Does your hearing adjust to your headset?

[Van Johnston]

Background: Bought a David Clark H10-40 when I began training in 1986, and still use it today. All my time is in small pistons (172, PA-28, AA-5). I flew actively from 86-92, took about 20 yrs off, then resumed flying in 2012. I fly for recreation only, and even though my DC works fine, have been considering upgrading to an ANR headset. However, since my student pilot son still has hearing worth trying to save, I got him a LS Zulu 2, which he reports works great.

2 weeks ago I was going on a solo cross country, so I asked to borrow his headset so I could try it out. Got the AWOS with no problem that I recall. No one else was in the pattern. After departure, I called the local approach facility to ask for FF, and they sounded very garbled, and they were having trouble understanding me. Finally got to the edge of their space and they gave up and told me to contact the next facility. Same thing; I could barely understand what they were saying, and vice versa. Finally I told them to stand by while I changed headsets. Plugged in my DC and asked how they read me and they replied loud and clear, and I could hear them loud and clear also. I did have the ANR turned on on the LS. I also had foam earplugs in my ears as taught by my original instructor.

So my question is...do your ears and brain get accustomed to your headset the way your back does to your mattress, or your rear to your favorite chair? Would that make a supposedly superior headset sound so much worse, and the headset I am used to sound so much better? Or maybe operator error with the LS? Should foam earplugs not be worn with ANR?

I'd still like to upgrade to a state-of-the-art ANR headset, and I know everyone offers a 30 day trial, but now I'm gun shy after this experience.

Appreciate any feedback.

 

[jesse]

Sounds like something was wrong. I've also never seen someone wear ear plugs underneath a Zulu.

 

[HighFlyingA380]

If you're used to wearing ear-plugs and they don't bother you, I'd suggest looking at the Clarity Aloft. It's quite a bit cheaper than those ANRs, and I absolutely love it. The foam ear-inserts do wear out, however, and I'm replacing them about every month/100hrs.

 

[Archammer]

To answer your questions;

No your hearing does not change to match the headset like a pair of good boots. It will determine your quality of hearing later on, but that's a different discussion.

The issue that you describe seems to be more with the comm rather than the headset itself. That could have been caused by several things, including proper connection to the jacks, mic distance from your mouth, volume setup and about a handful of others.

All incoming and outgoing comm should be clear and concise, whether you are wearing earbuds, or over-the-ear headsets. Wearing earplugs is ok, but not really recommended particularly with an ANR system. A good ANR headset will have a nice combination of passive protection and active protection. Too much of one or the other in any headset causes all kinds of problems.

The type of microphone used, speakers, build quality and position on your head will create substantial differences in your speaker and microphone quality.

(One thing that most people forget about is volume control! This creates sooo many issues that go unnoticed. The correct way to setup your headset, is to turn the comm radio volume up to just below max. THEN you adjust your headset volume to the appropriate level. Having your headset volume maxed out, and using your intercom volume will cause feedback and failed transmissions very similar to the one you mention, because there's not enough power going to the headset.)

 

[NoHeat]

So my question is...do your ears and brain get accustomed to your headset the way your back does to your mattress, or your rear to your favorite chair?

I'm guessing something else was wrong with the headset, or the way it was adjusted or plugged in.

But anyway, to answer this particular question, I think the answer is yes, the brain can eventually adjust to make sense out of the audio input it receives, after receiving the same kind for a long time. An extreme example would be a deaf person who gets cochlear implants. The implant produces a sensation that the brain learns, over time, to interpret as sound and eventually as recognizable speech and music.

 

[Jim_R]

But anyway, to answer this particular question, I think the answer is yes, the brain can eventually adjust to make sense out of the audio input it receives, after receiving the same kind for a long time. An extreme example would be a deaf person who gets cochlear implants. The implant produces a sensation that the brain learns, over time, to interpret as sound and eventually as recognizable speech and music.

I think his particular question was, "Could the difficulties I had hearing the controllers have been because my brain is too used to my usual headphones?"

The answer to that question is, "No."

I mean, c'mon...think about all the different sound sources you're exposed to in day-to-day life. Your desk phone at the office...your cell phone...the TV speakers in your living room...the voices of your family and officemates....etc., etc.

Does your brain have any trouble processing those very different sound sources? Of course not.

Do you have any trouble understanding people on a hotel room phone as compared to your office? If your wife hands you her cell phone, does it take a few minutes for your "brain to get used to it" before you can understand the voice on the other end?

No.

If you couldn't hear what was coming out of the headphones, then something was screwed up about the headphones or comm system...or your hearing in general.