Can tinnitus mimic sounds? Can long exposure to quiet sound

[Nich]

So we have no idea why I got tinnitus. No exposure, no loud sounds. Never been to concerts, don't like any noisy environment. I did listen to an iPod with ear buds for several years in med school and I've just assumed that was the set up.
So I noticed about 2 months ago that my microscope at work emitted a super high pitched sound that is quiet but constant. The tech could hear it and thought it was electrical sounds from the main board of the scope. To fix it we have to order a board from Japan and it was gonna cost thousands so I was just like I'll just deal with it. And I've come to ignore it.
We'll I just realized the other day that it is the exact sound I'm hearing with my T. And it emits from the left of my scope which is the ear that is affected. It is just bizarre. The tone is identical. Even down to the electrical hiss. However, I have to say when my T first hit it was lower and took a few weeks to level off to the tone it's at now. Maybe it is just mimicking the sound? Often I've been thinking I'm hearing the T in both ears when I'm at the computer and my right ear is to the left of the scope. Realized today it was that sound the scope was making. How weird is this?

 

[Miss lavender]

No I don't think it is weird at all. I have two sounds to my tinnitus, the most constant one is a hiss and the underlying one is a tonal sound. This tonal sound is exactly the same as a play station fan sound. It appears that this tonal sound came shortly after we obtained our play station. So it's not so strange after all, but would love to know if this is more common than not.

Kind regards
Miss lavender.

 

[MichaelM]

I think our brains can learn to mimic noises. Doctors have told me that if tinnitus last years and years it is not the ear anymore that creates the sound but brains. Braind do adapt to the constant noise. I am no expert so i cannot describe the mechanism this works but the idea is explained here.
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/oct/26-ringing-in-the-ears-goes-much-deeper

I have 3 different basic sounds and they are combined to one tone. What is new for me is that after almost 15 years with T i have started hearing phone ringing and sometimes I hear the dial tone (pocket-calling way). Auditory illusions, so to speak. Doesnt happen a lot, maybe 10 times this year. Basically: i hear phone ringing, pick it up, no incoming calls or nothing, the sound stop. Or pocket calling: i realize the phone is calling, quick reaction, take my phone to realize nothing is happening.

Scary moments. the Doc said my brains go mixed up with this 24/7 noise bombardment i have in my ear and start to "learn" sounds from normally daily environment, where i actually do hear a lot of phones ringing and answer them dozens of times per working day. Stress, fatique... boost this up.

These are to only illusions, so far. No talking or commands from the outer space. Just phone ringing. Scary and funny at the same time. I like to keep this myself so never mentioned to anyone but the doctors, for obvious reasons.