In a previous article, George Patterson said:
Jose wrote:
I would also point out an advantage to stereo, used properly (which I've
actually never seen)... and that is the ability to put the intercom
(mostly) in one ear while ATC is (mostly) in the other, or to put Com1
on the left and Com2 on the right (which would be a godsend when trying
to get the ATIS or monitoring CTAF while staying with ATC).
conversation. As I recall, the tests were performed using telephone headsets
(IOW, the listener was trying to listen to two telephone conversations) and were
not directly related to aircraft.

That's not a good test for this situation. The way I do it is to put the
ATIS on the overhead speakers. I'm not trying to follow two
conversations, I'm trying to get the ATIS while only paying enough
attention to the headphones to hear my call sign. When I hear my call
sign, it's simple to stop paying attention to the ATIS (or hit the speaker
button to turn it off) to hear the call, and then go back to listening to
the ATIS.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations in which he
has to demonstrate his superior skill.