For many years I have intermittently experienced tinnitis in one or both ears. While usually it is during the day and fairly muted, recently it has become more insistent and almost constant. There are nights that it is so loud it keeps me awake. I have a loud air filter in my room that I run at night, and if the tinnitis is low the filter blocks it out and lets me get to sleep. During the day if it gets too loud I can usually drown it out with appliances, the TV or the vacuum cleaner. Right now I'm lucky as it is nicely blending in with the sound of the electronics around me, making it easy for me to dismiss it as one of those.
Several years ago, while still in the Air Force, I made mention of this and my apparent hearing loss to the doc's. I was summarily dismissed, telling me that it was my imagination. One hearing test given showed that my hearing was fine. I and my family have noticed over the last several years that my hearing is getting progressively worse. It has gotten to the point that unless a person is speaking in a loud voice or looking directly at me, I don't hear them. My kids of course use this outrageously to their advantage with the "I told you I was going to (fill in the blank here)". If we are driving and the kids try to talk to me from the back seat, forget it unless they borderline shout.
Hopefully when I see the doc next week he can help to discover the root of this. While it is not a normal side effect of the meds I take, that can't be ruled out. High Blood Pressure has also been linked with tinnitis. As I am taking meds for this, that is where my suspicions are.