Ear Ache / Pain from iPod Classic 160GB 7G

I recently bought an iPod Classic 7th generation 160GB iPod from Amazon. I really need this iPod because I have so much music, that the 160GB of space is amazing.

I love the original look and feel of the iPod as it reminds me of the older ones I have had a while back. However, after syncing my library onto the iPod and having listened to a few songs, I started to feel sharp pains on the inside of my ear that even lasts for a while after I stop listening. It is horrible.

Now, I know most people would immediately come to the conclusion that it would be my ear buds and not the device. I am not using the standard apple earphones that came with the iPod, however I am using the newer, Apple Earbuds. The thing is, I can plug these earbuds into my iPhone 3GS, my older iPod Touch 2G, and practically any other device and not feel any pain at all.

I have also played around with what I feel is a very limited EQ, trying all the different settings there, with no change. And I also read somewhere about pulling the volume limit down to increase the quality of the playback, but this didn't help either.

Anyone have suggestions? resolutions? going through the same problem? Because if I can't fix this I don't want to damage my ears, which means I'll need to send it back, which is something I really don't want to do.

Thanks,

Rob.