You're too loud!

[Jean-Marie]

[...]
The wider the dynamic range of the music the lower the average noise level is going to be. @Jean-Marie mentioned a 15-20 dB dynamic range and listening at a peak level of 102 dB (I assume he is referring to an A weighted level). It's probable that the average level of a piece of classical music with that dynamic range and peak level would be below 90 dBA, loud climaxes in classical music tend to relatively brief and the music is significantly lower in volume a lot of the time. With pop/rock music the dynamic range of the music is lower and the music is often significantly louder  because of amplification. A 4 person rock band can easily play louder than a symphony orchestra at its maximum level. I've heard occasional mention of classical musicians with significant hearing loss but I've heard more stories to rock musicians with significant hearing loss. When it comes to music some sorts of music are more prone to causing damage than others because the dynamic range of the music is lower, the musical peaks are louder, and that means the average level of the music can be higher for one sort of music than another even though the peak level the music reaches is identical.
[...]

@David A, you are mostly right with your assumption, except for one aspect (which is entirely due to me not being precise enough).
The 102 dB SPL that I mentioned are absolute peak, without any law applied and therefore are far above the SPL using the A law, even during the climaxes of classical music. If I remember correctly, using the A law, I have never exceeded 90dBA as you are pointing out, but during the climaxes.

As you are correctly pointing out, non compressed classical recording only have short periods of those climaxes and the vast majority of the time the musical message is another 10 to 20 dB bellow, meaning that average SPL I'm exposing myself on a long term basis is more in the range of 70 to 80 dBA.

If I listen to pop or rock music, it is again very depending on the recording, but I often end up listening to them 10 to 16 dB lower (as attenuation at the Devialet) than classical music, which interestingly ends up roughly being a similar long term A law SPL whatever is the kind of music I'm listening to.

I have read an interesting story about instrument players (although I don't remember where and therefore I cannot provide the reference unfortunately). It seams that when you as a player to play an instrument, he or she will naturally play to to around 80 dB SPLA for his/her ears. It seams to be true whatever is the instrument and the explanation given was related to the equal loudness (formally Fletcher–Munson curves) and it seemed to be the sweet spot at which the instrument is sounding with the brightest and richest harmonic and timbral content for the player...

Cheers,

Jean-Marie