LOUDEST Concert and Tinnitus

Some of the ones that had my ears ringing for days were in no particular order, 

Grand Funk

The Cars (Panorama tour - everything cranked to 11!)

Ministry

The Killers (everything super-loud and super-distorted)

The Verve (everything super-loud and super-distorted)

In the older days, the PA gear just wasn't as good and would distort, making the volume just that much worse. These days, it's more down to the sound crew, I think, as I've heard some of these bands at other times, even in the same venue, and the sound was great.

I've had tinnitus for many years; it's a hissing sound that is sometimes louder and sometimes softer, but it's relatively easy to ignore. 

With all those entries, it's a shame there's no measurement of distortion, too, or the measurements can be misleading as far as the subjective experience. 

@sejodiren - I saw U2 on that first tour as well, at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco; they played 2 shows in one night; I got to stick around for both. 

@sejodiren - and I worked in the local wholesale record business at the time, so one of our local WEA reps (Bam Bam!) also got me a Warner Brothers live U2 promo-only album; I think that's pretty rare these days.