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Comment by Traubenfuchs | Hacker News Reader

> I once had tinnitus for a week after a concert

This is impossible for me. As a self proclaimed hypersensitive person with hyperacusis and misophonia, I would rather fight and claw my way out of any kind of concert or disco rather than suffering from the loud noises. Any kind of concert or disco noise means intense pain to me. Like getting stabbed in the ears.

I found a solution and peace in ear plugs, with them I can enjoy discos and anything else like normal people.

Now one question for you: I do realize the majority of humans can stand those levels of noise without earplugs and without any apparent discomfort. Do all you normies and neurotypicals simply do not have this intense pain reaction to loud noise? How the hell could you suffer through a concert so loud it gave you tinnitus without passing out from pain?

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> Now one question for you: I do realize the majority of humans can stand those levels of noise without earplugs and without any apparent discomfort. Do all you normies and neurotypicals simply do not have this intense pain reaction to loud noise? How the hell could you suffer through a concert so loud it gave you tinnitus without passing out from pain?

Most venues have terrible sound. This can be the result of bad acoustics, a poor quality/poorly tuned sound system, or performers who don’t know what they are doing and think loud = good sound. When I’m in one of those I have your reaction.

In venues with a well-tuned, high quality soundsystem being used properly, your ears shouldn’t hurt much.

But why run the risk of damaging your hearing? Everyone should be wearing earplugs at live events anyway.

Musical noise rarely gives me any issues, though some of the weirder electronic/noise/artsy punk shows have been problematic. Usually it is in short bursts though, I can't think of a show I actually left due to the noise. I enjoy music I can feel but I am very diligent about earplug usage to the point that I bring extras to share just in case. I typically pull each earplug out for a few seconds on each side to see if I'm missing much. There is something very different about listening to Earth for example at show volume. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiCIW04PF3I

Unfortunately my tinnitus stemmed from lightning. I'm fortunate that it doesn't seem noticeable all the time.

I'm the exact same way. I assume our brain translates loud noises into physical side effects while normal brains just don't. Same way anxiety, or an anxiety disorder, can cause physical effects like sweating or increased heart rates when having symptoms.

Personally, I like it because I worry about hearing loss and it's a kind of protective measure, while other people don't seem to care when they're damaging their ears. I also hate it because I can look like a lunatic getting physically uncomfortable when everyone else is fine.

Yes, yes, I prefer having this warning mechanism over not having it. I keep ear plugs in all my pockets, you never know when you end up in clearly harmfully loud environments even if it‘s just walking past a jackhammer.

I can not even imagine what normal people experience and feel at that point where noise and loudness turn into PURE PAIN for me. The accoustic equivalent of looking into the sun or lasers!

I also use airpod pros as alternative to earplugs and I do feel the ANC pressure and weirdness, but it doesn‘t feel painful in any way.

Most people don't feel pain at the concert and they only notice the tinnitus the following day.

I used to go to thrash punk gigs years ago - but not many so didn't do noticeable damage before I learned about the risk and started wearing ear plugs.

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