Two important points ......
1/ Get ANR
Someone here said :
> I am still a bit wary about ANR .......... it's another thing to fail.
On the DC models, if ANR fails, the headset becomes a passive headset and remains fully operational.
ANR is amazing ..... why continue living in the dark ages of the passive headset ?
2/
FORGET ABOUT COST 
People who say stuff like :
>The really good units cost a fortune
REALLY DRIVE ME MAD !
You only have one pair of ears ...... no matter how much you pay your doctor, he can't fix loss of auditory perception.
Spend £500 on a headset .......
It's going to be of decent quality for that price ....so I bet it will last somewhere between 5 and 10 years ..... that's £50 to £100 a year .....
Come on, we happily spend around £100 /hour to rent an aircraft to go flying ...... so why on earth make a fuss over a one off investment of £500 which will protect something priceless.
Face it, once you lose your hearing , you lose your medical ..... once you lose your medical you're grounded .....
P.S. Sorry for quoting one individual's posting above ..... my post was not specifically targeted at you. Just everybody who gives the above as excuses.