[LysPJ]

The music at many concerts and nightclubs is unfortunately loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss.

Ear plugs reduce the volume to a level where you can still hear the music, but the risk of long term damage is reduced. (You can get "musician's ear plugs" which attenuate all frequencies equally, so they don't make the music sound weird.)

[whoitwas]

Right. I didn't consider this as a possible option. It seems odd, but makes a lot of sense if you work at some place loud.