from http://www.abelard.org/hear/hear.htm#question

Can loud rock music cause deafness?

You bet, but music doesn?t have to be so loud that it hurts your ears for it to cause damage. If it?s so loud you can?t hear a normal conversation, it?s probably damaging your hearing.

Man ... i love going to see shows where I can hear people talking over the band. They are so much fun.

I hear smoking causes cancer too.

Well, time to go get fitted for those hearing aids early.

rock.

J[/b]

I loved this part:

Rock machismo lives, despite the threat of permanent hearing loss

Sad as it may be, I always play concerts with earplugs in. Playing in front of our wall of sound at Bernie's without them a couple of times made me realize that I was probably dooming myself to being deaf by 30.

I've never worn earplugs to a concert I've attended, though, cause that would just suck.

what? Oh yeah. I wear earplugs to shows if it needs it, ie: if the soundman thinks he is working an arena and it's some tiny-ass room, or if the guitarist thinks he really needs 3 Marshall Stacks, or if I am standing within a few feet of the speaker stacks.

I sometimes wear them while playing, but not as often as I should, especially considering that the drummer I play with (I play bass) is quite loud. I don't care for the muffled sound, but sometimes they're all that's saving me from the crash of symbols and the oft-times piercing sound of guitars and keys.

I am over 30 and can still hear, but have detected some hearing loss and caught it early (hopefully) by being reasonable about it. Yes, some of you may laugh, but soon you too will understand....

What band are you playing with, Mike? Judging from some of your posts, we seem to have a similar taste in music. Just curious.

I've already sustained some higher-end hearing loss from an ear infection a long time ago, so I figure, what's the harm in losing it all?

: )

what's the fukking point of playing if you can't feel it/taste it? machismo, passion, total immersion, whatever you want to call it, i love to play loud. i can't reach that musical big "O" unless it's in my head, solid. i almost feel like someone's baiting me here this is so absurd... or did i detect a note of sarcasm?

signed,
mr. beltone

I'm the sax player in the Rancid Yak Butter Tea Party, which is part of the reason why I wear earplugs: it's really easy for me not to be able to hear myself playing over the rest of the musical chaos, since I don't have an amp or anything & generally the monitors don't do a whole lot.

I don't go around trying to blast my eardrums with the music I listen to, it just sort of happens. I hear a song I like and I turn the volume up. Then another, and up some more. Before I know it I'm blasting myself out of my car or apartment. It's not like I'm trying to be macho, it's just a universal thing that happens.

My grandparents have lost their hearing and I can guarantee you they didn't lose it by rocking out or using heavy, loud machinery.

I guess if you don't want to lose your hearing, wear earplugs. I'll be in my usual spot, right in front of the stacks so the sound can vibrate every hair on my head.

minimott

P.S. Oh, and there is more than one person lurking around this message board that's over 30! I'm not going to act it though.

I love it loud. In the past year, i've seen Mogwai (x2), Explosions in the sky, Trail of Dead, and Aereogramme, all of whom are supposedly monstrously loud and i wished every single one of those shows was louder. although mogwai in pittsburgh was pretty decent volume. I'm probably just spoiled by seeing bands with multiple marshal amps play bernies so whenver i get in a medium (newport) sized venue it never seems loud enough.

here's hoping that in a few months when i see bardo pond and subarachnoid space they crank it up nice and loud.

You just can't deny loud rock.
Foo Fighters on Color and Shape tour and QOTSA on their last one just blew my mind at how loud they were.

bush-hawg, I remember seeing Greenhorn at Stache's in 92-93 and (despite or maybe because of the illicit drugs and NyQuil in my system) It was so loud, I remember feeling like I was staring into an airplane engine. And it was freaking GREAT!
"Callous" and "Swollen" always remind me of that show.

Also, I never wear earplugs live, and generally don't wear them to see shows, aside from Grafton. And even then, i can deal for 4-5 songs before i don the old HEAR-O's.

rock.

J

the two loudest shows i've ever seen:
bluetip, circa 1996, in a basement in indianapolis. holy crap was that loud.
and
the motorhead show at the newport last year. it seriously hurt.

What about Jucifer at the Factory not long ago?

Wall of amps + screaming vocals = deafness and a very un-fun time.