Ears ringing after a concert? Here's what's normal, and what's not

The first few hours

Why your ears are ringing right now

Deep inside your ear are thousands of tiny hair cells that turn sound into signals for your brain. Very loud sound overworks them. NIDCD explains that noise can damage these cells, and that loud noise can cause tinnitus, the ringing, buzzing or roaring you're hearing now. NIDCD lists concerts at 94 to 110 dBA, and the CDC puts rock concerts and nightclubs at 95 to 115 dB, loud enough to "lose some of your hearing after a few minutes."

Many people also notice muffled hearing or a full, stuffy feeling. That is often a temporary dip in hearing from the same noise.

• Get away from the noise. No after-party with a loud speaker, no headphones on the ride home.
• Don't poke at your ears. The NHS says not to put fingers or cotton buds in your ears, even if they feel blocked.
• Let it be a little noisy at bedtime. The NHS advises against total silence. NIDCD suggests a fan, a radio, or a phone app playing rain or waves near your bed.

The next day

Still ringing the next morning

That is common. NIDCD says the temporary hearing loss that loud noise can cause usually disappears 16 to 48 hours later, and WHO describes ringing that resolves "in a matter of hours or days."

Treat today as a quiet day. Skip the gym class with the loud playlist, keep the TV and headphones low, and try not to focus on the sound. The NHS suggests relaxing, keeping a normal sleep routine and cutting down on caffeine, and notes that stress can make tinnitus feel worse. If you want to put a name to what you're hearing, our tinnitus sounds guide lets you compare it with common types.

If your hearing still feels dull or blocked after two days, don't wait it out. Book a hearing check with your doctor or an audiologist.

A week or more

If the ringing hasn't gone

No official guideline gives an exact number of days. What the NHS does say is to see a doctor if your tinnitus keeps coming back or is constant, is getting worse, or is affecting your sleep, concentration or mood. NIDCD says tinnitus can improve or go away over time, and calls it chronic once it has lasted three months or longer.

A doctor or audiologist can test your hearing and rule out other causes. It helps to bring notes: which ear, what it sounds like, when it's loudest. Our tinnitus frequency matcher can help you describe the pitch, and our tinnitus treatment guide explains what the evidence supports if it sticks around.

Why it happened even with earplugs

Earplugs turn the volume down. They don't turn it off. NIDCD says hearing protectors "don't block all sound," and that the protection you get depends on wearing them correctly. Even taking them out briefly in a very loud room puts your hearing at risk.

There is good evidence they still matter. In a 2016 randomized trial at a music festival averaging 100 dBA, published in JAMA Otolaryngology, 12% of people wearing earplugs had new ringing afterwards, compared with 40% of people without them. Earplugs also cut the temporary dip in hearing from 42% of ears to 8%. It was a small study of 51 people, but the direction is clear.

Fit is where most protection is lost. NIDCD's tips: roll foam plugs without creasing them (creases make tunnels for sound), hold each one in place for 20 to 30 seconds while it expands, and never cut foam plugs to make them fit. A well-fitted plug should barely be visible. Our earplug guide covers concert plugs and how to fit them.

Does one loud night cause lasting damage?

Here we want to be honest rather than reassuring. NIDCD says human hair cells don't grow back once they're gone, and that even when a temporary hearing loss seems to disappear, "there may be residual long-term damage to your hearing." WHO says that even after short-term symptoms fully resolve, injury to the inner ear "may continue for months afterwards."

Researchers have shown this most clearly in mice: a 2009 study found that noise causing only a temporary, fully recovered dip in hearing still destroyed some of the nerve connections in the ear. This is sometimes called hidden hearing loss, because a standard hearing test can miss it. How much the same thing happens in people is still debated.

The practical takeaway: WHO says it is prolonged or repeated exposure that leads to permanent, irreversible hearing loss, so the nights add up. WHO estimates that more than 1 billion people aged 12 to 35 are at risk of hearing loss from loud recreational sound.

Next time: how to keep the music and your hearing

• Wear earplugs from the first song, and fit them properly. NIDCD notes high-fidelity earplugs can be especially helpful at concerts.
• Take quiet breaks. WHO's standard for venues calls for quiet zones where people can rest their ears.
• Know the numbers. WHO's venue standard caps the average at 100 dB over 15 minutes, and says the same "sound dose" comes from 80 dB for 8 hours or 100 dB for about 5 minutes. That limit, WHO says, "does not, and cannot, eliminate all risk."
• Watch your headphones too. Our headphone volume calculator shows how long is safe at the volume you actually use.

If this keeps happening

If you've had a lot of loud nights and conversations are starting to feel like hard work, that's worth paying attention to. A quick free online hearing screening is a good first step, and an audiologist can give you the full picture.