Kathy
The first place to start with Tinnitus is a good ENT to detect any overt reason for the irritating sound. An Audiologist can determine if you have lost a range of sound and can offer some suggestions. Mine increases when the muscles in the neck and shoulders are additionally stressed (fibromyalgia) which is very often, so I use very warm rice compresses to deal with additional muscle distress. Complimentary medicine may offer some ideas which may be moderately helpful. I try to minimize the noise with counter measures such as floor air purifiers in the house (esp. at bedtime), fans, cascading water (as in small waterfalls or fountains inside the house)which also add moisture in the winter, and music with a certain timbre. Exercising (yogi, walking, running, swimming etc. to music soothing to you) may offer distratction and a sense of better well-being. If you can identify the 'pitch' of the noise, try to match it with another sound to distract you. Little environmental sound machines offer a number of choices. This sounds trite, I know, but eventually you may adapt to the noise. Be very cautious about using prescriptive medications; the dangers here are far greater than the tinnitus itself. Tinnitus may stay with you, so try to harness the sound any way you can. It doesn't help much, I know, but there are millions of us out here dealing with this condition.