With everyone in the family wanting to listen to their own brand of music, headphones are a necessity these days. There are several different kinds. Ear buds are the smallest. Covered with soft foam, they fit comfortably into the ear. In fact, you can share one with your best friend so you can both listen to the same song without disturbing anyone else. Outside noise can still be heard.
Canal phones or in-ear monitors fit inside the ear and act as an earplug to drown out outside noise. The expensive ones are fitted by an audiologist who takes an impression of your ear canal, much as he would for fitting hearing aids.
Supra-aural headphones are bigger, but they sit on top the ear rather than in it. A plastic covered wire that goes over the head usually attaches them to each other. When buying online be sure that this part is big enough to go over your head. Heads in some countries seem much smaller than ours. These headphones may have a microphone attached, depending on their intended use.
Circumaural headphones are the biggest and fit over the ear, but they enclose it, rather than sitting on top of the ear. They are mostly used in recording studios.
