Not on the 73 anymore but it was one of the aircraft I checked with a DB meter. The other one was the 190.

One of these days I'll check the 75. I'll post it here with real numbers when I do.

 

Here's what I use on the "Bus" to protect my hearing from co-workers who turn their speakers up to 120db because they are already half deaf or to minimize the wind noise at 320 KIAS. Below 18 I use the existing aircraft headset. Then I use an old school Telex headset (from my Boeing days) with just an ear mold to fill one of my ears while an ear plug fills the other. The Telex plugs in with just one plug below the existing aircraft headset jack(most guys don't know this) for audio only and I use the hand held microphone to talk. Simplifies donning the O2 mask as well, no headset to remove and no speaker required to hear. Depending on how interesting my co-worker is to talk to is how deep I insert my ear plug.

 

You are not promoting total unobstructed cohesiveness by plugging your ears in such a manner on a quiet plane like fifi.

 

I'm not suggesting a Bose. That's a decade old design and ridiculously expensive.

Ambient wind and engine noise will degrade your hearing. Just because we cruise between .74-.76 doesn't mean you can hear a pin drop in there.

The clip on tie is not a safety issue. It's a living in fear issue and most were wearing them long before the thought of being choked was ever planted. Kind of like wearing a bullet proof vest in the flight deck. You can never be too safe, right!? ;-)

 

It isn't about being lazy. It is just another level of simplicity having boom mike and push to talk at the ready. Much like automation. Thanks for the jab tho. I'm sure you're a nice guy in person.

 

The A320 is quiet but it's not that quiet. Let me put it this way, take a decibel meter with you next time and watch what happens. Make sure you look at those tolerance/allowable dB charts too.

 

Every airline has their (odd) traditions, but it has always amazed me that there are mainline pilots out there using community headsets. I'm no germ-a-phobe, but doesn't that just have a certain ewww-factor associated with it? We make a good living, and a comfortable headset that actually fits your own mellon isn't all that expensive. Especially amortized over a decade (or more). Most of us no longer have to carry a full set of Jepps around, so there should still be ample personal space available to tote a headset...some take up virtually no room to speak of. Even the quietest airline cockpits do have a significant ambient noise level that will at a minimum contribute to fatigue on the longer legs. As some have mentioned, there are a lot of ultra-light headsets out there today (like Clarity Aloft) that make it easy to forget you are even wearing one.

Leave your headset on, use the ICS, save your hearing, improve the quality of your on-air transmissions, and reduce the chances of missing that next radio call. Your co-star, air traffic controller, and fellow airmen on the frequency will all thank you. Just my $.02.

 

What did you guys say?

 

Was that us? They'll call back if it's important...

 

Ugh!! That is SO true! I've never understood that mentality. On the very rare occasions that I've had to don a company headset, I've been grossed out to the max looking at someone else's grimy ear sweat coated all over the ear cups. Ugh!