honestly the brass ones drove me nuts after the first week of use... that darn tarnish can be a pain to clean on the inside where the hole goes down into. But once i got the stainless I put the brass ones in a little baggy that came with the stainless t-tips and haven't touched them since. Of course they do have the small original holes so that maybe a small facter for not using them as well.
Just stick with either the colored t-tips or get stainless or aluminum... but i prefer the stainless... do to the weight and looks.