We'd stop playing and it was just the ringing sometimes would be so loud that it would like drown out other noises. If someone whispers, I can hear the whisper itself, but I can't understand what they're saying. Someone who suffers a high frequency hearing loss often has trouble hearing speech in crowded, noisy environments. It sounds a little like this. Low frequency sounds become dominant and speech distorted.
Consonants are especially hard to hear.
As a fire fighter, Greg Holm is exposed to loud noise on almost a daily basis. Years before hearing protection was required in the fire service, Greg would race to emergency scenes with air horns and sirens blasting in his ears. All that noise ruined his hearing, but it took a long time for Greg to admit he had a serious problem. It was extremely scary. I was afraid, number one, to admit that I had something wrong with me.