One thing I found helped (intermittently) with the tinitus was whistling to match the pitch of the ringing in my head, kind of tricking the auditory nerve by supplying it with an actual stimulus of the sound it was already relaying. It has worked for single tone noises, but not always. Plus my mom used to think it was wierd when I'd be in bed, in the dark, whistling one note as loudly as I could, lol. It was a lot worse when I was in high school, with people screaming and shouting and crowded hallways and the cafeteria and the bus. It was pretty bad when I was working in a kitchen too, with the exhaust fan and gas fryers, clanking pots, clattering utensils, and all the general commotion. But since I started wearing ear protection, it has become a lot quieter and episodes of intense tinitus noise are less common. Can't say the same for the other sounds, though!
I've also had the experience while sitting in a car, where you're driving past trees as the sun is coming up or going down, and the light is flashing in your eyes, that my ears would start to ring because of the flashing... I don't get how that works, but it's all tied together somehow in that jumble of nerves up there.
Unfortunately I can't sleep with a radio. I'm one of those really picky people when it comes to noise while I'm sleeping. I have tried the white noise approach, between radio stations, but I find it almost as annoying as the sound in my head, it doesn't mask it it just adds more when I don't want any. A lot of people find that white noise really works for them. Theres even cds and stuff for that.
I have considered going to the emergency room during hallucinations. Maybe if I had they would have given me some help at the time... if it ever get's bad like that again, I will go.