LOUDEST Concert and Tinnitus

Jam sessions at my buddy's home studio in the mid 1970's. Ear sufferin' succotash!

@classicalpiano 

In retrospect, I was careless inflating an old bicycle tire. At 48 psi the tire blow up, causing a traumatic sudden and nearly complete hearing loss.

You shouldn't be too hard on yourself because that's terribly unlucky. That blast must have been aimed at your ears by pure chance.

I remember once trying to change a tyre single handedly and I used a screwdriver as a wedge against the wheel spokes and the tyre rubber when all of a sudden the screwdriver slipped and suddenly shot out at speed across the room.

I wasn't wearing any goggles at the time.

Now if it had struck me in the eye or face...

When it happens you might never pray so hard to get it back!

Oh dear God, isn't so much of our life ultimately like this?

Thanks for sharing your story.

I wish you all the best in making the best possible recovery.

So much of the ways the body works is still unknown and the ear brain connection is mostly a mystery.

Anything that helps to improve the circulation to your ears is certainly worth a try.

Thank you, cd318, for your thoughtful response. I guess I should emphasize to all to be cautious of potential loud sound levels and ear damage. That is the first order of business! Avoid or use ear protection when you know your ears may be assaulted by excessive levels of sound. Losing critical musical hearing is hard, especially when you can not hear your wife or kids voices the same again.

Loudest sound fortunate enough to Not be next to:

1/4 mi. from me, a local cranking up an Allison 12 on his dragboat, straight exhausts. Even at my young age (Jr. High), I knew I shouldn’t (and wouldn’t) be next to it. Even at idle, the popping sounded like cannon shots....

Loudest sound I made on a personal level, Work-Related Division:

’Breaking up’ a 4’ x 8’ sheet of 1" thick brass on a panel saw for a client who could afford such cut into graphics (before CNC, we did it that way). 5hp Dayton motor on the rails, DC driven, pnematic ’hold-downs’ up to max.
Best speed was +/- 2" minute, since you couldn’t raise the saw to take multiple passes at it. Had cut aluminum sheets of similar thickness and Knew this would be slower and louder for a good while, and not pleasant to be around. Went into the office for a heads’ up: "If you’ve got a good reason or merely an excuse to leave the building, I’d recommend you do it." How long? "Best guess, 2 hours."

Closed the 3" fire door between offices and shop. Earplugs AND Earphones. Constant spraying of cutting fluid helped damp ’blade screech’, but still....🙄

The architects office next door asked wtf I was trying to kill, and could I be a little quieter about it.

"No, and I’d be the first to do so....."

"Oh..."

My tinnitus is better of late, my aids are dialed in to compensate....Phonex Audeos’.

Loudest concert?

Relatively recent: Smashing Pumpkins at the Orange Peel here in AVL, starting their latest tour at the time, sold out in less than an hour.

Wayyy too small a venue, a tighter-than SRO crowd, so loud from note one that it was hard to distinguish one song from the next. Yelling Into the Ear of one next to you brought 🤷‍♂️/🤷‍♀️🙄 mostly....

Only respite was to exit to the ’smokers’ gulag’, where it was still loud...but you could at least hear someone next to you....kinda....

We left early.....

Most of the damage to my hearing occurred from work-related machinery, even with the use of ’phones.

Concert sound systems, as a rule, didn’t make my ears freak.

The howling of the audience, the ’dirty white noise’ they could amass...

Would. My ears would give a ’pop’, and I knew I was done for the night.

Lately, I pull my aids and insert Vibes (re-usable) or Hearos (’roadie’ grade) plugs, but carry both....and stay back aways from the stacks.

I still go, but I’m picky ’bout it....

The local symphony is an ’aids event’, however.

Yup, surprise, I do ’do symphonic events’. Always a pleasant event to ’dress down’ for.... ;)

Bob mould with sugar was stupid loud and distorted. 
a few other notables- Catherine wheel, rage against the machine, Metallica, even Jeff Buckley hitting those high notes was too loud but it was oh so beautiful,