Sure wish I could tell you what caused your tinnitus, Jeff.  I really don't
know what caused mine either but I tend to think it was a lifetime of
auditory abuse with chainsaws, shotguns, etc.  That's a guess based on the
temporary tinnitus that commonly occurs after such exposure.

We can focus our attention just as we can focus a camera.  The petals and
stamen, for example, can be clear and sharp while the foliage is a dull
blur.   They key to habituating tinnitus, I think, lies is focusing our
attention on other auditory stimulus.  Here is what works for most:

1.  Have your ENT exclude serious causes, specifically the acoustic neuroma,
to set your mind at ease in this regard.  You've done this and can now relax
in the knowledge that your tinnitus isn't a symptom of something likely to
do more harm.

2.  Get a good night's sleep every night.  Nothing seems more beneficial to
the tinnitus sufferer than quality sleep.  Paradoxically, short naps have
the opposite effect for many.

3.  Surround yourself with intelligent sound at a comfortable level.  Focus
your attention on that intelligence, thereby pushing the tinnitus into the
background.  To get a good night's sleep I set my radio to BBC America's
interesting world news timed to off in an hour.  I focus on the news instead
of my tinnitus and am lulled to sleep, usually well before the radio
automatically shuts off.

4.  Enjoy an active lifestyle concentrating on anything that interests you
while avoiding your tinnitus.  Have you ever noticed how loud it suddenly
becomes when someone ask you about it or when you bring your attention to
this news group?

Something else happened to me coincident with the onset of tinnitus.  I lost
my ability to discriminate between two intelligent sources of sound.  If the
radio is on, and someone is speaking to me, I can't make sense out of
either.  At first this caused stress and frustration.  I managed that by
explaining my situation to those close to me so they would understand why I
always turn the radio or TV down when we begin conversing.  This occurs
despite the fact that my hearing tests "normal".

There is no cure for tinnitus but there are ways to deal with it
effectively.

Bill