Steady tone in head, not in the ear

[MrBelvedeere]

I have had this steady tone in my head for years now, almost six years.  It NEVER goes away.  Some days, like today, the tone is so loud  I think others can hear it.  My hearing has been checked twice in the past three years by different audiologist and all is well, so they say.  The problem is not in my ear! like tinnitus.  It is a steady, high pitched tone, shrill like.  Some days it is so loud it is painful.  It causes me to loose sleep, wakes me up, keeps me up and has become a real nuisance in my life.  
Sometimes it is causes me headaches as well.  Blood pressure is ok. I hope it can't be stress as I'm fairly laid back and exercise regularly. I play ambient sounds throughout my home to no avail. It is disrupting my life at this point and I would like it go away.  I've tried baby aspirin every day, Tylenol, when not taking aspirin and on days like today it makes think suicidal it is so painful and loud. I'm not suicidal but it hurts and rings that bad.
Has anyone ever heard of this or know of someone who is suffering from this tone in the head.  REPEAT it is not in my ear.

[Kim_1970]

I have had tinnitus for 4 months.  I feel the same way you do.  Sometimes it causes me to feel quite anxious.  I cant imagine 6 years of it.
I think what caused mine is taking a medicine known to be "ototoxic". Meaning damaging to the ears. I was on Metaprolol.  It is a very rare side effect.
I am since off the med and the ringing is still there.  I had my ears checked and have slight hearing loss in that ear too.
Seeing the ENT really helped.
He thought at first it could have been allergies, blocked eustachion (sp?) tubes....??
But then after diagnosing hearing loss he said that can cause the ringning in the ears....
He said I could try Lipo Flaviniod sold at most drug stores.  Its a vitamin.
Also said I could try a nasal steroid spray for allergies.
Niacin is helpful for some people...
My advice is research and try everything you can.
Are you on any meds that cause it? Ask Pharmacist.
Mine is the same tone as crickets, so playing cricket noises masks it pretty well.  (Drives the husband crazy though)
Take care and I hope you find help.

[tschock]

I have Meniere's...so I hear all sorts of strange noises...not your typically described tinnitus sounds.
Most people with tinnitus describe white noise, bells, whistles, etc...but there are many more noises than that.
With tinnitus you can hear it even when you plug your ears...that's one way in which they diagnose it.
My old neighbor has been hearing a noise that he can't name for 23 years now.
With Meniere's I also go through stages where my hearing is exaggerated...meaning that I can hear things that other's cannot...yet they are really there. I can hear people whisper quite a distance away.
I can hear a dog whistle...which they claim you shouldn't be able to hear after you leave your teen years...hence the annoying ringtones that teens like..."the mosquito" being one of them. Adults aren't supposed to be able to hear it...so they use that ringtone in school so the teachers don't know that they have their cell phones on.
You haven't mentioned if you only hear it at home or away from home.
Is it possible that it's something in your home?
There are other things that can cause "noises" as well...some are psychiatric related. Not all people hear "voices" with mental illness...some hear other things as well. Schizophrenia is one of these diseases.
Have your doctor send you to see a psychiatrist. It just MAY be stress related. My life is calm, but for years it was't. You would be surprised at how often people who claim to have a stress free life are full of anxiety...and anxiety can cause some pretty bad symptoms.
Ever have head trauma? Bad sinus/ear infections?
Ever had more testing done? Head xrays? MRI? Anything besides the hearing tests?
Very curious as to what a good doctor has to say.