QT Halos. What am I doing wrong?

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kyleb

Final Approach
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Drake the Outlaw
I picked up a set of QT Halos last Fall. I *think* I'm doing a good job of inserting the foam plugs (I wear earplugs often for work and to sleep, so I have no aversions to them), but the QT's are LOUD relative to my Lightspeed 1's. I'm using the yellow earbuds (the flesh colored ones seem pretty small for my ear canals). There are two sets of vinyl plugs but they don't have the little straws (?) so there's no way to attach them.

Anyway, most people seem to like 'em, but they just aren't working for me. Any suggestions?
 
I used them at home until I found the exact position where I could barely hear my voice. After no more than 5 tries I found the best way for rolling the plugs until they were as small as an ear cleaner.
Love them!
 
Get yourself a pair of custom molded ear pieces for your heat set. They are more comfortable and attenuate noise better than the foam plugs. You can get them made by any audiologist.
 
Mine aren't quite as quiet as the Bose A20s that came with the plane, but they're a whole lot quieter than my old David Clarks and a whole lot more comfortable than either. I'd give them maybe 80 to 90 percent of the noise reduction compared to an ANR headset.
 
This might be irrelevant, but have you tried squeezing the tips a little and then inserting, so they swell once inside which aids in making a tighter seal in your ear canal?
 
Ryanb said:
This might be irrelevant, but have you tried squeezing the tips a little and then inserting, so they swell once inside which aids in making a tighter seal in your ear canal?
Click to expand...

Not irrelevant at all. I do roll the tips - they won't insert unless I compress them significantly.
 
The flesh colored ones are the child's size, so makes sense they would seem small.

Not sure what you are calling the vinyl one. The soft black foam or the soft orange foam, or the gray pine tree? You're right, they don't have straws sticking out, but they all have the tubes that connect directly on the main flexible tube. Mine do anyway.
 
You really have to push them in further than you think. It's almost uncomfortable until the foam starts to expand. Also, change the tips often as they loose their seal ability pretty quickly.
 
KyleB - when I tried to use ear plugs that are foam/compression - it was really hard for me to get a consistent reliable quality fit. I was trying to use them at a shoot range. I found that if I got them warm in my hands and rolled them back and forth until they compressed, then I could insert them. Once inserted, I'd fold the bottom of my ear over them or hold them in place while they expanded - this seemed the best way to get a good seal/fit. However, it wasn't long until I found a better solution. Silicone molded ear plugs - you can find at your ear docs, a gun show, or order a kit off the internet and do yourself.

When I got my QT Halo - I knew I'd hate the foam ear plugs, so I had a set of silicone ear plugs made with the connectors so the sound tubes plug into them. Love them - quick to put on/in. Reliable fit - great noise reduction - and comfortable.

Good luck!

Dean
 
I like the silicone tree shaped tips(grey), the foam was too hard for me to get in right. I can't compare them to any ANR as I haven't tried any but I can barely hear the stall horn in a 172 with them.
 
It is also helpful to use your other hand to reach over your head and pull the top of your ear up, out and to the rear slightly as you insert the tightly rolled plug. Once in, hold it in place for a few seconds for it to begin to expand and seal. My Halos aren't as quite as my Zulu2s with ANR turned on. They are better than them with the ANR off, by quite a bit. I love the Halo for being able to wear a hat/sunglasses and being able to remove/replace them without having to remove headset first.
 
Here is a link from a Google search https://www.radians.com/radsite/ind...-products/item/radians-custom-molded-earplugs

search


I don't have my headset at the house, but, they mold them with the connectors in the ear plug and the connectors slip into the sound tubes.

Dean
 
Had them they broke after a month of use. Get a pair of A20 and be done much better headset and will defiantly block more noise.
 
Grum.Man said:
You really have to push them in further than you think. It's almost uncomfortable until the foam starts to expand. Also, change the tips often as they loose their seal ability pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

I put my foamies in a bag for washing women's nylons and wash them. Comes out nice and clean, just like new. I'm using the same exact ones that I installed day one 4 years later.

When they get hard, it's from ear wax. Wash, dry, repeat.
 
I also read where pulling on the top of the ear while inserting helps buy straightening out the ear canal. I like mine especially on long trips.
 
Re the black silicones - the white right-angle connector plugs directly into the silicone plug.
 
I roll them up small and do like the video on the site says. I reach around with my hand on the opposite side and pull the top of my ear up and insert the rolled up tip upwards. Mine work great.
 
Have been waiting to get a pair for several weeks now. Website says out of stock... I’ve read somewhere that the individual who builds them, is an audiologist or something doing this on the side? Has anyone had to get service, and how well is the support?
 
Jeff Cutler said:
I’ve read somewhere that the individual who builds them, is an audiologist or something doing this on the side? Has anyone had to get service, and how well is the support?
Click to expand...

You heard correctly. He makes them himself. Occasionally he hires on help, but they never seem to last long. He always seems to have plenty at Sun-n-Fun and Oshkosh.

I had an issue with mine about a year after I bought them (six years ago). I sent him an email and got a call back within about 2 hours.
 
A flight surgeon told me the bacteria count goes through the roof with plugs in your ear canals - no idea if it's true, or was an assumption on his part. Or if it matters, once you pull 'em out, the moisture and heat dissipate.
 
Sundancer said:
A flight surgeon told me the bacteria count goes through the roof with plugs in your ear canals - no idea if it's true, or was an assumption on his part. Or if it matters, once you pull 'em out, the moisture and heat dissipate.
Click to expand...
Call BS on this one - MANY, MANY manufacturing concerns mandate ear plugs pretty much full work days, OSHA too I’d bet. If “bacteria counts” are even a thing for ear canals.
 
Jeff Cutler said:
Have been waiting to get a pair for several weeks now. Website says out of stock... I’ve read somewhere that the individual who builds them, is an audiologist or something doing this on the side? Has anyone had to get service, and how well is the support?
Click to expand...

Sent you a PM about ordering.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
wrbix said:
Call BS on this one - MANY, MANY manufacturing concerns mandate ear plugs pretty much full work days, OSHA too I’d bet. If “bacteria counts” are even a thing for ear canals.
Click to expand...

Agree. I’ve worn earplugs for days on artillery firing point and small arms ranges during my Army career. I wear soft foam earplugs nightly to sleep and have for over ten years. No issues.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
wrbix said:
Call BS on this one - MANY, MANY manufacturing concerns mandate ear plugs pretty much full work days, OSHA too I’d bet. If “bacteria counts” are even a thing for ear canals.
Click to expand...
Like I said, he didn't quote a source, though warmer and wetter doesn't sound as benign as cooler and dryer. Anyway, got me mildly curious, so I did the Google, and turns out the Flight Surgeon was right, more or less. Wearing a headset for a while does promote bacteria growth, but if you don't have a break in the skin, or clogged up pores in there, not too much risk, as long as you aren't sharing headsets, and clean 'em regularly. Pluggng the holes preserves hearing, but years of wearing plugs and/or headsets has risks.
 
Ordered and looking forward to flying with a new pair. Had an old pair of Telex ANRs that I purchased new twenty years ago haven’t had ANR function for about a year with no support to trouble shoot.
 
Love mine.

I found that it helps if I clean out the ear canal with a q-tip before I fly; I make sure to stop inserting before I pierce the brain.

Always make sure to use reasonably new foamy things. Gotta try that washing idea.
 
Took my Halos up for the first ride yesterday evening... wow, really different.

The cabin noise was almost next to nothing, which in itself was a lot to get use to. Kept thinking that I've lost one of my senses of flying, being able to listen to the engine. Seriously, quieter than the old Telex ANRs that I've pushed in the corner. It's different in terms that ANRs will allow 'filtered' frequencies to pass through all be it at lower levels, while the in-ear system mutes most everything.

Gnd/Twr said the mic performed about as the best he'd come across. Said there was absolutely no background noise or alternator hum. Took a bit to get the 'yellow' plugs fitted on the tube, then properly fitted in my head. Down side, used the input jack for music on the stereo mode. Comm came in on left ear only, while the stereo did seem to 'fill the room' from both sides. All in all, I'd give the first flight a B+.
 
Ultimately, I have found that the soft black silicone tips are the only ones which offer adequate noise reduction for me. The problem with those is that they are VERY soft and only stay compressed momentarily (or less) for insertion. The yellow foam tips, in contrast, compress fairly easily and stay that way for a few seconds.
 
N3368K said:
The yellow ones can take much longer when cold as well.
Click to expand...

Which brings up a good question, I'm thinking about keeping in the flight bag that comes home with me after each flight, just to that point - prevent wx/temp effecting the ear inserts. But, is that overkill. For over 20 years had always left the headsets plug'd in year 'round. Pulling them out, then stowing in the case seems easy but might be over thinking this?
 
They warm up fairly quickly in your ear. You just have to compress them a bit harder when cold and hold in place a bit longer. I never took mine out of the plane.


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Jeff Cutler said:
Which brings up a good question, I'm thinking about keeping in the flight bag that comes home with me after each flight, just to that point - prevent wx/temp effecting the ear inserts. But, is that overkill. For over 20 years had always left the headsets plug'd in year 'round. Pulling them out, then stowing in the case seems easy but might be over thinking this?
Click to expand...

You're overthinking it. Have you tried the included silicone tips? They aren't affected by temperature (hot or cold), don't need to be rolled prior to insertion, and last years. I've been using them since 2010, and am on my second set only because one got stuck between the panel and windshield and pulled off . . .

Mine lived in my plane on the WV / OH border in a hangar that was only heated in the summer, and now live in my plane in a hangar in AL. Pull up on the ear, push it in; repeat for the other side. Quick, easy, simple.
 
Thanks Hank, will try the silicone next — and leave ‘em in the plane.
 
As someone who has worn foam earplugs motorcycling long before I began flying, I actually stored my ear plugs in the refrigerator until ready to insert....,yes, compressing them takes a bit more force but the overall stiffness makes insertion well into the ear canal easier. They soften up quickly in the ear canal.
My QTs, to me, are easier to use in the cold.
 
Hank S said:
You're overthinking it. Have you tried the included silicone tips? They aren't affected by temperature (hot or cold), don't need to be rolled prior to insertion, and last years. I've been using them since 2010, and am on my second set only because one got stuck between the panel and windshield and pulled off . . .

Mine lived in my plane on the WV / OH border in a hangar that was only heated in the summer, and now live in my plane in a hangar in AL. Pull up on the ear, push it in; repeat for the other side. Quick, easy, simple.
Click to expand...

Silicones just don't plug my ears up like the yellow ones.
 
I got some and have only tried them on a couple of flights. I find that the little tan foamies are the best for my ears by far. The silicone trees were much louder, and the orange foamies I could never roll tight enough to get far enough into the ear canal to seal right. I pull up my ear and roll the tip until it's only a bit fatter than the tube itself. Longest flight has only been about 90 minutes, but in that time I genuinely forgot I was wearing them.
 
BrianNC said:
Silicones just don't plug my ears up like the yellow ones.
Click to expand...

same here, which is unfortunate. the silicone plugs are about as easy as it gets. I usually have to breathe on my foam plugs when its really cold out to get them soft enough to insert.
 
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