If you're like me, long-haul air travel leaves you tired and drained. Turns out the reasons for this are not just the lousy food and cramped seats. The sheer noise of the jet plane can have a physical impact, causing fatigue for passengers. One way to fight this is to use a noise-cancelling headset, which, in effect, reduces the sounds of the plane.

On a recent trip to Europe with my wife, Roopa, I took along a Bose Noise Cancelling Headset to see how the technology holds up.

And here's what I learned: this is one gadget that really works.

It looks like a sleeker and lighter version of the headsets for one of those old home stereo systems. But that's where the similarity ends. Wearing it on your head and turning on a small lighter-sized black box reduces the drone of the aircraft dramatically. You could still hear the engines, but they were much, much quieter. The system works by locking in on the frequency of the loud sound and cancelling it out.

Roopa and I would almost fight it out to get decide who got to wear them during each flight. During a London-JFK segment, I gave it up for her for use half way and suddenly I found the sounds of the aircraft really irritating and painful. Not just the engines, but also the group of pre-teens flying in for a U.S. study tour (technically, it doesn't work on noisy kids, but it certainly helped block out these ones).

In addition to reducing the sounds outside the headset, the system enhances the sounds coming out of the in-flight entertainment (or your CD or cassette player), making it clearer than before.

Bose, which is known for its superior-quality speakers and its ubiquitous ads for its clock-radio, has also brought an elegant sense of design to the product.

The $299 price tag seems high, but if you travel several times a year, it is worth it. Your ears and your head will thank you.

If you don't find yourself in the air that often, then you may want to try it on the subway or while moving your lawn.

There is a 30-day trial that you can get as well as a monthly payment plan.

To learn more about the headset and to buy it online, visit:
http://www.bose.com

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