I've had mild tinnitus for as long as I can remember, usually the hight frequency 'hissing' but often low frequency too, like someone outside has an engine running. I only hear the latter one at night when there are no other sounds, it drove me daft for a while because I thought it was something in the house like a fridge motor or something, I even killed the power to the house once to try & isolate it. Then when it still happened at a friend's house the penny dropped.
My 'solution' is to reduce daytime general noise by popping some tissue into my ears. I can still hear everything (I want to lol!) then take them out at night. By now my ears are a bit more sensitive and more inclined to hear real background noise which reduces the prevalance of the tinnitus. Crude, but mildly effective. And, unlike expensive ear buds, if you lose them they're not exactly expensive to replace!
I suspect my ears were damaged in my teenage night-clubbing days - not just the loud music but also trying to converse over it. Oh and maybe a JJ Burnell concert which is possibly the loudest event I've ever been to.
