"As an aside, the loudest natural sounds, probably, that we might ever encounter, are waterfalls, volcanoes and thunderclaps. In all cases, these are predominantly LOW frequency sounds, unless you're right next to them. The ear has a built-in protection mechanism for them too: it loosens the tension on the tympanic membrane (the eardrum), and you go "protectively" deaf for the time you're exposed to the sound (if it's loud enough). Come back into a quiet environment and your ears' sensitivity recovers, in minutes, usually."
The same is true of naval gunfire, but sadly not of Olympus gas turbine engine noise...
Thank you for an interesting and informative post.