[jorgesborges]

I’ve played drums and loud music for a long time. When I pay close enough attention there’s this persistent, aggravating noise — which I sometimes call “silence”, and other times call “tinnitus”.

[technothrasher]

> which I sometimes call “silence”

I've had mild tinnitus as long as I can remember; my earliest memory of it must have been when I was about four years old. I suspect I've had it my entire life. When I was a child, I thought it was just something normal that everybody had. When I heard the Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence", I thought that was what they were talking about.

[grg0]

Are we talking about that thing you hear when in absolute silence in the dead of night? Is absolute silence even a thing?

[RHSeeger]

I have constant tinnitus and sometimes it just "stops" for a bit (like on the order of a minute or two). When it does, the lack of a background noise is just.. unnerving. It's like something is missing.