I looked in the cage, and nothing looks out of the ordinary, other than possibly that blob of silicone or whatever on the top right. Also the dust inside has a metallic, shiny glimmer to it. Not sure if that's normal. I'll search for a replacement stick and change it. In the meantime, I'll try and find homes for those new caps.
John, when you said remove the socket, it went right over my head
. I was planning on putting my ear close to the socket while it was plugged in and the set was on.