Tinnitus Since I Don't Know When

I just know it's been constant companion since at least 1980, and pretty consistently a whine at 8 kHz (kHz? I think so...). Sometimes I will get a lower tone that makes my head vibrate but, thankfully that lasts less than 30 seconds and happens only a few times a year. Sometimes, it's louder than others, or I just notice it more - right now, for example, it's almost impossible to think... but then again, I'm writing and thinking about my tinnitus, so that's no surprise.

I play music in my office when I'm not on a phone call to mask my tinnitus. It works, except when it doesn't.

Combined with my hearing disability (I wear hearing aids in both ears), watching TV with my wife - her of better than perfect hearing - can be a challenge, but thankfully captions help a lot.

I have no known cause for my tinnitus - few concerts when I was younger, I haven't worked around heavy machinery, some shooting sports (I started when I was 12 in 1969) but usually with hearing protection - always with hearing protection in the past 30 years.