that was me for several years. Then a number of different people suggested to me independently that learning how to meditate with earplugs in might be quite useful to me.
That was helpful in general for dealing with life; it also unlocked my ability to sleep with earplugs as a bonus, which has made my sleep quality a lot more effortless given the general din and chaos around here, and my propensity to find myself in cities that I'd rather not be in.
At some point I realized I liked earplugs, and would default to putting one in, if one ear or the other was really bad, to sort of "soothe" it and let the ear rest. I have no idea if this sort of 180-degree-change-in-reaction to earplugs is possible for everyone with tinnitus, but it certainly was for me. (Also fairly necessary; I am basically forced to use significant amounts of tools that are > 90db and just not reasonable to use without serious earpro). I can always hear my tinnitus so of course I can always hear it like a siren with earplugs in, but sometimes I put on double protection and go mow for an hour before I realize I've thought about it at all... a concept which would have been totally unthinkable in 2012, both in terms of "not thinking about it" as well as "using a 90db mower in the first place"