Shit, you guys are scaring me lol.
"Be scared, be very scared"
Sorry, bad paraphrase from The Fly. Great SciFi movie by the way...
Not to be too alarmist but if you value your hearing, you should consider protecting it whenever and wherever you can.
This hobby is critically dependent on it.
I'm 54 and have moderate tinnitus and hearing loss.
Part of the hearing loss spectrum is genetic, which you can't control and the other part is environmental, which you can.
When we're young we can be told or forced to protect our hearing but it's hard to realize and accept future repercussions of our
actions when we're young and "invincible".
Many rock bands, many rock concerts, many motorcycles, many power tool projects+ genetics=where I am now.
You can't go back in time and I wouldn't trade those life experiences for the world.
But I do have multiple sets of earplugs in all my bags and cars now.
When I go to music shows and movies I use affordable "musician's" plugs.
I haven't yet sprung for the type with custom molded earpieces.
My attitude is I'm going to do every damn thing possible to protect what remains of my hearing.
You have to make it become second nature even if people look at you strangely.
My wife is an optometrist and my work mandates eye protection zones so safety glasses are also second nature now too.
Consider if you were a fine art painter and lost your vision, or a wine afficionado and lost your sense of taste and smell.
I once helped a store I worked for put together those giant metal palette racks in a small concrete room.
It was a manager and a bunch of kids younger than me. I was the only one with plugs.
When the hammer pounding started some of the kids, the smart ones, reacted like they were struck by lightning and immediately
plugged their ears with their hands. The not so bright ones (macho boys) didn't even seem to notice and just kept pounding away!
It was astonishing.
Fortunately, as an adult, I had enough influence with the manager that he agreed we should stop immediately and go buy
a box of plugs.
My tinnitus affects me everyday. I hear it right now and it's never, ever going to go away.
While I am fortunate that I can still enjoy this great hobby of ours I do wish I had "listened" way back when.
It's all in your hands.