What'd you say? Couldn't quite make it out.

The BBC has an article on the hearing loss campaign in the UK.  Go.  Read.

Damn right I wore earplugs at the Dick Dale concert a couple of weeks ago.  Stood right up front too, heard every note, and walked away unscathed.  Coincidentally, it was at the same venue (Howlin' Wolf) with another surf rock act (Man or Astro-Man?, yes with a question mark) where I got the Final Warning from my ears a few years ago.  The ringing didn't fade for a week, and once the initial panic of "am I going to live with this forever?" was over, it was clear that earplugs were no longer merely optional items.