LOUDEST Concert and Tinnitus

Cheap Trick/Aerosmith indoor concert. Despite being up high all the way back in the upper boxes, my ears rang for 2-3 days. 

Steppenwolf back in the 60's was the loudest concert I had ever been to.  I'm 74 now and have had pretty severe tinnitus since the 80's. I attribute a lot of it to firing weapons in the army back in the late 60's and early 70's. I have worn hearing aids for the past 15 years,. 

I can't decide if it was the Who concert or the flight line with F-4 fighters taking off. Either way, I'm sure my hearing has suffered.

Loudest major concert. Def Leopard

Loudest musical event: Sitting a short distance away from the bass amp at a blues club in Chicago.  I was desperately trying to poke anything in my ears I could find.  Didn't have a cell phone back then, but if I had one, I would have tried to shove it in one ear.  A couple of hours afterwards, my nose was bleeding.

Overall, my ears didn't stand a chance.

Drag racing.  Standing near the starting line was the best place to take in the action.  And, the loudest.

Competition car audio.  I used to joke that my car made so much bass, I had stretch marks on my trunk lid.  In the early days of car audio competition, it actually was about ingenuity and sound quality.  The officials mercifully topped SPL at a mere 140 db. Anything above that didn't earn any extra points.  Years later, our demo van hit 150db+.  We amused spectators by placing a Big Gulp on the roof, cranking up the system and watching it bounce around until it finally feel to the ground. I wanted to put a big graphic on the side that read: "Van Whalen", but never got around to it. We never won a major SPL competition.  There was always somebody around who played louder. At 153db we were considered lightweights.

Its no surprise that my hearing loss and tinnitus set in early for me.  I initially thought I'd blown a tweeter in my speakers, but an RTA verified that it was my hearing.  Tinnitus sucks.  Have tried several remedies, and can't recommend anything thus far.

Easy for me.

First was the Outlaws in 1979. Green Grass and High Tides for about 28 minutes and ear piercing volumes. Ears rang for two solid days.

Second was Ian Hunter with Mick Ronson on guitar.  I was on the rail and it was another ear piercing experience. Deafening.

Third, being under the stack in 1989 at Autzen Stadium for the Dead and during drums Mickey’s bar thing was reverberating crazily.  Could feel it in my chest. That was tough.

Honorable mention, any electric Jack White show.  Frankly, Just doesn’t need to be that loud.

I have had tinnitus ever since the 1980’s and now wearing aides.  Paying the price.