Just thought I would post this as a reference for anybody that is experiencing the "crackling" noise in your ear speaker. My ear speaker recently started crackling very bad and it was hard to hear the person I was on the phone with. Even with the volume turned down about half way, I could still hear a little crackling sound but could barely hear the other person. I thought I had blown the speaker and was about to order a replacement online, when I decided to do some searching. I found the solution. It may sound crazy and a little weird, but it worked for me. To fix the crackling noise, put your mouth on the ear speaker and blown in and suck out. After I did this my speaker worked like normal again. I guess the vacuum and pressure moves the speaker cone and gets it straightened out.