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Originally Posted by AshleyNG2
I've got a problem with my HTC earphones (or myself) and I'm just wondering if anybody else had the same issue or if anybody can guide me on what to do.
Basically, after listening to the earphones I would get what I believe is a mild electric shock in my ear every now and then and obviously I don't keep it in my ear after that as it could potentially be fatal (?) and it isn't a nice feeling ! I rang up my contract peoples and they sent me a new set of the handsfree earphones which I received earlier today but after about 5minutes of listening to them I experienced the same 'shock' feeling !! I also tried the first earphones in my iPod whilst at the gym and I got the 'shock' then too and the iPod wasn't even turned on. Hopefully this has happened to somebody else (not hopefully in a bad way) as reading this back makes me sound a little crazy lol !
Thanks for any advice too,
- Ash
Originally Posted by RalphS
Nothing to do with mobiles, but I get static electricity shocks from my metal cased 'in-ear' phones on the treadmills in the gym.
The treadmill "belt" being a good insulator; Similar in principal to a Van de Graff generator.
Keeps me on my toes....
You'd think so, it being a rubber belt and all (at least partially, actually there's a lot of vinyl in the mix), but in fact, they're a static electricity GENERATOR.
I've been a treadmill repairman for 10 years, and I have seen some weird electrical stuff... I even have a video of some fibers "caught" in the treadmill belt's electrical static charge field, "orbiting" (not touching!) the rear roller like a moon!
Treadmills have a grounding system designed to discharge this static, which can malfunction, or may never have been correctly installed in the first place.
If you're getting mild shocks, there are 3 main potential causes (or combinations, but we'll assume for the sake of simplicity one is a main cause, possible contributing causes we'll attempt to eliminate later)
1. The headphones are at fault- I'd recommend repeating that experiment to verify you didn't confuse the old headphones with the new ones, I assume they're identical?
2. You're especially sensitive to electrical current- indicated by you reporting that you got shocked using two different headphones and two different music players.
Do you get mild shocks when holding the heart rate sensor grips on the treadmill? These work by sending a tiny electrical charge through your skin, and measuring the change in resistance as blood pumps through your skin, creating an average of your heart rate it then displays.
Most people don't feel this charge, some are sensitive to it and do.
3. The treadmill's static charge is too high, either just for you because you're oversensitive, or because the treadmill's ground system is not working, or not working well enough, or was never installed correctly (or at all) by the person assembling the treadmill in he first place.
Try switching treadmills and see if you have the same problem. If not, notify the management that the other treadmill may need maintenance, the grounding system is there for a reason, and if it's not working, that static charge is slowly breaking that very expensive commercial treadmill.
Each resistor, capacitor, etc., every component in the electrical system has a 5-20% variance in what voltage it should be, so you may be better off on another treadmill.
You might also try cutting your salt/sodium intake, salt will make your skin more conductive, and that's good for you anyway.
As I alluded to earlier, it might also be a combination of your sensitivity and the headphones or the treadmill. Maybe switching to a bluetooth headset would be the solution for you if you're overly sensitive.
Another possibility that occurred to me is that you may have a pimple deep inside your ear canal? Do you eat junk food, greasy food?
Whatever the cause, the voltages are not enough to make it a safety concern, just a comfort one. In other words, fatality is not possible.
Hope this helps!
I've been a treadmill repairman for 10 years, and I have seen some weird electrical stuff... I even have a video of some fibers "caught" in the treadmill belt's electrical static charge field, "orbiting" (not touching!) the rear roller like a moon!
Treadmills have a grounding system designed to discharge this static, which can malfunction, or may never have been correctly installed in the first place.
If you're getting mild shocks, there are 3 main potential causes (or combinations, but we'll assume for the sake of simplicity one is a main cause, possible contributing causes we'll attempt to eliminate later)
1. The headphones are at fault- I'd recommend repeating that experiment to verify you didn't confuse the old headphones with the new ones, I assume they're identical?
2. You're especially sensitive to electrical current- indicated by you reporting that you got shocked using two different headphones and two different music players.
Do you get mild shocks when holding the heart rate sensor grips on the treadmill? These work by sending a tiny electrical charge through your skin, and measuring the change in resistance as blood pumps through your skin, creating an average of your heart rate it then displays.
Most people don't feel this charge, some are sensitive to it and do.
3. The treadmill's static charge is too high, either just for you because you're oversensitive, or because the treadmill's ground system is not working, or not working well enough, or was never installed correctly (or at all) by the person assembling the treadmill in he first place.
Try switching treadmills and see if you have the same problem. If not, notify the management that the other treadmill may need maintenance, the grounding system is there for a reason, and if it's not working, that static charge is slowly breaking that very expensive commercial treadmill.
Each resistor, capacitor, etc., every component in the electrical system has a 5-20% variance in what voltage it should be, so you may be better off on another treadmill.
You might also try cutting your salt/sodium intake, salt will make your skin more conductive, and that's good for you anyway.
As I alluded to earlier, it might also be a combination of your sensitivity and the headphones or the treadmill. Maybe switching to a bluetooth headset would be the solution for you if you're overly sensitive.
Another possibility that occurred to me is that you may have a pimple deep inside your ear canal? Do you eat junk food, greasy food?
Whatever the cause, the voltages are not enough to make it a safety concern, just a comfort one. In other words, fatality is not possible.
Hope this helps!
Originally Posted by MD5Hash 
I've had the HTC Desire for four months, but only started wearing the 'phones last month on my way to work. It's January in Wisconsin, so very dry air and these things always give me little unpleasant prickles throughout my ears. It's not painful but always make me jolt a little bit because it's unexpected and random.
I owned an iPod Touch for two years and it never occurred with their headphones, or a sony in-ear set that I also used (but recently lost, which is why I'm using the stock HTC Desire ones).
I feel that HTC should provide us with better-designed headphones that don't have any conducting pieces in contact with the skin.
For all our scientific advancement, there's still LOTS we DON'T know about electricity, like how a vacuum can hold a charge, etc.
Sometimes, the only way to see an effect is to build the product, and there will be minor variances in each thing produced, sometimes adding up to completely unexpected behavior; i.e., plastic being problematically conductive where normally it's level of conductivity is not enough to cause discomfort in 99% of users... best thing to do is let the manufacturer know what's happening, test the warranty replacement for same effect, if it still bugs you, it's either you or it, if there are no other pertinent factors...
Sometimes, the only way to see an effect is to build the product, and there will be minor variances in each thing produced, sometimes adding up to completely unexpected behavior; i.e., plastic being problematically conductive where normally it's level of conductivity is not enough to cause discomfort in 99% of users... best thing to do is let the manufacturer know what's happening, test the warranty replacement for same effect, if it still bugs you, it's either you or it, if there are no other pertinent factors...
