It’s not a matter of “if”, it’s a matter of “when”.  If you wear one of these devices, you WILL ,at some point, say something you wished you hadn’t.  And it will be heard by folks you’ll wish hadn’t.  A Southwest pilot had that experience earlier this year. His unhappiness with the dating pool was broadcast across air traffic control frequencies when either his push to talk button got stuck, or he forgot to reconfigure his headset for intercom rather than radio.  Whatever caused the mishap, he let loose to his co-pilot, expressing his frustration with the number of gay and older flight attendants.  Apparently he can’t get laid unless the object of his affections is a young lady also wearing the Southwest blazer.  Perhaps he needs to expand his horizons!

I’ve been caught a time or two by open microphones.  Luckily, I don’t talk about my “dating” life at work!

This is the headset I use at my job, telling cops where to go. (And sometimes how to get there.)  I’ve had at least 3 accidental open mics in the years I’ve been on the cop radio, and one deliberate ‘accidental open mic’.  Two of my open mics captured “dammit!” as something didn’t happen as I expected, and the mic was still live.  There is no good reason for the mic to be live when hitting alert tones, and vox is a dangerous feature!

The other open mic stories will remain classified, in order to protect the guilty party.

Just remember, if you work around these things, keep a close eye on your “on-the-air” indicators anytime you open your mouth!