My DCs are still going strong after 25 years with me - and I bought them 2nd hand from my instructor. They're H10-40s and were made prior to headset mounted volume controls becoming the norm. I had them refurbished at the DC factory (a whole US$70) in the early '90s but apart from that they keep on chugging along.
They've been used & abused during the heat & humidity of the monsoon in Australia's Northern Territory, the dusty heat of the Oz desert in summer & winter, below freezing in several winters in the Shetland Islands, and any number of hours in a salty maritime environment around Shetland & the Bahamas. Aircraft have ranged from most Cessna/Piper/Beech singles to most of the common twins including that bastion of noise over elegance, the Islander, and a couple of turboprops.
I like that there is little to go wrong with them. Operating in remote areas means that I could make repairs myself on the rare occasion it was necessary (old style plugs prior to the factory renovation, replace a speaker & a mic.). Lots of standardised parts so even non-DC parts could be used. Also no electronics to go tits up or need a power source (ANC), no variable resistor to break or limit maximum volume due to residual resistance in the varister (headset volume control). Like Reddo says: Use an earplug if you want a bit more attenuation. I sometimes used my music player's earbuds (walkman originally then digital). You need the very small type of earbud with little or no bits sticking out if you want to use earbuds.