This is exactly what I suspect is the problem with a lot of sound engineers, where over-loud top-end frequencies damage their ability to hear those sounds, leading to an escalating increase in the volume of those frequencies. I've been to venues where the top-end is literally painful to the point of having to leave, and I'm always baffled that nobody running the place seems to notice or care.

Saying that some venues do cheap out by over-loading the top-end to seem "loud" instead of spending more money on more expensive low- and mid-range speakers.