One of the problems with using earphones to listen to your music is background noise. If you turn up the volume enough to drown out other distractions, you can easily damage your hearing; if you leave the volume at a safe level, the noise around you can seriously distract your from your music. One option is to pick up a pair of Noise Cancelling Headphones, which allow you to hear your music properly, at a normal volume level, whilst reducing the amount of other sounds that make it to your ear drums. Also, if you are around other people, they will be a lot happier to not be forced to listen to your albums