As noted, it is hard to say since we didn’t have SPL meters with us, but I’d say The Replacements at a small warehouse bar show. They had brought in some speaker stacks and enough power for a large arena and played LOUD. I ended up going outside to be able to better hear the band. LOL.
A few years ago, I went to an Umphrey’s McGee show in Greensboro at a very poorly thought-out venue. It was atrociously loud and echoey. I had some not so good ear protection ear plugs that didn’t do much of anything. Not long after that I developed 8000Hz tinnitus.
The tinnitus is always there. Sometimes it is louder, other times softer, but it never goes away. I simply resign myself to try to ignore it since there are no legitimate treatments at this time - none. Don’t fall for any snake oil crap on YouTube either.
As an aside, I hate that some medical professionals advertise or even call themselves things like, "Carolina Hearing and Tinnitus" when they can't offer any real treatments for it. Seems like false advertising and just a hook to get you to come in so they can sell you hearing aids that you might not need.
In fact, it isn’t even well understood by medical science yet. They aren’t even sure how it is related to hearing or even if it is, or if it is some underlying brain/nervous system interaction perhaps set off by loud sounds. One theory is that the brain has been switched or forced to hearing the sounds of your own nervous system’s "sampling rate", hence the often 8000Hz that people hear. That’s just a guess.
I’d hope more money might be spent on figuring out its causes, its nature, and developing a treatment. With 15% to 20% of people affected by it, you’d think there’d be some financial payoff in finding a cure.
For most shows now I go to a small venue in Winston-Salem called The Ramkat and they are smart about it. They turn the music up enough to make it impactful but not stupid loud.
LOUDEST Concert and Tinnitus
This is a two part question.
1. What is the loudest concert (or event) that you have attended?
2. How long have you had tinnitus, is it getting better or worse and how are you dealing with it?
Personally, the loudest concert was UB40 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. Loudest event was drag racing at SIR (Seattle International Raceway) which was like sticking your head in a jet engine.
Regarding tinnitus. Over the past year or so I have noticed a constant high pitched "sound" in my ears. Mostly the left ear. At this point I don't actually know if it is constant or whether I just forget about it sometimes. I know use a white noise box when I go to sleep. Otherwise I tend to fixate on the ringing.