Problem with 3rd Generation Airpods

I recently purchased 3rd generation Airpods after having used 2nd generation Airpods for over 3.5 years. However, I've noticed some problems with the 3rd generation Airpods:

Immediately after trying them for the first time, I noticed that the left airpod is much louder than the right airpod. I've checked the volume output balance for my airpods under "Accessibility", but even though it shows that the output is balanced across both airpods, the left airpod continues to be much louder than the right. Of course, I compensated for this by simply adjusting the output so that it's heavier on the right airpod, but this in turn messes with the audio quality a little, and is generally pretty annoying.

Also, I was able to hear a lot more background noise with the generation 3 airpods compared to when I used my old generation 2 airpods. This makes the audio sound "airy" or slightly "higher pitched" than what I'm used to, which also bothers me. Is this supposed to happen, or is there an issue with my airpods?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can fix the issues above? The left airpod being louder than the right is pretty bothersome, since when I Facetime with my generation 3 airpods, the volume output is set to equal (0.0) and can't be changed, so I can't compensate for the fact that my left airpod is louder than the right. I'm not sure if my airpods have issues, or my ears, or if I'm just not used to the generation 3 airpods yet.