Okay folks, I have been having some killer discussions with some friends of mine in San Francisco last weekend about the sound levels at clubs. Several of us have begun to experience differing levels of hearing loss, which primed the pump for some heated debate on our past/present/future behaviors.

I have been using foam ear plugs for years, as I never forced myself into buying fitted earplugs until my experience at a dance club in LA a few months ago! All I can say is that it changed my priority after a couple of hours of teeth-rattling bass from 4 massive speaker stacks located on every corner of the dance floor. In fact, I had a hard time breathing as I walked by one of these speaker setups - what's up with that? I know that as a kid, I wanted the world to hear my music from my car and house. It was my way of influencing the community, make me look cool, etc. Needless to say, I never thought about the ramifications for my ears until much later in life.

Anyway, please pipe in with your comments about this topic as I'm sure you can relate to some degree.