wear earplugs! if your ears ring at all you've suffered some level of permanent damage (usually not heaps, but it adds up). eventually you'll adjust and not really notice it as much but it's still not great fun.
these earplugs are great and don't knock the sound down by as much as foam plugs, and they're a lot cheaper than the molded ones:
Ear Plugs Hearing Protection Earplugs Products from Hearos.com
edit: oops, i mean these ones:
Dr. Doug's Ear Plugs