I've had tinnitus since I had a bad accident at 6 yrs old. I slipped and landed on my head. I was in hospital for 4 days. The thing is, until quite recently, I'd never heard of tinnitus. (There's got to be joke there somewhere!). Since that accident, I've had constant ringing in my ears. My experience is that it gets louder the more tired I get. I've lived with it ever since.
When I lie in bed I sometimes hear music - and it's really tuneful but I can't work out the song. I sometimes look out of the window to see if there is a car playing music but there's nothing there