The most important criteria in choosing a headset is comfort.

From so-called "sick-building disease" to mousing-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, the modern-day office is not devoid of potential health problems.

Take the phone. In this era of multi-tasking, wedging a phone between your ear and shoulder for long stretches of time while you type, search for a document, or reach across your desk for a file can be-quite literally-a pain in the neck.

If you or your employees find yourselves frequently on the phone and in pain as a result, a telephone headset can spare you from a stiff neck and sore muscles. A relatively simple device, the headset does away with the need for any part of the body to support the clunky telephone receiver.

Headsets allow you to talk on the phone hands-free, giving you the freedom to surf the Internet, take a sip of coffee, or shuffle through files easily and painlessly.

A headset consists of an earpiece, microphone, and a cord that plugs into an accompanying amplifier, which is plugged into the phone.While purchasing one may not seem like much of an ordeal, making sure it is actually worn is important. That is why the most important criteria in choosing a headset is comfort.

Most headsets are designed to be worn headband-style. These headsets typically cover one ear and extend over the head like a headband. If keeping your hair particularly unmussed is any sort of an issue, this type of headset probably isn't for you.

Other, less obtrusive models have the earpiece fit inside the ear or around the ear-those who wear eyeglasses might have trouble with the around-the-ear version. Still others may find it odd to have a foreign object sitting in their ear. To ensure the right fit, any headset being considered should be able to be tested out by the user in real-world conditions. Users should be happy with both the fit and the weight of the headset, or the device could end up sitting unused in a desk drawer.

Good fit isn't the only consideration. Headsets can come with a host of options, including one or two earpieces, noise filters, quick-disconnect cables, and mute buttons. A few models are even cordless, giving users the mobility to walk around the office while on the phone, sometimes up to 100 feet away from the amplifier-although dialing and disconnecting the call must still be done at the phone's base. Cordless models are a bit pricier and can be on the heavy side.

To identify which headsets have the options you want, try our headset comparison tool that lets you quickly narrow which models to consider. In terms of cost, a low-end headset costs around $30. But if you're looking for something that is going to last for a while, you'll need to pay between $100-$250. Dealers will generally sell for up to 30% less than the manufacturer list price.

Like wearing contact lenses for the first time, a headset is something that takes getting used to-but once you do, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it.

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