As most of my friends know my hearing is used up, but there were special moments that stand out. Like standing between two 155 howitzers when both fired simultaneously. Calling in close air support right on top of your bunker position. Being in the launch control van 300 meters from the launcher for a Purshing II launch. Just hanging out around gas turbine generators for hours. Kind of made the race 911 motors on engine dyno seem tame, even without earplugs.
But the most pain I ever felt was from those G damn GTU Mazda RX7's, they truly hurt.

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Dec. 1973 at the Spectrum in Philly. We were on the floor about 25 ft. from the bank of speakers to the left of the stage. I couldn't hear right for about 2 days after, but I did get laid by the young strumpet that I brought to the show.

Second or third row at an Aerosmith concert in the early 80's.
Tower Theater in Philly. Could not hear a thing for a few days after the concert.

Blue Cheer 1970. Followed by AC/DC..

I was at this resort in Playa Del Carmen when a natural gas explosion killed 7:

Tourists killed in hotel gas explosion - World News | IOL News | IOL.co.za

Ma with no earpro.....didn't hear crap other than incessant ringing for 4 days after that...

Wow, interesting stories.

VIN, I wasn't talking of high pitched screams ;)

I can't imagine anything louder than being about 50' away from the butt of an SST.

Keep it going.

OK, listen up. You people form a line here.....everybody gets a hundred rounds.....

Ma duce is loud.
Being near the center of a line of around 50 em' all going at once (no ear plugs) brought tears to my eyes. Good fun to shoot tho.

Something I noticed in this thread. two distinct groups of people, those choosing rock concerts and race car as loudest. and a select few that chose the sound of freedom as being loudest. 5" guns, missiles, tanks and such.

No judgement just an observation.

And a screaming orgasm or two. A sub-group of the sound of freedom group.

I haven't found the top fuel/truck & tractor pull events as loud as that B1. But then I was at least 50' away at the racing events.

Supposedly the loudest band in the world during their heyday. I am still sticking with the B1 with the burners on.

Cheers
JB

F-18s full afterburner takeoff.

The chemical plant I worked at had 1500lb steam. Very very hot and loud when it gets where it's not supposed to be. I worked in the boiler unit for 5 years and we did occasionally have leaks on the 1500. More common leaks were 600lb or even 150lb. Then there was the muffler for the vent gas generator. It would mess with yor heart rate if you stood to close to it. Or the 60-100 30, 60, 120, 300, horse motors in every pump house. Ear plugs and muffs sop.

I was standing about 50 feet from a cottonwood tree in my uncle Adam's back yard when it got hit by lightning. It knocked me down. I thought I was deaf for a while after that.

Yeah, F-18, sure, some guttural powerful low freq.

Try being next to powerful higher freq's

For me this was next to an F1 car being started and rev'd. Even while wearing ear-plugs and covering my ears, that engine hit some higher rpm and rang my skull like a bell.

Summer job years ago an American F-14 came over the worksite very low with power on. Have no idea if it was on afterburners but man was it loud! Was cool that the guy was banked over and I could see most of the cockpit from the ground.

Killing back is good.

Back in the 70's I was deep into the Adirondack outback on top of a 4000 foot peak. From behind me , seemingly out of nowhere a jet fighter blasted overhead. Seemed like he was right on top of me but it's hard to tell when you're face down under a backpack.

August 1972, press and family day cruise on the USS Enterprise from Alameda. Mid-afternoon airshow and my dad (press) and I were standing high up on the observation catwalk aft of the bridge, outside. A dark silhouette went past the ship from the stern, at eye level, very fast. BOOM! It was an F-4J Phantom, supersonic. As I watched the Phantom climb away vertically ahead of the ship an A-5 Vigilante came in from the bow, opposite direction, also supersonic. BOOM! The Vigi was closer in and it was louder. I was ten and didn't know whether to laugh or piss in my pants.