Before I quit going to concerts, it seemed like I did better with the sound at the outdoor venues. Thought maybe there were tighter restrictions in those areas. I sat in the first section off the floor to the right of the stage in front of a giant group of suspended speakers for the Santana concert and left with ear damage. All I had was a Kleenex that I wadded up and stuffed in my ears. It was so loud it make me feel sick to my stomach. After that I used ear plugs at concerts but even that was borderline... like, what's the point? A high pitched screaming fan standing next to you can be hard on the ears too. I figured my ears were getting too old, so quit going all together.
