What to Consider when Buying an Aviation Headset

With the different types of aviation headsets around it may be a little confusing finding the one that would be the best for you.

Whether you will be using the aviation headset in a light aircraft or a commercial aircraft will be a major determining factor. After that, it will be about comfort. What is comfortable for one person, may be uncomfortable for someone else, so you should think about what styles are available and what would work for you.

ANR Aviation Headsets

Active noise reduction (ANR) is able to cancel out lower frequency noise, and is probably what you want if you will be flying in a light aircraft. ANR may also be referred to as active noise cancellation (ANC).

ANR cancels out low frequencies, such as the engine or propeller noise. It will still allow you to hear what is important, but it will decrease the sound of the low frequencies that are the ones that lead to hearing loss when exposed to for long periods of time.

There are also aviation headsets that use passive noise control, usually by using thick gel or foam ear pads to create a seal around your ears.

Aviation Headset Styles

Most ANR headsets will be the over-the-head style with bigger earpieces. However, if you will be using your aviation headset on a commercial plane, you have much more options, from on-the-ear to over-the-head and monaural versus binaural.

Buy an aviation headset: