Your questions about waterproof headphones answered What are the best waterproof headphones?Lightweight, comfortable and with excellent sound quality, the beauty of the Shokz openswim pro was that I never had to think about them mid-workout. I just hit play and they stayed in place perfectly. If you don’t like feeling headphones bouncing about underwater, the H2O Audio sonar pro clip directly to your goggles, for a truly secure fit.What is an IP rating?Standing for “ingress protection”, an IP rating indicates how well a device is protected from both solids and liquids. Generally, it’s displayed with two digits – the first of which indicates how well the device is protected from things such as dust, while the second indicates the level of water-resistance. The higher the rating, the better your device will be protected.Which IP rating is best?In this roundup, I haven’t included any waterproof headphones with a rating lower than IPX7. This rating indicates a device can withstand being submerged in water up to 1m deep for 30 minutes, which should be fine for your standard lane-swimming session.However, the best waterproof headphones will have a rating of IPX8. This usually means your device can withstand being submerged for an hour at a depth of about 2m (this can vary between devices, however).How I tested waterproof headphonesI tested each pair of swimming headphones over at least two weeks, using them across a mix of indoor pool sessions, open-water swims and structured training sets. This included longer 2km swims, interval sessions and drills using flippers and pull buoys, to see how they performed in different conditions. During testing, I considered the following criteria:Sound quality: How the headphones performed underwater was a key focus, particularly how clearly audio came through during continuous swimming. Fit: I also looked at comfort and fit across different strokes, checking whether they stayed securely in place without becoming distracting over time.Ease of use: This was another important factor, especially in terms of how simple the controls were to operate with wet hands. Performance: I also assessed battery life, durability after repeated exposure to water and how well features such as built-in storage, Bluetooth syncing and app compatibility worked in practice.Why you can trust IndyBest reviewsZoe Griffin has been testing products for IndyBest since 2021 and has reviewed countless types of workout gear, including headphones and earplugs. As a triathlete and keen swimmer, Zoe bases her reviews on real-world testing, providing her honest opinions to help you find the best products. Ditch annoying wires and tune in to the best wireless earbuds, tried and tested