I have a set of IEMs that I bought at least 8 years ago, and they still work fine. And the wire is even replaceable, though I haven't needed to do so.
If your wired headphones are only lasting a couple months, then likely you're buying at a price point where quality suffers.
Agree with the tangle of wire, though.
I solved the tangle issue going on years now with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z8G6VH4?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_...
You accustom to the wrap-unwrap motion and then that's it.
I'm looking for long lasting iems myself -- the bunny ears that I recently bought had the cables die on me pretty fast. What are your recs ?
Anything from Etymotic never failed me. The current ER3 SE has been going for 7 years, and the cable is replaceable (when/if it fails — they're still on the original cable).
All Etys have a peculiar love/hate neutral sound profile, so you should try them before committing to them. I exclusively listen to podcasts, so they're a perfect match.
I have the Shure SE215 which has a replaceable cable.
I also have a pair of Shure IEMs, some 15-16 years old. They still work great, but I've been through at least 2 cables with them, plus an additional 3rd party Lightning cable. I've then switched to BT and couldn't be happier.
Yeah, paying a tad bit more for earphones with replaceable cables pays dividends. A cable doesn't cost much, and you also get much better sound quality (which has to count, right? Since BT sound quality often comes as an argument).
I also have a pair of these and they sound really good. Then I received a pair of the Shure Aonic 4s for Christmas one year and those sound amazing. As an added bonus, the passive noise isolation with proper fitting eartips beats any noise cancellation I've ever seen.