Technology through the Ears

When purchasing an aviation headset there are many factors to consider, some obvious, some not; price and comfort being the two most obvious – we all have different sized pockets and different-shaped heads. Our choice of aircraft will often be a consideration, whether we are working or playing in the aircraft, the current state of our hearing, our level of resilience to "clamp ache", whether we can fit sunglasses on with the headset comfortably, how tall we are, or how much we hate headset hair.

There are many that will have an opinion that this brand, that type, or that model are the best, or that the in-ear headsets aren’t as good as the muff-type, but it is hard to find independent scientific research that will back up these claims in the public domain. The manufacturers of in-ear aviation headsets claim that in-ear headsets can match or, in some cases, are even better than some cup-type sets in terms of how well they reduce noise or produce clarity of sound.

First things first, what’s the choice? Well, there are quite a few including a myriad of cheaper, only-buy-on-the-internet versions, but this article will