It's kind of funny you mention this, I've been thinking about it ever since "silence" emerged as a theme in the book I've been reading. I recently learned about tinnitus, too, because I thought I had it, but it turned out it was constant and more severe than I thought. I'm sorry you have to deal with it.
It seems to me people never have complete silence around them... right now I have classical music on in the background. I tend to put on music, and then, as I focus my attention on something else, I totally drown it out. My dad, however, puts the tv on and never actually watches it -- he just keeps it as background noise. This gets kind of annoying for several reasons. I know some people who keep the radio in their room on all the time, or at work, etc.. I don't think anyone will disagree that the stuff on the radio is mostly shit, albeit catchy, and their listening to this shit just takes them away from themselves when it's unnecessary; when they could have those crucial moments of introspection and such. It's a form of escapism, and it is very possible to have too much escapism from the self sometimes. I don't know if it's possible to truly ponder the meaning of life with "I wanna be a billionaire... SO freakin' bad" playing in the background, or, really, anything. Anything that distracts you from yourself and plants ideas in your head or influences your thinking, which is not you.
I don't really need music on or noise ALL the time. I put on the radio in the car not because I like most of the music on the radio, but because it calms me down immensely and takes me away from those panic-inducing thoughts of "YOU ARE OPERATING A MACHINE THAT COULD POSSIBLY KILL YOU or SOMEONE ELSE". It makes driving more casual. It's one of the things that makes driving extremely fun for me now, and it makes me pretty fearless, too.
If I'm trying to sleep, silence is required.