My ears got progressively worse, until one night after going to "the end" they started ringing and never really stopped. I now have tinnitus, which you can get use to - sleep with a fan on etc. But the thing that causes problems is hyperacusis - enhanced sensitivity to sound. This means that non loud noises are now painful - holding a phone next to your ear, bad home hifi with screechy treble, and of course pretty much all PA systems.

If you are really careful it does improve over the years and you lose some of the pain. You can get tinnitus retraining therapy but it involves wearing a hearing aid that creates white noise for 8 hours a day for a year. It sorts out the pain, and you become habituated to the ringing. Not an easy fix though.

If you dj regularly buy elacins. The price is high because they have a very flat response - most cheaper earplugs block a disproportionate amount of mid range of HF signal. Elacins are flat, and are also moulded to you ear so they are very comfortable, inobtrusive and sonically accurate.

If you go clubbing regularly you should invest in some musicians earplugs like in the picture above. Its better than having ****ed ears for the rest of your life.

Peace.