Me too.
I got an i-Pod mini about a month ago, and the ear-buds are almost unlistenable now. Anyone experiencing this distortion should realize that this means the tiny speaker in the ear-bud is blown -- most likely for receiving too much low-frequency energy and being driven beyond the excursion limits of the driver. You must replace them.
For anyone wanting to explore the state-of-the-art in ear buds, these made by
Shure are INCREDIBLE.
j-