January Birthdays 
We all know that loud sounds damage the cochlea, the sound reception organ of the ear, that both louder and longer are worse, and earplugs protect at least somewhat. Here are two other ways to protect that don't involve volume or earplugs:
1) Avoid alcohol. Alcoholic beverages make ears more susceptible to injury by noise. A natural protective mechanism in the ear is hindered by alcohol. It is probably also hindered by benzos (e.g., diazepam, clonazepam).
2) Oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) capsules provide some protection for some people. One case report in the medical literature described remission (i.e., disappearance) of tinnitus in response to NAC. NAC is available without prescription at many drugstores and mail-order vitamin stores. Here are links to some reports in the medical literature showing value for NAC. I read a claim that if you take NAC you also need to take some vitamin C (to prevent toxicity by NAC itself).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20638463?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3876495/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22122955
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpsy/article/viewFile/91125/80563
Incidentally NAC has been used for many years by physicians to decrease the toxicity of tylenol overdose, it's been around a long time.
While this use of NAC is "alternative medicine," mainstream medicine doesn't have a cure for tinnitus. It offers management that is similar to management of chronic pain, e.g., psychotherapy, counterirritants (e.g., masking noisemakers), nonspecific antidepressants (e.g., fluoxetine = Prozac, duloxetine = Cymbalta) and experiments with magnetic brain stimulation (rTMS) and possibly deep brain stimulation (DBS, electrodes in the brain).
Of course, there are risks with every medical agent, including aspirin, tylenol, and NAC. So before you decide to take NAC consider cautions, risks, and possible adverse effects. This post conveys only information and not advice.
—Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com
Last edited: Jan 29, 2014 18:59:43
Mine was a '70 Ampeg V4 100 watt head , both cabs were loaded with Altec's. The head alone weighed more than my '69 SFSR at about 85 lb's. The cabs weighed a ton also, I guess I should have noticed that the cabs had 3 handles before I took it all home. Great sounding amp, just a pain to haul, used to play it with one cab most of the time. There was a time when I "quit playing forever". So I sold it and a bunch of other great stuff. The power tubes were 7027's which for a time were totally unavailable. 
