Remote on Headphones not working...and it isn't fluff

Hi,

So today randomly the remote on my (latest Apple) headphones stopped working. As in it won't play, pause, skip, adjust the volume, or start voice control. I know it's not the "fluff" people on other threads have talked about swabbing out of your headphone jack because a) I tried that and b) the remote doesn't work on multiple devices I've use it with in the past. I don't know if this is related to the wire because I hear sound out of the right plug, but the remote on the right wire doesn't work. And this literally just happened today.

I bought an iPod touch 4G last September w/ Apple Care, and then bought the remote headphones for $30 from apple in February. Does the AppleCare cover these, even if I didn't buy them with the iPod? (probably not, stupid question). Can I swap these for new ones after 7 1/2 months? I'm not paying $30 AGAIN because the remote feature just stopped working one day, in the middle of a bunch of days of normal usage. And that feature is the reason I went and spent the $30.

Any suggestions? Any policy/warranty stuff? Anything will be appreciated since I use the play/pause/volume buttons pretty much every day.

Thanks!

Jake