Headphones don’t go into iPhone 5c

My solution was to get a Shure mic/clicker (about $30-40) and combine it with a pair of sony headphones from amazon. The shure is a really good mic has lasted and lasted and lasted, and the headphones while only $10 sound much better than the apple ones, and when they crap out (about 1.5-2 yrs) are a trivial expense. It's a little more unwieldy than the all in one unit but it's much more durable and cheaper in the long run. I originally did this to get around the nonstandard headphone jack on the 1st gen iphone, but now I stay with it because it's so reliable

@Gerry was right: there was dust or lint in the jack that was preventing the headphones from fully seating. I couldn't see it, but I used the end of a floss pick to clean it out and that fixed it. The headphones stay in so snugly now that I can actually lift the phone by pulling on them (not that I would do that normally; I just wanted to confirm it really worked!).

Amazing that just a little bit of dust could make all the difference. I'm just relieved that the phone itself wasn't damaged somehow since it's out of warranty.