I have pain in my left ear. When I first got tinnitus, the pain was so insane I could not talk as my own voice caused me too much pain. This went on for a very long time. I understand why some people who experience this commit suicide. The pain eventually went away. Since then I have had so many episodes where the pain comes back due to some noise exposure. At times the pain lasts from a few days to many months. All I can do is wear earplugs and wait for it to go away again. Currently I have not been pain free for months. I hate it, it robs one of having a normal life, limits work and good relationships. You always need to explain it to people and they just cannot seem to grasp the seriousness of it. Music was a big part of my life, now it causes me pain. People talking to you for too long causes you pain.
There was a time when I did not seem to get pain anymore, I was on Magnesium supplements for a long time, my ears seemed to have built up some resistance back then to sound that would trigger the pain, but I have had no success again being on Magnesium this time around.