Looking for a top shelf headset/ear protection

There is way more than I have time to type up right now..... But you are gonna want to look for something with a listed NRR (noise reduction rating) which is how OSHA / NIOSH rates hearing protection. For instance my David Clarke headset has a NRR of 23dB and when you add earplugs you get a total of 28dB reduction. The total reduction isn't just the sum of the two, for safety purposes you take the greater hearing protection NRR and add another 5, there are some online calculators if you care.

Funny thing about the Bose aviation headset..... It doesn't have a NRR that I can find and when I tried to talk to their customer service they had no idea what I was talking about. Having said that I have two Bose Aviation headsets (one old style one new) and for aviation use they can work very well with the active noise cancellation. Without it they are mediocre but for certain types of steady noise the active cancellation is outstanding.

For what it's worth I always use double hearing protection and make sure to insert ear plugs correctly, most people don't. Noise around the plane can be over 130dB and even with double protection the OSHA limits something like 30 minutes a day if you are outside the plane exposed to max noise. I really recommend double hearing protection for any loud environment.

What kind of noise are you trying to protect against? Without more details I really wouldn't recommend dropping $$$ on the Bose without knowing more.

When I'm at home I have a set of fairly inexpensive AM/FM headset that I use with earplugs and I'm pretty happy with it.

 

I shot long range rifles competitively for years and David Clarke was the best I could ever find in ear muffs. Really good plugs will do as much or more. Getting the doctor made, custom fit to your ear canal type is the best. The combination of the two can in some ways be dangerous. There are few places you need such complete noise muffling and not being able to hear voices or machines isn't advisable in my opinion.

 

I've been using Lightspeed active noise canceling headsets for aviation in recent years. They work very well, and are quite comfortable. The newer ones have bluetooth audio so you can stream from an iPod.

However, Mark is right-- you need to understand what sort of noise you're trying to cancel. Aviation headsets are generally good at canceling low rumbling noises, and are actually designed to let some high pitch sounds come in-- so you can hear a person speaking, for instance.

I'd find a demo unit and try it with the machinery before buying. If there is an avionics shop near you, they should be able to help you try some different headsets.

 

I'm a big fan of Bose and Lightspeed ANR headsets and own a pair of both.