I suffered a few years back with ear problems, the nurse syringed the ears out after a couple of days of ear drops to soften the wax, it builds up as a natural defence against noise, some people build up too much and have to have it done on a regular basis, but its easy to check, get the wifey( or partner) to look into it!Also i now use in ear monitoring, which is set to a comfortable level for listening,combined with ear moulds from the audiologist, although the audience still get it full force!