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Has the op done research on eliminating as much as possible the tinnitus. I have it some, not right now, but it does happen. It can lead to hearing loss.
No tinnitus does NOT cause hearing loss but it is often associated with hearing loss. There can be other conditions that will cause hearing loss and result in tinnitus but the ringing (or whatever noise the OP is hearing) won't, of itself, cause hearing loss. I've suffered from it for 20+ years and seen a specialist at a teaching hospital in a major metropolitan area. I asked that question specifically of more than one doctor and was told no. The research I've done has also confirmed that.
OP if you haven't already please see an MD who specializes in ear issues (e.g., ENT, otolaryngologist) to make sure that nothing else is going on. The doctor may also be able to give you something short term to help you deal with the noise and help you sleep. I'm sure the doctors at the VA deal with this a lot so you could start there.
Assuming there is no underlying physical cause, I haven't found anything that will fix it. I tried a couple of supplements but then stopped wasting my money. Supplements aren't regulated and can cause side effects so you have to be careful. The best thing to do is to mask the noise with outside noise all the time, TV, radio, music, fans, white noise machine etc. so you don't hear it. The other thing to try to do is not concentrate on it, it will make it worse. Just typing this response about my tinnitus made it louder. UGH.
After a while, you should acclimate it to where you don't hear it as much. The other thing to be sure to do is protect your hearing and limit your exposure to loud noises. For example if you're at a live music venue, wear earplugs. You can still hear the music just fine, trust me. Sometimes loud noise can make the tinnitus worse. Also if your hearing gets worse as the result of the loud noise, your tinnitus will seem louder.
Good luck. It's no fun to deal with.
ETA: In case you missed it above, there is good information from the American Tinnitus Association here: http://www.ata.org/
My 18 month old grandson is visiting us for the first time (they live in Singapore) and my tinnitus is so much worse. It started when the baby was screaming in my ear after I picked him up when he fell down. Boy it really was loud and now I'm about to lose my mind. I can attest now to the theory that loud noises makes it worse.
Used to play in bands and got moderate tinnitus in my late twenties. It used to drive me crazy, but what has helped me is as other people have mentioned: audio aids and ambient sounds like the sound of rain. There's lots of apps for that which I download on my phone for sleeping.
The most therapeutic way to deal with the ringing is to find a sound you like, like rain or wind, then carefully tune the volume while paying attention to the ringing, until it doesn't seem so bad. It can be a little work but once you've found a good sound, even if it's just white noise, it really takes the edge off the ringing.
If only my ears had a jack in socket, so then I could input the exact frequency of the ringing with an opposite phase. That would cancel out the ringing entirely! Unfortunately my head is not a mixing desk.
I've had it for years now, and I've learned to cope. But oh, how I miss true silence!
I find that if I'm not careful about the volume, listening to music makes it worse. Just notice what makes yours worse, you might need to keep a symptom diary.
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