I hear what you say there Dan, but would comment that of my 1300ish hours, maybe 50-100 hours are with an ANR headset, and all of that in the last couple of years. My first 400 hours included a lot of seriously noisy aeroplanes.
I still have, according to a periodic audiogram, near perfect hearing. (Shame about the rest of me mind you, but my eyes and ears are great!).
Good passive headsets are still very good, notwithstanding that a good ANR headset is better, particularly with regard to your ability to hear, concentrate, and keep your stress levels down.
G