The Absurdity of it All

To the OP. Live a little more before you make judgements 

   I’m a 64 year old road cyclist and my $2K Zipp carbon wheels shod with Michelin GP 5000’s II’s gave me a noticeable improvement  .    My $400 Loomis GLX rods gave me a noticeable improvement over my IMX rods . And 80 mg sildenafil gave me a noticeable improvement, in my depth of soundstage .  Am I Pontificating ? No , the facts Man, just the Facts. BTW my first big concert was Rory Gallagher , Fleetwood Mac , and Deep Purple . 

"And 80 mg sildenafil gave me a noticeable improvement..."

Easier breathing?

To quote Japanese wisdom:

If dancing makes us foolish, does watching make us wise?  Since we are all both wise and foolish... What a pity not to dance!

Love the hobby! Love the music!
It's a dance between the rational and irrational... to give me a smile.

I started building gear around 60+ years ago, built PA systems for pro use before they became commonly available... Electrovoice LR7's were thought to be a reasonable set up... Then came the VOX Churchill and the Super Beatle amps... Lots of stories there...

I worked in the pro and home audio profession for years... paid my way through school, owned my own custom installation business...  Played in various musical groups from marching bands to Rock and Reggae...  I used hearing protection on and off when needed, still do, ear plugs almost always in my pocket... and yes my hearing has taken a beating, no question about it.  

Do I love this hobby?  YES!  Do I still love music? YES!  
Do I still upgrade my system with various tubes and tweaks?  YES!  

Are there various remedies and tweaks to preserve and improve my hearing? YES!  I just happen to need them more now than ever before.
Do Keep a smile on...

Me thinks Life is too short for much other than learning gratitude.

Sure everything wears with age. Genetics come into play how resilient ones ears compared to anothers the same age. Usually high frequency is lost unless you have been too close to a sub woofer too often.  Just build speakers to suit your ears or buy some that compensate for what you lack. Good headphones may be the answer.