This was a new one for me... flying ICT-IAH today on ERJ-145 (ExpressJet) the flight attendant made the person behind me take off their headphones even though they were not noise reduction (no on/off switch) and he even showed the attendant that they werent plugged in and the passenger told the attendant he wears them during takeoff because of the noise.....

The attendant was pretty much a [jerk] about it and forced him to remove them even thought the passenger questioned the rules....

On another note.... the level of service on these regional carriers is generally pathetic and there is no consistency what so ever. Unfortunately lately I fly them weekly.... Flight time today was 1:30+ and the attendant did a drink service immediately after takeoff followed immediately by a pass through the cabin to pick up trash (no one had even had time to finish their drinks) and then disappeared for the duration of the flight behind the curtain in the galley.... literally didnt even come out until the captain gave the ding that we were on approach.

The attendant also included in his pre-landing announcement that "all headphones, ear phones, ear plugs etc had to be removed before landing for passengers safety and the safety of those around them."

What is this all about??