I've had tinnitus for probably 40 years or more, attributable for the most part to shooting without hearing protection. A couple of years ago I was at a timbersport competition taking photos for a newspaper. I forgot to take my ear defenders with me for the hot saw competition. I was standing less than 10 feet from a couple of competitors with souped up chainsaws. When they fired those things up, I could feel it in my ears every time the spark plugs fired. Thankfully it took less than 10 seconds for them to make the required three cuts, but in that time, there was some serious damage done. My tinnitus has been worse since then. The worst part is the fact that the frequency is slightly different in each ear.
The biggest problem with tinnitus is if you think about it, it seems to be worse. All you can do is ignore it as best you can.
