General educational reading. Not professional advice. For hearing symptoms, safety decisions, or medical concerns, talk to a qualified professional.
What wireless got right
Modern Bluetooth codecs and chips have closed most of the gap for casual listening. For podcasts, audiobooks, and most music on the move, the loss is inaudible to most people.
Where wired still wins
Long flights and full workdays of listening favor wired headphones. No battery, no pairing, no firmware. Audiophile gear running balanced cables is also still firmly a wired story.
Latency
For video, the gap is now small but not zero. Most apps compensate automatically. For gaming on phones it still matters; for watching shows it usually doesn't.
Which to buy
If you have a phone with a headphone jack, a $30 wired pair will outclass $80 of wireless. If you don't, mid-range wireless earbuds have become genuinely good.