Not cleaning your earbuds can lead to a slew of nasty outcomes. Author: Jeremy Baker Updated: 10:24 PM CDT July 26, 2021 SAN ANTONIO — Most of us have at least one pair of earbuds. But could they cause more harm than good? The first single ear listening device was used in the 1880s by telephone operators. With the guidance of the Navy a man by the name of Nathaniel Baldwin invented headphones in 1910. Fast forward to 1979 and the Sony Walkman and those tiny padded puppies. And in 2015 the first wireless earbuds were made by the Japanese company Onkyo. "I probably use them like maybe two, three or four hours a day," said Cross Mendoza, who loves his earbuds. "I use them quite a bit just because, you know, they lock in the sound and it kind of distracts me from everything else."