If you play loud, its gotta hurt sooner or later. Take a look at this.

Back when I was playing for pay, waaaay back!), I spent most of my time crouching in front of a pair of 2-15 cabs driven by a Garnet BTO amplifier. I'm amazed that I can stil hear anything!

I use a small 5 Watt amp most of the time now. It sounds really good, and if I want to make it louder I can mic it into the PA mixer.