Stepping back from ANR

B A R R Y wrote:
...
Those of you who say good ANR is a waste of money must already be
deaf.

For those of you that have made the leap, use your old set again one
of these days! G

One of my cheapo passive headsets that I use for the 3d passenger
recently died (in one ear). I'm toying with the idea of getting an ANR
set to replace it (for me, of course, and the others all get relegated
to passenger use). I've only sampled the effects of ANR in my avionics
shop, when the owner had me try it in the shop one day "just for fun"
(good active selling technique). It's nice, very nice...but my
question is this : I like to hear the engine just a bit since a little
change in the sound or hiccup can signal an upcoming problem of
potentially serious consequence, and gets my attention very fast. How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind? The cost of a decent ANR set is significantly more than a very
good passive set, and I just don't want to give up safety for
comfort/convenience.

Well come and fly with me tomorrow, I'll let you try mine. Bring
whatever you have and you can try my Bose(latest generation) and the
Lightspeed QFR XCc. Meet me at T hangar number 4 at 8:45 am.

skym wrote:

B A R R Y wrote:

...
Those of you who say good ANR is a waste of money must already be
deaf.

For those of you that have made the leap, use your old set again one
of these days! G


One of my cheapo passive headsets that I use for the 3d passenger
recently died (in one ear). I'm toying with the idea of getting an ANR
set to replace it (for me, of course, and the others all get relegated
to passenger use). I've only sampled the effects of ANR in my avionics
shop, when the owner had me try it in the shop one day "just for fun"
(good active selling technique). It's nice, very nice...but my
question is this : I like to hear the engine just a bit since a little
change in the sound or hiccup can signal an upcoming problem of
potentially serious consequence, and gets my attention very fast. How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind? The cost of a decent ANR set is significantly more than a very
good passive set, and I just don't want to give up safety for
comfort/convenience.

"skym" wrote

I like to hear the engine just a bit since a little
change in the sound or hiccup can signal an upcoming problem of
potentially serious consequence, and gets my attention very fast. How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind? The cost of a decent ANR set is significantly more than a very
good passive set, and I just don't want to give up safety for
comfort/convenience.

You: a) don't read the group very much b) don't believe what others have
written on this subject c) don't have good reading comprehension or
retention. g

All kidding aside, I can't recall anyone posting on this exact subject
"*ever* saying anything OTHER than the fact that they can hear changes in
the engine much, much better than they ever could before, comparing this
fact with either passive headsets, or to wearing no hearing protection.

Get them. Lost hearing can not ever be replaced, and take it from me -
being half deaf, kinda sucks! Tinitus- the constant ringing in your
ears -which I also have- also does not go away. Mine is *as loud* as a
conversation spoken at normal volumes, perhaps from only across a medium
sized room. Hearing aids don't even help that. All you can do is turn them
up loud enough to drown out the multiple pitched ringing noise in your head.

You are never too young to protect your back, and your hearing. I dearly
wish someone had impressed those facts to me, loudly and often, when I was
young.
--
Jim in NC
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:
You are never too young to protect your back, and your hearing. I dearly
wish someone had impressed those facts to me, loudly and often, when I was
young.


There is zero evidence that ANR does anything to prevent hearing loss
over and above a good passive headset. If you can't cite clinical data
to substantiate such an important claim, it it quite irresponsible to
make such a claim.



JKG

In article ,
B A R R Y wrote:

Trust me... You hear EVERYTHING, only better.

The "ANR will hide a problem" is a total fallacy, spread by the
unknowing.

um, I didn't notice the open door on my cherokee until I was
wondering about the excess breeze.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

"Jonathan Goodish" wrote

There is zero evidence that ANR does anything to prevent hearing loss
over and above a good passive headset. If you can't cite clinical data
to substantiate such an important claim, it it quite irresponsible to
make such a claim.

Simply because ANR has not been around long enough for any long term studies
to have taken place.

If the total decibel reduction ratings are higher for an ANR unit versus a
passive unit, would that not be a pretty darn good reason to believe that
they will result in less hearing loss?

How about the fact that ANR users report being able to hear com traffic much
more clearly? What happens if you can not hear ATC clearly? Most would
turn up the volume, so they can make the conversation out against the
background noise. The loud com blaring in the ears would be another cause
of hearing loss that is not ever even factored into the decibel ratings of
headsets.

I think that it is just as irresponsible or more irresponsible to make
claims or imply that passive is just as good as ANR, when there are no long
term studies to show that they are equal to the protection that ANR
provides.
--
Jim in NC

skym wrote:

question is this : I like to hear the engine just a bit since a little
change in the sound or hiccup can signal an upcoming problem of
potentially serious consequence, and gets my attention very fast. How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind?

a heck of a lot better than a passive headset; anything which is not
the usual drone can be heard a lot clearer, and you'll be less likely
to miss it; besides, at the end of a long flight, you'll be less
likely to be tired and more likely to deal with the snag correctly (IMHO
and all that)

--Sylvain

Skym,

How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind?

Very. It's a total non-issue, a made-up argument by headset companies
back when they didn't have an ANR model in their line-up, and by old
cots not liking any change.

The cost of a decent ANR set is significantly more than a very
good passive set,

Not really. In fact, not at all. Let's say a "very good passive set" is
of the DC brand (I couldn't agree less, but...). That will set you
back, what, 400, 500 bucks? For that, you'll be the proud owner of a
Lightspeed 20XLc and have a 100-$-burger left. Go with a QFR XCc (or
one of its pilot shop branded cousins) and you'll have two of those
burgers left.

"ANR is way more expensive" is just as much of a myth as "You can't
hear the engine quitting with ANR".

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article ,
B A R R Y wrote:

The last time I flew with a PA-28 with an open door, I was still
wearing passives, and I think I would have noticed the changes
regardless of what was strapped to my head. G

I've had a door open twice. The first time I had a passive headset.
The second time was a few months after getting the ANR. Believe
me, I was shocked that I couldn't hear that the door was open.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

In article , "Morgans"
wrote:

There is zero evidence that ANR does anything to prevent hearing loss
over and above a good passive headset. If you can't cite clinical data
to substantiate such an important claim, it it quite irresponsible to
make such a claim.

Simply because ANR has not been around long enough for any long term studies
to have taken place.

If the total decibel reduction ratings are higher for an ANR unit versus a
passive unit, would that not be a pretty darn good reason to believe that
they will result in less hearing loss?

But if a passive unit lowers the decibels sufficiently, then the pilot won't
suffer hearing loss. In that case, the better performance of the ANR won't
help. (don't get me wrong - you can have my ANR headset when you
pry it from my cold dead fingers).

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate