I have massive sympathy for anyone that suffers from ringing in the ears as I have seemed to have developed this myself following on from a sinus infection where had seemed to had spread into my middle ear cavities through the tube that connects the ear and throat (Eustacian Tube Dysfucntion). I am not going to deny that it has been a frightening experience for me but I am hoping that the tinnitus is going to ease if I can clear up the middle ear infection. The symptoms that I have had are 'fullness' behind the ear drum and a high pitched ringing sound. I have to say that it is fortunately not been continuous in recent days but it is something that I come more acutely aware of. It is worse first thing in the morning.
The way that I have managed to deal with it is to put a hot compress over my ears (I use one of those microwave bands for dealing with muscle strains rather than a hot water soaked flannel) as a means to loosen to catarrh by reducing the viscosity that I think is behind my ear drums for about quarter of an hour for each ear and use steam and a couple of drops of Olbas Oil to try and open up my Eustacian tubes. Also, I carefully try to 'pop' my ears to try and equalise the pressure during the breathing in the steam and vapour and to some extent, this does work and eases the tinnitus after a couple of hours. I have also been taking some nasal antihistamines to reduce the inflammation which to some extent have worked but it is taking a long time.
At night time, I have got myself a Tinnitus Sound Relief Pillow which I connect into a mobile phone or MP3 player and play white noise sound relief such that it is just about audible but enough to mask the sound of the tinnitus. Also sleep position is also crucial whether I lay on my front or back but have found that sleeping on my back does make the tinnitius less severe (which I think could be due to to catarrh pressing on the auditory nerve). I think about it this way that the catarrh needs to drain down the Eustacian tube and if you are not lying on your front then it can accumulate in the middle ear area thus making the symptoms worse. I can now get about 3-4 hours sleep at a time but still waking up sometimes twice in the night.
I have also read that some minerals and vitamins so I have also started taking these on a daily basis and even raw crushed garlic may also have some healing properties. Another thing I have also taken up is a 30 minute walk each day and using distraction techniques such as having some natural white noise or even doing yoga. The only way I think you can beat tinnitus is to try and shut it out of your mind.
I am not claiming that any of the above is the right way to deal with this but maybe it sets things in my own mind that I can do other things that would allow me to not let this horrible condition take over my life.
I developed my tinnitus through similar circumstances. I had a middle ear infection which led to a fluid build up behind my eardrum. I had the 'fullness' feeling too, and the high pitched ringing, and whenever I made my ear pop, it would also 'crackle' for ten seconds or so. When the infection cleared up, the fullness disappeared and the noise which I heard changed from a ringing to a hissing, which is much easier to deal with as it blends in more with background sounds. It's been nearly a year since it all happened. 
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