I just saw this thread and it hit close to home
The debate to protect your ears or not, and to go ahead and do want you want or avoid loud places is interesting.
Here is my quick story:
I am 20+ months into my Tinnitus from acoustic trauma. My T has been slowly fading , and I would say it was 90% improved, and my H was totally gone. My first year I always wore earplugs when going to the store or out to a restaurant. I actually credit this (rightly or wrongly) to assisting in my recovery.
For the last 8 months or so I did not protect my ears anyplace I went (except the gym and casino) and I was feeling more and more brave about noise.
Last weekend we went out for the day an a friends boat (large 40 footer) on lake Michigan for the day and hooked up with other boats for some music and fun. Between the engine noise for the 45 minute ride there and back, and the commotion of the day, my ears started ringing quite noticeable when I got home.
It has now been 1 week, and the ringing is starting to ease up, but I'm afraid this outing set me back many months in my recovery.
So yeah, go ahead and do what you want, but there will be a price to pay. To me it's not worth it.