Ear buds not working correctly when plugged into iPhone 6 after working for months. And they still work when plugged into an iPad Air 2

In March of this year I bought an iPad Air 2 and then an iPhone 6. Until September, when I would plug the supplied ear buds into my iPhone everything worked fine,. Now, when I plug in the buds, I can hear sounds, and the microphone works, but the controls on the buds don't. thinking it coul be the uds, I tried them in the iPad and they work fine there. Help?