Introduction: Foam Headphone Pads

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About: I miss the days when magazines like Popular Mechanics had all sorts of DIY projects for making and repairing just about everything. I am enjoying posting things I have learned and done since I got my first to…

I have an audio player on my nightstand. The foam pads become loose after a year or two and come off too easily. The headphone speaker is very uncomfortable on my ear when sandwiched between my ear and the pillow with no pad. I decided to make my own replacement pad(s). The photo shows a black replacement pad from Radio Shack. The one for the left side slipped off several times. The square piece of foam on the left speaker is one I made in a few minutes.

Materials

  • Polyurethane foam 1 inch thick

Tools

  • A sharp knife

Step 1: Separate the Speaker From the Headband

See the text box. The knife point is on a release nodule. Press it downward lightly and pull the speaker from the headphone. (These phones are made by Sony and came with a personal CD/MP3 player I still use.) The second photo shows the speaker separated from the headband.

Step 2: Cut Out a Foam Piece

I cut a simple square of foam sized to fit generously around the headphone. The foam could be cut to make a rounded piece, or it could be trimmed later. I will use these headphones only in my bedroom and am not worried about how they look to the public.

Step 3: Create an Envelope

My knife is sharp enough that I can begin a gentle sawing motion and open an envelope inside the foam. I tried to be very careful to keep the knife parallel to the surfaces of the foam so I did not cut through to one side or the other.

See the second photo. I inserted my fingers to determine where I needed to open the envelope more so there would be space for the speaker.

See the third photo. Test fit the speaker in the foam envelope. Make an opening for the bow that connects to the headband. See the text box.

Step 4: How It Should Look

The photo shows the speaker fully encased in the piece of foam. All that remains is to slip the headband into the bow fitting extending out the top of the foam and let it snap into place. See the second photo.

No matter how I turn my head or mistreat my headphones, the foam pad will not slip off of the headphone speaker. Once I would have stopped at Radio Shack and bought a replacement set of foam pads, but Radio Shack stores are fewer and harder to find. I could have bought a set over the Internet, but I wanted a pad now. In a few minutes I made my own from scrap foam we have been saving. I could trim the corners and maybe even round them on a sanding drum. I could also paint my pad to match the rest of the headphone, or I could use a more suitably colored foam next time.

This headphone pad is very comfortable, more comfortable than replacement pads I could purchase. And, it will not come off.