question about hearing loss

[Jo6Pak]

despite spending 10 years in the navy on carriers and at air stations, on top of all the rock 'n rolling i did in the 70s AND the vance & hines pipes currently on my dyna, the hearing has held up fairly well. too bad i can't say the same about my short-term memory and eyesight...

 

[Octaven]

I just got back from a school dance (you know, where the "DJ" is of the mindset that everything sounds better if it is drowned out by a +20dB boost on the bass and midbass) and, considering that I could literally feel the bass vibrations pulse through my body, I am now worried about hearing loss. What happens if one is exposed to high SPL's? Does one get hearing loss over all frequencies? Or is it primarily one's ability to hear high-frequencies (say, 15 KHz) that is affected? Or does hearing damage primarily occur only in the loud frequencies (in this case, only the bass/midbass)?

Thanks!

I don't think you'll suffer much, if any, damage from one evening. But you're wise to be concerned.

This is one of those situations where you can take control of your own destiny, break away from the herd, and look back later and say "good for me".

Something I haven't seen mentioned: after too many loud exposures, one thing that happens is that it becomes more difficult to differentiate between sounds in a noisy environment, such as a restaurant. While the person across the table talks to you, he seems to be drowned out by other voices in the room.