My hearing deficits are becoming clear...

From a background of NOISE making, I can tell you protect what you have. This may sound strange but taking care of your ears, nose and throat can really help. People say it only gets worse, I KNOW with care it can get better.  Stay away from "LOUD", I don't care if its a train going by or an aircraft taking off, protect yourself..ENT doctors will tell you clean your ears with great care, gargle for your nose and throat.. 

Don't smoke cheap tobacco or weed. No smoking at all is best, BUT if you must... Cheap is NO GOOD. Booze, what can I say. I don't drink BUT if I did, no cheap stuff.. A  "single" Single malt maybe once every couple of years..

I also had two underlying problem with tinnitus, and hypersensitivity. I had my heart repaired and ALL of the tinnitus symptoms subsided. Last test I was good to over 16K at 65+ years old. A lifetime of "Loud" can leave you in a world of NOTHING. Protect what you have.

They make BIG EARS, look goofy but work pretty good with an adj or two... It's a collection device for worn ears..

Besides, most of what folks are talking about goes in one ear and out the other, anyways... LOL MUCIC, though!!!!!!

Hat on the floor, as I slowly walk around to the beat of the music.. my faithful dog following me... OLAY......Amego.... 

Regards

For some reason, I cannot get links to work right now. Look up Auditory Processing Disorder. It is not uncommon and can onset in adults. I have dealt with it my entire life and it is very frustrating at times.

Get that hearing checked.

I'm no good past 7khz with imbalance of L/R AND  massive tinnitus. Doesn't interfere with music, but like you when in a noisy room with people, it's difficult at times to pick some things up in a conversation. 

I believe MC has a lot in common with our prez, they just can’t help themselves. 

Get the hearing aids.You’re right: several voices in one room is the worst: my aids had a setting for restaurants and situations like that--those settings actually work.

One thing you might find (I sure did) is that once you start wearing them (and letting the techs slowly crank them up over a period of weeks), you will begin hearing ’lost’ sounds without them. (I think this is what mahgister is getting at). Part of dealing with hearing loss is re-training your brain to compensate for what your ears are doing. I never wear my aids when listening to music or going to a concert (why would I spend thousands and thousands of dollars on an audio system, or hundreds on a symphony, then listen to it through an amplifier and speakers the size of a small earthworm?). But based on my own advice, I would do well to put them in occasionally and retrain my brain to hear stuff I may have forgotten.

(And YES:  please do not f*ck with Covid! we all miss gatherings.   If we're on this site, life is clearly not all that bad.  We can endure the suffering of not having a family reunion or a Sunday barbeque for a year or so.)