At my request, my teacher tried out a violin that I have recently acquired on a trial basis. She told me that I should return the instrument, because if I continued to play it, I would go deaf. She said that this particular instrument projects most of its volume toward the player and that it should not do that. She also said that her ears were ringing after playing the instrument. I was standing about 4 feet away while she played and it sounded loud to me, but she said that was because I was standing so close to the instrument. She gave me the impression that in a concert situation, the audience would not hear it as being too loud, but that it would sound quite loud to the violinist. I thought that the instrument projected really well and that it was resonant, but I am definitely not an expert on violins.
Has anyone ever heard of, or played, a violin that has this characteristic?
Thanks

Sure.
But most of the time, a violin loses it`s carrying power because of strings that are too tight, not because of the instrument. Have you asked your teacher if changing strings would help?

out of curiosity, can you tell us what violin it was?