I need to get new earplugs.
I initially got them because the Smashing Pumpkins nearly deafened me on the Adore tour. I had great seats, but it was at Constitution Hall in DC, which has the most atrocious acoustics I’ve heard, ever.
They had the subwoofers (low frequency, like the bass) jacked way up, and I was apparently right fucking next to them, because every time D’Arcy hit a certain note, my whole head would rattle and my right ear would hurt like a motherfucker. My head hurt like hell after the show, and I had a really, really bad ringing in my right ear for about five days after the show.
So I got these really nice custom fitted earplugs at an unrelated visit to an ear nose and throat guy when I almost broke my nose by diving the wrong way onto a bed and smacking my face into a big cabinet behind the bed.
TANGENT WARNING: I also discovered on this visit that I’ve had a deviated septum (the little thing in the middle of your nose that seperates it into, you know, nostrils), and have apparently had it for years. I had just kind of been under the impression that usually only being able to breathe through one nostril was normal, or that this was a product of my allergies. The doctor told me this was likely the result of a very old break and that the only way to fix it was to re-break my nose so it could could be re-set. I was like, no thanks, I’ll just sniff halfheartedly.
So anyway, I got these really nice earplugs, and I caried them around with me for about three and a half years. And then they began to disintegrate, and they finally bit the dust about six months ago. This wasn’t a problem, since until last week, I hadn’t been to a concert since October.
At the Patty Griffin show, this wasn’t really a problem, since her band was not terribly loud. But I was at a show tonight at Nevin’s because Ellen Rosner, who I’ve been bugging to let me know when she had an 18+ show, was among the people there.
When I left, I came back and I could tell my hearing was not what it ought to be, though it wasn’t too bad, since Nevin’s isn’t that fucking big. But I was still shouting when I came in to talk to my roommates.
So the ear nose and throat people will be getting a call from me soon. Probably a very loud one.