Is your hearing top-notch? I suffer a bit from hearing loss. I believe it's from playing for all these years, and especially from the loud drummers I've played with.
I haven't actually tested my hearing yet, but my wife gets frustrated with me cause I can't hear what she's saying half of the time. I may need to get a hearing aid I guess. It's embarrassing when I sometimes don't hear people's questions even after the 3rd time the repeat it... It's especially hard for me when there is a some background noise - the words I hear from people just sound like mumbling.
Do you have any experience with musician's earplugs? I found these - http://www.hearos.com/products-music.htm - not sure how good they are. I am starting to use cheap foam earplugs for loud activities now, like running the lawn mower and playing with stupid loud drummers!