My tinnitus fairly loud, and sometimes when there's no sound it'll get absolutely deafening, though it does recede when I hear a noise. This goes no all day every day since as pong as I can remember...

There are two kinds of tinnitus. The one I have is a constant metallic ringing noise, which is indicative of nerve damage. The other kind produces a kind of swooshing noise, which is caused by the blood flow in your ears (you hear your pulse).