Halo in ear headsets

[Danb]

Finally received mine and am not happy as yet, tried the yellow foam inserts all the way in my ear with little noise reduction, was very pleased with the lightness and comfort let alone not being hot. Tips and tricks are welcome I don't want to give up on them.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

I think it's a matter of personal preference. I bought the Clarity Alofts a couple years ago and really tried to like them, but at the end of the day I preferred my Lightspeed Zulus, which were quieter and had better sound quality.

[Andy95W]

Probably depends on your ear canals.  The yellow inserts in my ears take a while to expand fully and completely block the noise.  You might want to try some of the other inserts.  The black silicone ones work very well for me also, especially in the winter when the cold yellow plugs take way too long to warm up and expand.

[peevee]

30 minutes ago, Joe Zuffoletto said:

I think it's a matter of personal preference. I bought the Clarity Alofts a couple years ago and really tried to like them, but at the end of the day I preferred my Lightspeed Zulus, which were quieter and had better sound quality.

I'm the same with the halos. I sold mine after a few flights and stick with bose a20s

many people love the halo and clarity aloft though.

there's a video on phil's youtube that shows the correct angle to insert, it is possible you're not getting all the way in the ear canal? it requires a somewhat awkward angle.

[Marauder]

Dan -- love my Halos, the Claritys not so much. I find the black inserts work best. These ones.

If you find the black inserts don't work for you, let me know. Maybe you can try my Claritys and if you like them better, we could do some sort of CB horse trading.

[PMcClure]

I have halos, a Bose, Zulu and 2 sets standard of DC's in my plane. Everyone who gets in wants a different headset. I prefer the Zulu but find I get a headache from clamping force. So I use the halo's on the 2nd leg of long trips. 

 

[markejackson02]

42 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

Probably depends on your ear canals.  The yellow inserts in my ears take a while to expand fully and completely block the noise.  You might want to try some of the other inserts.  The black silicone ones work very well for me also, especially in the winter when the cold yellow plugs take way too long to warm up and expand.

Plus one on the black silicone.  You have to insert them carefully.  Roll them until they are very compact, reach over your head with opposite hand, pull up on your ear, insert, let expand, then release your ear.If they are fully inserted they are pretty good.  Not quite as good as my Zulu but a lot more comfortable after three hours.

[nels]

1 hour ago, Joe Zuffoletto said:

I think it's a matter of personal preference. I bought the Clarity Alofts a couple years ago and really tried to like them, but at the end of the day I preferred my Lightspeed Zulus, which were quieter and had better sound quality.

Joe. I've mentioned this before but feel it's worth mentioning again, in my opinion just because the noise cancelling headsets seem to cancel noise well doesn't mean they really are doing what you have been led to believe. When I got back into flying about four or five years ago I bought a set of Zulu's for a huge amount of money as I thought it was the best thing to do for my hearing health. I honestly believe I was wrong! The low frequencies which we readily recognize are cancelled but not much on the high frequency end. Just turn those NC headsets off sometime while in flight and see how effective they are relative to standard set of head phones. You would think they would be equal to the standard sets when off and even better when they are on but not the case. My high frequency hearing is just about gone as I bought into the sales bs. I've found out just recently that foam earplugs used in conjunction with the noise canceling work pretty well and I can actually hear voice communication over the radio better than with just the Zulu's. My hearing does not seem to be affected anymore after a flight where as before with just noise cancelling my ears would be ringing for some time. As I mentioned in a prior thread, the birds quit singing outside my window in the morning. I would strongly suggest anybody with noise cancelling headsets to try the foam earplugs along with their NC headsets. It's better to try it out now than wish you did when it's too late.

I really don't like preaching but just wish I could turn the clock back four or five years and invest in 10 cents worth of foam ear plugs each time I went out flying.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

15 minutes ago, nels said:

My high frequency hearing is just about gone as I bought into the sales bs. I've found out just recently that foam earplugs used in conjunction with the noise canceling work pretty well and I can actually hear voice communication over the radio better than with just the Zulu's. My hearing does not seem to be affected anymore after a flight where as before with just noise cancelling my ears would be ringing for some time.

I've been flying with Zulus for at least 10 years, and Bose A20s for 7 years before that, and have never experienced hearing loss or tinnitus. As soon as I turn my Zulus on, the background noise goes quiet and I can hear the radio perfectly. We've obviously had opposite experiences, for whatever reason.

[steingar]

I wish i could use those, but my own anatomy prevents it (and gives me a most interesting medical problem).  Like the man said, whatever works for you.

[smccray]

3 hours ago, Danb said:

Tips and tricks are welcome I don't want to give up on them.

Change out the foam tips regularly- the noise blocking degrades slowly as they get used- maybe it's inserting them?  If I go too long replacing them, the new tips work so much better!

[milotron]

52 minutes ago, nels said:

Joe. I've mentioned this before but feel it's worth mentioning again, in my opinion just because the noise cancelling headsets seem to cancel noise well doesn't mean they really are doing what you have been led to believe. When I got back into flying about four or five years ago I bought a set of Zulu's for a huge amount of money as I thought it was the best thing to do for my hearing health. I honestly believe I was wrong! The low frequencies which we readily recognize are cancelled but not much on the high frequency end. Just turn those NC headsets off sometime while in flight and see how effective they are relative to standard set of head phones. You would think they would be equal to the standard sets when off and even better when they are on but not the case. My high frequency hearing is just about gone as I bought into the sales bs. I've found out just recently that foam earplugs used in conjunction with the noise canceling work pretty well and I can actually hear voice communication over the radio better than with just the Zulu's. My hearing does not seem to be affected anymore after a flight where as before with just noise cancelling my ears would be ringing for some time. As I mentioned in a prior thread, the birds quit singing outside my window in the morning. I would strongly suggest anybody with noise cancelling headsets to try the foam earplugs along with their NC headsets. It's better to try it out now than wish you did when it's too late.

I really don't like preaching but just wish I could turn the clock back four or five years and invest in 10 cents worth of foam ear plugs each time I went out flying.

My experience is similar to yours. I just received my Halos and have been happy so far. Trying to figure out the best insert to use, like them so far.

Coincidentally ( I didn't expect the Halos to ever be available! )I had a set of custom ear plugs made that have a musicians filter of 20dBA installed, versus the standard blocking range. The musicians plugs block all frequencies equally, versus foam plugs that block a lot more higher frequencies especially in the speech ranges. I was planning on trying the custom plugs with the A20s to see how that work, but now will also modify some plugs to use with the custom plugs ( removing the 20dB insert ) and see how that works.  

The custom plug vendors website had some good info that I am blatantly stealing to illustrate the above.

 

[nels]

3 hours ago, Joe Zuffoletto said:

I've been flying with Zulus for at least 10 years, and Bose A20s for 7 years before that, and have never experienced hearing loss or tinnitus. As soon as I turn my Zulus on, the background noise goes quiet and I can hear the radio perfectly. We've obviously had opposite experiences, for whatever reason.

Joe, I'm sure I'm older than you and my hearing I'm sure closer to the edge than yours but believe me, your hearing is being damaged. Once you realize you have hearing loss it is too late...it doesn't grow back...it's just gone. I once thought the same as you. This is just a cheap suggestion that you and others should consider.

[Danb]

For sure nels 

[DonMuncy]

We are all losing our hearing, either fast or not as fast. The only real question in what we can do about it. And thus far I have seen a zillion opinions, but no scientifically driven proof of the best way to slow down the hearing loss as much as possible. 

Acceptable answers do not include "don't fly".

[Schinderhannes]

This is copied from an older post titled "Custom Molded Earplugs":

I was never happy with the standard ear tips for my LightSpeed Mach I. After coming across a do it yourself kit for custom molded earplugs for only $10 I gave it a try.    

It took about 30' to form a pair and it was fairly easy to follow the instructions (see below). The kit supplied a little bit less material than I would have liked and the outer surface didn't come out as smooth as shown in the picture on the package. I would recommend ordering to kits for one pair. After letting the plugs cure over night, I drilled small holes from the tip extending into the ear canal to the outside and inserted small plastic tubing with the matching the size of the metal tips on the headsets earpieces. I haven't tried them in the airplane, but I am very pleased with the first ground test using handheld radio and IPAD. Even the microphone piece stays now firm in the ear without using the hinged ear loop. 

JUST 3 EASY STEPS

- Open the containers and separate the colored and white materials into halves, keeping separated.
- Mix one of the colored halves with one of the white halves. Mix until both halves are one consistent color.
- Gently press material into one ear by pushing in the center of the silicone. Let it sit in your ear for 10 minutes, then remove the plug. Repeat steps for second earplug.

Pirep: Noise attenuation is significantly better than with the foam or rubber inserts. I find the ear plugs comfortable on longer flights and even in the desert environment sweating hasn't been in issue for me. Getting the earplugs in and out is a little tricky and I find myself using the Bose for short flights. One issue i did run into was the plastic tube not staying in the silicon pieces. I solved this problem with Uncle Don's superglue. (BTW is stuff is magical a did wonders when repairing my interior) 

[Hank]

I love my Halos, but hate the foamies! I use the white or gray silicone tips that look like trees, three or four tapered flanges. They seal great, are comfortable, easy to roll clean, and don't get hard in the winter (even Ohio and West Virginia winters; my coldest takeoff was 8°F, when I put them in, they feel warm. No waiting for them to expand and fill your ear canal, either.).

Make sure the switch on the volume control box is set to "Stereo" and not to "Mono," the sound is much better. @markejackson02above has the proper insertion method, but with the silicone trees you don't have to roll them, or wait for them to expand. With practice, you can put them in without reaching over your head with the other hand.

If you still don't like them, there's usually enough demand that you can sell them for full price. Or return them for a refund.

Good luck, and fly safe!

[Joe Zuffoletto]

4 hours ago, nels said:

Joe, I'm sure I'm older than you and my hearing I'm sure closer to the edge than yours but believe me, your hearing is being damaged. Once you realize you have hearing loss it is too late...it doesn't grow back...it's just gone. I once thought the same as you. This is just a cheap suggestion that you and others should consider.

3 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

We are all losing our hearing, either fast or not as fast. The only real question in what we can do about it. And thus far I have seen a zillion opinions, but no scientifically driven proof of the best way to slow down the hearing loss as much as possible. 

Acceptable answers do not include "don't fly".

Our hearing is being assaulted from all directions. In my case, flying is one of the least of them.

There are 8,760 hours in a year. I fly 80 hours in a good year. So the damage I'm doing to my ears in airplanes is less than 1% of the total damage my ears are exposed to in a year. And I do the best I can to mitigate that damage.

Sirens. Loud motorcycles and cars. Workplace surprises (construction sites). I'm exposed daily to all the above. And then there's occasional loud music, like the 3 nights I spent in Nashville last month.

We should all try our best to protect our bodies and senses the best we can. But we are all assaulted every day from all directions, and flying airplanes with any kind of noise reduction or passive protection is probably the least of our worries.

Having said all that, nels, I appreciate your concern and your posts. I don't know your age, and it's none of my business, but I think Mr. Muncy is right. Hearing loss is an indisputable and unfortunate by-product of aging. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence in my family to support that. I'm the only pilot in my family, and so far my hearing is normal. But I'm a spring chicken at 53.

Cheers to all.

[midlifeflyer]

15 hours ago, Joe Zuffoletto said:

I think it's a matter of personal preference. I bought the Clarity Alofts a couple years ago and really tried to like them, but at the end of the day I preferred my Lightspeed Zulus, which were quieter and had better sound quality.

Yep. Personal preference. I demoed a Clarity on a flight. Thought the sound was fantastic (and loved how small and light they are) but didn't like the "stuffed ear" feeling they gave me. 

[Hank]

2 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Yep. Personal preference. I demoed a Clarity on a flight. Thought the sound was fantastic (and loved how small and light they are) but didn't like the "stuffed ear" feeling they gave me. 

That's the big difference between Clarity and Halo--CA uses earbuds, where you cram the whole speaker into your ear. Personally, I find the best ear buds to be uncomfortable, and most are just painful. Halos have the speakers shrink wrapped onto the frame, and only an earplug (choose your style from several included) goes in your ear. Much better!

Edited July 12, 2017 by Hank

[Danb]

Hank where did you get your tips

[midlifeflyer]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

That's the big difference between Clarity and Halo--CA uses earbuds, where you cram the whole speaker into your ear. Personally, I find the best ear buds to be uncomfortable, and most are just painful. Halos have the speakers shrink wrapped onto the frame, and only an earplug (choose your style from several included) goes in your ear. Much better!

Guess if they are still around if I am ever in the market again, I might give them a try.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

4 hours ago, Hank said:

That's the big difference between Clarity and Halo--CA uses earbuds, where you cram the whole speaker into your ear. Personally, I find the best ear buds to be uncomfortable, and most are just painful. Halos have the speakers shrink wrapped onto the frame, and only an earplug (choose your style from several included) goes in your ear. Much better!

I didn't realize this. Maybe I'll give the Halos a try too.

[Hank]

6 hours ago, Danb said:

Hank where did you get your tips

They came with the Halos. I gave away the foamies because I don't like how foam earplugs fit. Go to the Halo homepage [https://www.quiettechnologies.com/], there are two headsets up in the corner--the yellow one has the black tips shown in someone's post above; the black headset has the flanged silicone tips that I really like.

[Danb]

Yep I just received my halos from them bunch of foams a couple black ones and couple clear silicon one, I wondered if you got some from another source.