@DDD My tinnitus started very, very strangely. In fact, I cannot find a person on this earth that had exactly the same experience as me - if you know of someone or you're reading this, I would love to connect.
In effect, it was as if the threshold to my hearing had been significantly reduced. For the first few weeks, if I was at home all day, watching TV, listening to the radio, cooking etc., just typical quiet home noises, I didn't have tinnitus, at all. I couldn't hear it, even in the quietest of rooms. Equally, if I was out and about, at work, shopping, etc, (I guess around 60-70dBspl fairly constantly with the odd short term increase), I would also not have tinnitus.
HOWEVER, if I transitioned from those outside environments to the quiet of home, after about 10 minutes, my ears would suddenly start to scream - and I mean scream. Functionally, I was deaf, I couldn't hear the outside world over it. This would last around 45 minutes before it would subside and them I would be back to normal - as if it had never occurred. It was 100% repeatable. Other tinnitus tones and noises developed over time, but this was the start.
This of course meant that I desperately tried to avoid noise. Not because I felt a physical sensitivity to it at the time, but because it would make my ears scream afterwards. This isn't my understanding of hyperacusis as others define it, but I don't think there is a term for it as I have experienced.
Fortunately, having stopped taking the prescription medication that started all this has significantly reduced the severity of this reaction. I still have it a bit, but it is not so severe as to avoid normal, everyday environments and my hearing has continued to improve
A rule of thumb I was told is that if you have to elevate your voice to be heard, by someone at normal conversational distance, it is too loud. A typical shopping centre should be fine, except perhaps during really busy periods, but why would you want to go when it is really busy anyway?