How to Enjoy Stereo Music and Podcasts Using Just One Earbud

At times, you may want to enjoy music, podcasts, or audiobooks while keeping one ear open to your surroundings. But if the content—be it a song, podcast, or even a binaural ASMR dub of Steamed Hams—is in stereo, some sounds will only play through the earbud you’re not using. To solve this, you can enable a setting on your phone or computer that adjusts the audio.

For iOS Devices

1. Launch the Settings app

2. Tap on Accessibility (located in the third section of options)

3. Under Hearing, select Audio/Visual

4. Enable the Mono Audio toggle

For Android Devices

1. Open the Settings app

2. Select Accessibility

3. Under Audio & on-screen text, enable the Mono audio option

For Mac Computers

1. Launch System Preferences

2. Click on Accessibility

3. In the Hearing section on the left, click on Audio

4. Enable the Play stereo audio as mono option

For Windows Computers

1. Open Settings

2. Select Ease of Access

3. Choose Other options

4. Turn on the Mono audio toggle

Now, audio from both channels will play through each earbud. This way, you can catch every note and beat in Pink Floyd’s “Money,” or follow both sides of a well-crafted scripted podcast, even if one earbud is hanging loose.