u/demonroses

I have the Quietcomfort earbuds II and I just removed the rubber pieces and cleaned them very gently with a qtip and some rubbing alcohol on the outside. Now when I tried to use them for the first time since that, the sound quality has dropped substantially. Did I do something to them somehow?? I was really careful while cleaning them, I know they’re delicate. This ever happen to anyone else? Did I permanently fuck them up?