I found this article quite amusing.
In my childhood, we had portable transistor radios and cassette players. It never bothered me if someone wanted to play music or listen to a sports broadcast on their portable thing. Maybe there was more space between people.
There is not as much space between people in a train carriage, bus stop, restaurant, coffee shop. What has happened to courtesy and good manners? There is so much selfishness and entitlement now. Someone wants to listen to their smartphone and thinks the rest of the world should either put up or shut up!
I find the “open ear” style of earphones very comfortable. They don’t have a plug going into the ear canal. They have a hook over the ear so they can’t easily fall off. I can keep the “open ear” earphones on for so long that I forget that I was wearing them. They don’t work as well as in ear buds in noisy public places. They’re perfect if you’re in a train carriage / library or a not too busy coffee shop.