Is Hearing Overrated At My Age?

It was supposed to be a mid-life Mazda Miata convertible but ended up a finished basement. Now, it turns out that that decision could have saved my hearing.
I had saved for two years to purchase a used Miata as my retirement gift to myself. I was, however, somewhat overruled after the test drive proved to be "too windy and too close to the ground." My sweetie didn't see that those two effects were the POINT of having a convertible; her alternate suggestion amounted to finishing the basement: much less appealing to a middle-aged man, even with the "Love Shack" sign hanging over the entrance. It appears that I dodged a bullet.
Recent research published in the

Journal of Otolarygology-Head and Neck Surgery

would seem to indicate that drivers of convertible cars run a substantial risk of hearing loss suffered as a result of the noise from the road, traffic, engine and wind. In tests performed both during rush hour and on off-peak hours on the same stretch of road, convertibles driven between 50-70 mph regularly generated decibel readings between 90 and 99: decidedly higher than the 85db level at which scientists indicate that sustained sound could cause permanent hearing loss. The noise was considerably less with the top up, but what's the point in that? Noise levels also dropped for drivers who wore ear protection like ear plugs.
Still, it sounds too dangerous at this point, but then again, what do I realy need to hear? I think I could probably exist with lowered hearing levels, but then again, it's probably like so many other things: we don't miss it until it's gone.
So, I'll have to stick with the Love Shack and my hearing. Like I have a choice!