I was recently diagnosed with ISSNHL (basically "sudden deafness" in my right ear. My hearing went from a typical-for-a-48-year-old hearing (about -5dB from 40-8000hz) to suddenly about 80% hearing loss. I attributed it to annual allergies. But then when the tinnitus kicked in a few weeks later I got scared and went to the ENT, who gave me the diagnosis and a massive 3 week dose of Prednisone. It's best to start treating this sort of thing as soon as possible and the ENT said it was a flip of the coin if my hearing would come back or not. <br><br>I'm happy to report that about 10 days into treatment (with no effect) my hearing suddenly started improving, and by the end it was fine. <br><br>So I'll echo what Tom said and say yes: protect your hearing. I went from fine to searching for hearing aids within a few weeks and it scared the stuffing out of me (I'm a composer/arranger by trade). I feel blessed that it came back but angry at myself for every time I ever abused my ears. Once you do damage the little cilia in your auditory canals never regrow. That damage is permanent.<br><br>Protect your ears. Your future self will thank you if you do, and curse you if you don't.