Do glider pilots require normal headsets? When flying light aircraft, we use headsets which include ear protection from the noise of the fan. Being that unpowered gliders are presumably much quieter, are the same headsets used?

My assumption is that gliders are radio equipped, and pilots are still talking to ATC or their airfield traffic information. If this is not the case, are headsets still used for intra-cockpit communications or are they really quiet enough to talk normally?
No, but a hat to protect the head from the sun. You may call this the glider pilot's headset ;-)



Glider pilot with hat (picture source)

The flight noise is just a faint hissing sound, and the most noise is either produced by the electrical variometer or the radio. On a busy day and with everyone on the same frequency, I often switched the radio silent when high up. When you receive transmissions from tens of kilometers away, you often receive parallel transmissions, which result in a very loud and annoying crackling in the radio.