The response from the instructor was quite negative. He simply didn't want me to wear it - he stated he found it a bit difficult to communicate with me when i wore it.
Your instructor's attitude is 'interesting'. He doesn't seem to have accepted your preference to wear a helmet as valid, nor does he seem to have made a reasonable effort to convince you that that you not wearing a helmet was the safest option overall.
There's a
relevant thread on Rotorheads, although it's helicopter-oriented.
Hearing protection and reducing the chances of fatal and non-fatal injuries, particlularly following forced landings and birdstrikes, are valid reasons for wearing a helmet.
Increased neck-loading in accidents is a reasonable concern, but I've found no evidence to weight the argument against helmets (I don't mean there isn't any, I'd like to hear if there is), whilst there is a wealth of evidence to support the use of helmets in light aircraft operations.
Communication incompatibilties should be sortable either with the help of an avionics engineer - or with a different instructor
