembled too soon? Not sure. I bought one pair to try this brand. Daughter lost the ear buds the first day at work. I hope it will help with your decision of buying it. These are exactly as advertised and easy to replace. D?), but Regular fits almost everyone. When I got them in July 2018 I figured if they lasted to the end of summer Id be satisfied. Strap is robust but quite soft. overall nice looking unit.