I experience tinnitus--apart from my ears ringing--in a way I've yet to see described on this board. It often feels like it's centered in my throat area, and extends out from there. And I tend to feel it as a vibration as much as a sound. The intensity of it, and location of that intensity varies by the day, and sometimes fluctuates from moment to moment.
At its most intrusive, it wanders (juts around) at very high speed throughout my head and mouth, which sometimes leaves me with a gagging feeling. But it often extends down into my heart, giving me a heavy hearted feeling. It can also go down my upper arms, but more often, extends down to my gut, which leaves me with a nauseous feeling.
Which brings me to the vagus nerve. It extends through all those areas, and I've come to believe is responsible for the gag reflex, heavy heartedness, and nausea I experience. The vagus nerve is also primarily responsible for initiating a parasympathetic, or calming response in the body. It seems most people new to tinnitus seem to struggle mightily with restoring a calm to their systems, which indicates to me possible major vagus nerve involvement.
Whenever I hear of somebody experiencing what might seem like mental or psychological issues, I always think about the health of their vagus nerve first. It not only plays a HUGE part in our physiological makeup, but from my understanding, plays a HUGE part in our emotional makeup as well.