Most users of pro audio equipment eventually make a decision to add wireless microphones to their set up. There is a natural progression to have a presenter or performer be able to roam around cable free. With that said, having a user be able to roam around calls for the need to hear themselves equally and smoothly throughout the expanded user space. Wireless in-ear monitors (IEMs) and interruptible fold-back (IFB) intercoms come into play here. These can be used for a musical performer as monitors or a host in a broadcast for IFB.
The first possible obstacle for either of these is on the audio side: “Do I need to put the IEM drivers in both ears or will one just work?” For hosts on broadcasts one may work, especially when that person is having a conversation with another person right next to them. However, for a singer in a music situation, they benefit from having 2 ear pieces in for stereo and to isolate from the loud sounds of a band. Professionals in both situations benefit from using custom ear pieces which are molded to fit exactly in their ear canal. The better the seal, the less they have to turn up the level and the lower end will be heard from their earpiece. The downfall of using 1 ear piece for a musician is that the brain senses the uncovered ear as receiving important information too. The user in this case tends to turn up the level for the one ear to compensate for the difference of levels. This means the sealed ear will be exposed to higher levels unnecessarily. It’s better to seal both ears and bring the ambient noise into the mix so the user feels connected to the space around them.
Regarding the RF side of mics, IEMs and IFBs, the main priority for the user is to make sure that their RF device is avoiding RF noise - especially when you are adding IEMs to a systems that already has wireless microphones in use. The most common step is for someone to use a frequency finder type program to find what Broadcast Television is around them. You should start with a scan or trace from a spectrum analyzer to compare the database of TV info to what is actually going on in the room/area (it is not good enough to just use the built in scanner of your device to pick frequencies). Bring your scan and the frequency coordination program to bring in television data from the database and be able to bring in your own scan to compare the two. It’s as simple as that. Every wireless user needs to be aware what their RF device is competing with and the database and your RF scan are truly your best pieces of data. And, just like adding a distro to your wireless mic setup, adding a transmitter combiner to your IEM system will help to consolidate antennas and further reduce interference and increase system reliability.
Lastly, the best trait of any wireless user is to check your system on a regular basis. That means an overall check at least every couple of months. When doing shows and events, you should check things before and during the time the wireless device will be used. RF changes happen quickly and unexpectedly and a wireless professional needs to be prepared and quick at reacting. You can also deploy an RF Venue Spectrum Recorder to automatically record RF scans over time to see how things change at your location.