Headsets
Every time you do your medicals, you will undergo an Audiogram or a hearing test of some sort. That's a pretty fair indication of just how important your hearing acuity is to your aviation career and should stress for you the importance of protecting your hearing appropriately from the very earliest stages of your flying training.
Your headset is an extremely personal item. You should never let anyone borrow or use your own, nor should you borrow another’s' personal headset -the head band/earcups et al will not be distorted by another users' different head size and shape, you don't have to worry about who had what disease that you may pick up from the mic and you know no one else will look after your headset the way you do -it's an expensive piece of kit!
What you should look for in a Headset:
- Passive Noise Retention (dB): This is an acoustic measure of the noise protection of your headset, and is a very useful measure for comparing the unassisted performance of competing products.
- Active Noise Reduction: ‐a more recent addition to the hearing protection industry which, whilst it does add considerably to the cost of your headset, should be at the very least, seriously considered in your search.
- Comfort: ‐you will be spending long hours wearing your headset, so you need to be comfortable. As a general rule‐of‐thumb, lighter is better. Having said that however, there are headsets that are lighter for all the wrong reasons! Anecdotal evidence from your peers, other pilots and your training organisation will definitely be of assistance when making this judgement.
- Warranty, back‐up and spares: One of the more telling factors influencing your decision ‐how supportive is the manufacturer?
- Look at the build‐quality of your headset; are there manufacturing faults readily apparent?
- Is your headset made of good‐quality, durable materials, or does it feel cheap and plastic?
- What spares are readily available for your headset?
- Does your headset have to be sent away for warranty repairs, or can they be done locally?
- Microphone: Over recent years virtually all manufacturers have put noise‐cancelling (electret) microphones on their headsets.
- Cost: the FINAL deciding factor in your selection of a headset. If the headset that best meets your needs is simply beyond your current budget, it may be an idea to seek assistance or just save until you can afford it. The headsets supplied by your training organisation will provide adequate protection in the interim until you can afford what you need.
Looking after your Headset:
- Always store your headset in its supplied bag, or a pocket of your flight bag when it is not in use.
Never leave your headset sitting on the glare‐shield of your aircraft ‐exposure to direct sunlight will eventually damage it. - Look after the connection jacks. They are a likely weak‐point where internal wires will eventually break.
- Follow the manufacturers recommendations for the care and maintenance of your headset.
Headset Manufacturers
Suppliers
There are about as many ways of getting a headset new or used as there are variants of headset! Here we are offering a few potential alternatives that may be of benefit:
The lists of headset manufacturers and suppliers are neither exhaustive, nor intended as an
endorsement of any particular product or supplier.
