An earpiece (occasionally written as ear-piece) (PROSE: Scared Stiff) was a wearable communication device used on Earth. It relayed audio into the ear for the purpose of private communication.

Earpieces had various unique designs. Some were prominently worn on the ear, (TV: Dalek etc.) while a more common earpiece design was that of a smaller, acoustic tube. (TV: Aliens of London etc.) Certain earpieces were designed to be concealed (TV: The Gift) or practically near invisible. (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)

Some earpieces had attached microphone components, while less conspicuous designs had them separate. (TV: Dalek, Children of Earth: Day One etc.)

History[]

Use by humans[]

Earpieces were often used in certain professions, such as by members of intelligence agencies, (TV: The New World) police, (TV: Flatline) and private organisations. (TV: Dalek, Army of Ghosts etc.) Television and news presenters also used earpieces to receive communication from their studio. (TV: Aliens of London, PROSE: Scared Stiff etc.) In 2006, as a newsreader, Trinity Wells reported that the United Nations Security Council had voted to release the codes for nuclear weapons to the British government, after being informed of the vote's passing through an earpiece. (TV: World War Three) Scared Stiff presenter Corynne Fletcher received information on when she was about to go live via her earpiece. When the Tenth Doctor made an unplanned appearance on the show, a tinny voice in Corynne's earpiece gave her instructions on how to proceed. (PROSE: Scared Stiff)

Earpieces were used by musical performers. Ruby Sunday used them when playing the keyboard in a band, during a performance at a Christmas party. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Doctor Who Christmas Special 2023 (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)

The Torchwood Institute had their own issued earpieces for personnel. (TV: Army of Ghosts, Everything Changes etc.) The Unified Intelligence Taskforce also provided earpieces for its officers by the early 21st century. (PROSE: The Dying Days, TV: The Sontaran Stratagem) Alex Klein, a UNIT operative and senior aide to Harriet Jones, used an earpiece to communicate with Torchwood One. (TV: The Christmas Invasion ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas special (BBC One, 2005).) In the 2000s,^{[nb 1]} while working at UNIT's headquarters in New York, Martha Jones used an earpiece to keep in contact with Jack Harkness during the Planetary Relocation Incident. (TV: The Stolen Earth ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 4 (BBC One, 2008).)

Members of the United States FBI (PROSE: In the Blood ^[+]Jenny Colgan, (informally) BBC Books past Doctor novels (BBC Books, 2016).) and CIA used earpieces. (TV: The New World ^[+]Russell T Davies, Torchwood series 4 (Starz, 2011).)

Earpieces could be damaged by sonic devices. When cornered at Combat 3000, Sarah Jane Smith used her sonic lipstick on Mark Grantham's earpiece, which caused electricity and loud feedback to emit from it, allowing Sarah Jane to escape. (TV: Warriors of Kudlak) She would later do the same to the earpieces of a group of UNIT guards at the Black Archive. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)

When pursuing the Torchwood Three team, Agent Johnson constantly wore a tube earpiece. Through it, she was able to communicate with her base of operations. (TV: Children of Earth: Day One et al)

K9 Mark IV had the ability to relay his voice into an earpiece. Clyde Langer used this in order to cheat at an exam. (TV: The Gift) K9 Mark II also had this ability. (AUDIO: The Pursuit of History)

In 2012, Diana Goddard often wore an earpiece while working at Geocomtex. She used this earpiece to communicate with other staff, such as Danny Simmons. The security officers at the Vault also had earpieces. (TV: Dalek ^[+]Robert Shearman, adapted from Jubilee (Robert Shearman), Doctor Who series 1 (BBC One, 2005).)

In 2040, the Personal Associative Network ID system functioned as a communications device and entertainment system. It had attachable earpieces and microphones. (PROSE: /Carpenter/Butterfly/Baronet)

The crewmembers of the Drum had earpiece communicators. (TV: Before the Flood)

The Van Baalen brothers used earpiece communicators during salvages. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)

The staff of the Dalek Dome used earpieces to communicate with each other. This was later exploited by the Daleks, when a Dalek interrogator sent a hypno-pulse into Lieutenant Georgette Gold's earpiece. A hypnotised Georgette would use her earpiece to hypnotise the entire Dome by placing a microphone to it, emitting the hypno-pulse through the Dome's loudspeakers. Some staff members, such as the Chief, Claire, and Claudine, did not use earpieces due to their cross-species body mod, and instead communicated through the use of wrist communicator devices. (COMIC: Liberation of the Daleks ^[+]Alan Barnes, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2022-2023).)

Employees of TransAllied, Inc wore automated personal assistant earpieces, which organised and monitored their activities. While working for the CEO Arnold Baynes, the Sixth Doctor was forced to wear one. (AUDIO: Davros ^[+]Lance Parkin, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2003).)

Use by the Doctor[]

In situations that required them to remain in contact with the TARDIS, the Doctor has used an earpiece. On three occasions, the Eleventh Doctor used an earpiece for this purpose. On the first, the Doctor used an advanced earpiece to remain in contact with Amy Pond in the TARDIS, who was stuck in the time vortex due to interference from 79B Aickman Road. The Doctor was stuck in Colchester, and in an attempt to remain hidden while investigating the flat, used an earpiece which "scrambled" his speech and made it sound like gibberish to anybody else listening. (TV: The Lodger ^[+]Gareth Roberts, adapted from The Lodger (Gareth Roberts), Doctor Who series 5 (BBC One, 2010).) The Doctor would once again use an earpiece to communicate with Amy while stuck outside the TARDIS, this time due to a "space riptide". (GAME: TARDIS) The Doctor would also use an earpiece to remain in contact with "Handles" while teleporting to other ships, giving instructions to Handles who controlled the TARDIS teleportation system. (TV: The Time of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013 (BBC One, 2013).)

This situation also happened in reverse, when the Doctor needed to remain in contact with an individual from inside the TARDIS. This was the case for the Twelfth Doctor, who gave Clara Oswald an earpiece while he was trapped inside the TARDIS as its external shell had been reduced in size. This earpiece used nanotechnology which hacked into Clara's optic nerve when placed in her ear, allowing the Doctor to see from her point of view with the TARDIS scanner. (TV: Flatline) While testing Missy's "goodness", the Twelfth Doctor allowed her to take his place in answering a distress call, instructing her from an earpiece from the TARDIS. Bill Potts and Nardole acted as her "companions" and also wore the same earpieces. (TV: World Enough and Time ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 10 (BBC One, 2017).)

The Fifth Doctor created an anti-dreaming device to protect Tegan Jovanka from the Mara and the influence held over the dreams she had been having. The device used an earpiece which inhibited the brainwaves associated with dreaming when inserted into Tegan's ear. (TV: Snakedance ^[+]Christopher Bailey, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).)

Use by the Cybermen[]

The Cybermen frequently used earpieces as a means of controlling humans. This was especially common with the Cybermen of Pete's World, who captured individual humans and coverted them into Cyber-agents using earpieces to control them, modified with Cyber-filament connecting the devices to the human brain. (TV: Army of Ghosts ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 2 (BBC One, 2006).)

After escaping the Void, the Cybermen found themselves in London in 1851. They once again used earpieces, this time cruder versions to control workhouse owners. They allowed a human ally, Mercy Hartigan, control over the earpieces. Once the controlled workhouse owners had fulfilled their purpose of bringing their children to the CyberKing, Miss Hartigan disposed of them by pulling a lever which electrified the earpieces, killing them. (TV: The Next Doctor ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2008 (BBC One, 2008).)

Earpiece mind control was also used by Mondasian Cybermen. After crash landing in Baltimore in 1982, a Cyber-Leader used an earpiece to control Anthony Chambers, who had stumbled upon the crashed Cyber-Leader and the Cyber-conversion pod he had brought with him. The Cybermen would also control others, such as Lt. Doyle and Natalie Hamilton, through the use of earpieces. (AUDIO: The Reaping)

Use by other species[]

Earpiece-like devices were also used on other planets and among different species. The Tritovore trading ship that crashed on San Helios had earpiece internal communication devices. Despite being made for a different species, these earpieces fit human ears perfectly, and were used by the Tenth Doctor and Christina de Souza while trying to retrieve the ship's crystal power source. (TV: Planet of the Dead ^[+]Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts, Doctor Who Easter Special 2009 (BBC One, 2009).)

When posing as a human, Mrs Wormwood used an earpiece to communicate with the Bane staff at the Bubble Shock! factory. (TV: Invasion of the Bane ^[+]Gareth Roberts and Russell T Davies, The Sarah Jane Adventures New Year Special 2007 (BBC One, 2007).)

Earpieces were used by Cadmians, such as Fief. (PROSE: In the Blood ^[+]Jenny Colgan, (informally) BBC Books past Doctor novels (BBC Books, 2016).)

Other realities[]

In Pete's World, earpieces called EarPods were in common use by the residents of the parallel world. They were produced by Cybus Industries, and were more technologically advanced than the earpieces of the Doctor's universe's Earth. As well as communication, the EarPods also allowed their wearers to download information into their brains as well as serving as covert mind control devices. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen ^[+]Tom MacRae, adapted from Spare Parts (Marc Platt), Doctor Who series 2 (BBC One, 2006)., The Age of Steel ^[+]Tom MacRae, adapted from Spare Parts (Marc Platt), Doctor Who series 2 (BBC One, 2006)., PROSE: EarPod ^[+]Joseph Lidster, Cybus (BBC, 2006).)

In Andrea Yates's universe, newsreader Jason Mohammad reported on the incoming meteor K67, and was informed via an earpiece that a missile strike against it had failed. (TV: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? ^[+]Gareth Roberts, The Sarah Jane Adventures series 1 (CBBC, 2007).)

Footnotes[]