Improving communication in general aviation through the use of noise cancelling headphones

• General aviation aircraft are noisy.
• Pilots are expected to perform optimally in such environments.
• Noise causes performance impairment.
• Noise cancelling headphones improve the signal to noise ratio.

General aviation pilots are required to receive and provide instructions over the radio and this is often in a noisy environment. Therefore, the main aim of the present research was to investigate an aspect of the effects of noise on communication performance in general aviation. Specifically, the present research tested the beneficial effects of noise cancelling headphones in order to reduce miscommunication errors. Since English is the international language of aviation, the present study also examined the effects of noise cancelling headphones with non-native English speakers. Employing a repeated measures design with two independent variables (hearing condition and audio condition) and one between groups independent variable (native language), the results revealed the beneficial effects on noise cancelling headphones on performance. The results also highlighted differences between native and non-native English speakers. These results are discussed from both an applied and theoretical perspective.