Hi guys,

I guess I'll start by saying that I have chronic hoarseness. Anything above normal conversational tones for my voice will be difficult and kinda painful.

I know airplanes are noisy vehicles, but is it still possible for me to speak in a normal, quiet tone of voice to another pilot in the cockpit without having to raise my voice? Like, I heard that headsets are really uncomfortable, so I wouldn't want to wear them to communicate with another pilot.

PS I'm asking because I'm not an airline pilot yet. I'm not even a pilot haha. I am seriously thinking about becoming one in the future though, after university.

In general aviation, I suppose it would depend on the plane (some are quieter than others) and the headsets worn by both you and a passenger, instructor, or copilot. If you're both wearing active noise canceling headsets like the Bose A20 in a relatively quiet a/c, you should be fine at a normal conversational volume. Headsets are not uncomfortable... But some cheap ones could be I guess.

I had a military version of the David Clark, and then got the A20, and neither one bothered me at all.

Pretty much just the old folks who've lost there hearing already will fly without headsets. Besides the headset will make it significantly easier for you to communicate with your flight instructor and Air Traffic Control.
When choosing a starter headset, you should start looking in the $300-350 price range. Anything much cheaper than that won't be comfortable, and you'd likely throwing money out the window during a flight lesson due to the fatigue a cheaper headset will cause.