I've had tinnitus for a number of years now, and after reading this
newsgroup for a few weeks I began to wonder if profoundly deaf people
suffer with tinnitus. A search on Google brought up this Johns Hopkins
info:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthnewsfeed/hnf_2023.htm

"For millions of people worldwide, a constant ringing in the ears
known as tinnitus is a very real and potentially debilitating problem.
A third of people with serious tinnitus may be depressed, anxious, or
chronically sleep deprived. For many sufferers, some relief can be
found in white noise generators or hearing aids that create light
background noise that distracts the brain. Researchers also found that
profoundly deaf people with tinnitus who received cochlear implants
for their deafness suddenly found their ringing was gone. Johns
Hopkins otolaryngologist Lawrence Lustig says new implants based on
this technology may create a proper firing mechanism between hearing
nerves and the brain, possibly helping hearing tinnitus patients…"

This implies that the cochlea is implicated in creating the ringing.
However, there is no suggestion as to why some cochleas ring and
others do not. Now I am wondering if aboriginal people, (jungles of
South America, New Guinea, etc.) who are not existing on Western style
diets also suffer with tinnitus.

Any thoughts on this?