Question

read this excerpt from a passage.
i convinced my parents to get me a music device with headphones when i was eleven. when i was fifteen, i started going to concerts at indoor arenas and large amphitheaters. at the big concerts, you could always find me next to the speakers. a year later i was also going to all - ages shows at clubs—and you know where i’d park myself. after a concert or a club gig, i’d occasionally notice ringing in my ears afterward. but by the next day it would be gone. yet that post - event ringing gradually got louder and louder, and it took longer and longer to disappear. then one day last year i realized that the ringing was 24/7, except when i was asleep. i also had to face the fact that, more and more often, i was asking, “what did you say?” in conversations.
my parents took me to a hearing specialist. the diagnosis was pretty straightforward: in both ears, i’d lost some hearing at one range and a lot of hearing at another. the constant ringing was connected to the hearing loss. of course i asked the doctor, “so what can you do about it?” her response—“the hearing loss is irreversible”—wasn’t the answer i was expecting.
what was the cause of the author’s irreversible hearing loss?
repeated listening to loud music played very closely to her ears.
the constant ringing in her ears caused damage to her hearing.
a genetic problem caused her to slowly lose her hearing over a long period of time.
going to all - ages shows at clubs was the main cause of her hearing loss.

Explanation:

The author mentions getting a music device with headphones at 11, going to concerts (next to speakers) at 15, and clubs (parking near speakers). Post - event ringing gradually got worse. Loud music (from headphones, concert/speaker proximity) is the cause. The constant ringing is a result of hearing loss (not the cause). No mention of genetics. Going to clubs is part of the loud - music exposure (not the sole/main cause as it's part of a pattern of repeated loud - music exposure).

Answer:

Repeated listening to loud music played very closely to her ears.