This expression originally came from the experience of hearing a
tinnitus sound when doing a strong hit of cocaine. Like "bells ringing in your ears", although to me it doesn't actually sound like a bell, it's more like a high-pitched whine or pure steady tone, combined with kind of a weird echo or whooshing sound, and often any ambient sounds will be a bit distorted too. It can happen for a short time right after doing a huge/high-potency hit (especially with IV cocaine or smoking crack). People mostly enjoy this sound because of conditioning - they have learned to associate the sound with the pleasurable feelings they experience at the same time from the cocaine. However, it seems that some people are now using the term "bell-ringer" to describe any really powerful hit that produces intense effects, even if it doesn't cause tinnitus. I assume this comes from people hearing someone use the expression like "Wow that was a bell-ringer!" and thinking that "bell-ringer" was just a term for a good hit.
I will see if there is any info on why exactly cocaine can cause tinnitus and whether it is dangerous when taken in amounts that cause tinnitus.
EDIT: found this so far: Over 260 medications have been reported to cause tinnitus as a side effect. Often no underlying physical cause has been identified. Ototoxic drugs (drugs that are damaging to the ear) can cause tinnitus and may increase the damage done by exposure to loud noise, even at low doses that are not in themselves ototoxic. Some drugs such as aspirin may cause tinnitus as a side effect as may drugs that cause abnormal serotonin levels. The way many drugs cause tinnitus is not fully understood. Tinnitus has been reported in conjunction with cocaine use, and it's vasoconstrictive effects make this claim believable. However, there have been no studies on the precise mechanisms involved, the dose levels needed, the time of onset and decline, etc. Some people using cocaine have also reported long-term tinnitus. This would be different from a "bell-ringer".
travelaroundNC - I don't think it will be in the interest of harm reduction for people to start listing how they achieved bell-ringers. It's one thing to explain what a bell-ringer is, what causes it, or whether or not it is safe/a sign that you have done too much, but it becomes glorification of drug use to start talking about how awesome bell-ringers are or how you can best get one. Maybe this thread is not even appropriate for OD at all? I'm not sure, but I assume the OD mods are not going to like if people start offering instructions for how to get a bell-ringer, etc.
