Comment by Towaway69
I had tinnitus before I knew it was tinnitus - I thought it was normal. I literally thought that everyone had a constant sound in their ears.
It was not until someone explained that they had tinnitus and told me their symptons that I suddenly realised that I too had tinnitus.
Since then it's become harder to ignore it but on the other hard, its nice to know that it's not normal and that others can truly hear nothing - something I do wish I could do: hear nothing. I did recently discovered that head under water helps to reduced the sound.
Acceptance has been my treatment for years, I hear it when there is mental downtime. So it does keep me busy (mentally) so that I don't hear it - ironically tinnitus motivates me to do stuff!
I've had it as long as I can remember. Like you, I thought it was normal. When I was a little kid I thought that was what the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence" was talking about. Since I suspect I've had it since birth, it doesn't bother me. It's just something that is. I feel bad for the folks who get it later in life and have trouble with it. My neighbor got it a few years ago and it keeps him up at night sometimes.