Tinnitus is a very real problem! I developed it about ten years ago, as a package deal with migraines, a sensation of constant movement like being on a boat, and balance issue due to the migraines affecting the balance centre in my brain. I'm not sure if that's what started the tinnitus, or the MRI I had to investigate the cause, but it was seriously nightmarish for the first few years. Mostly musical tinnitus, sometimes really lovely tunes and other times way more intrusive, like I constantly had a brass band playing directly outside an open window -- and I hate brass bands! Between the headaches, the bed tossing in rough seas, and the tinnitus, I got very little sleep for years.
And although my hearing tests showed no hearing loss at all, in fact too good hearing (also developed noise sensitivity), since then I've had massive issue deciphering speech. Directly face to face is okay, just. If the person is in another room, there's background noise, or other people also talking, they may as well be speaking Dutch for all I understand of what they say. I also can't listen to podcasts or watch video for more than a few minutes at a time, it hurts my head trying to process the visual and convert the noise into meaningful speech..
Thankfully the brass band gradually faded. Mostly now it's just either cicadas or a background hum or whine at a pitch that varies. It still interferes with understanding voices, but is less intrusive and I can usually get some sleep. I'm going for another MRI on the weekend, this time my knees not my head. I am praying it doesn't lead to a return of the brass band!
