How do your ears work?

[Mobius 1]

I’ve had tinnitus for so long, when I was younger, I used to think that’s what silence sounded like - ringing. I’ve never known what true silence sounds like unfortunately

 

[ricid]

I think everyone has it to an extent, but I might have just assumed that as I've always had a bit of whine. If you go somewhere quiet enough most people start to hear something, it's just for normal (young person) hearing, you aren't often anywhere that quiet (Caves or anechoic chambers?).
I've always thought of it as your hearing's noise floor. In the same way that in near darkness you see speckles. I think of tinnitus being when it intrudes on your everyday life, but I might be totally wrong on that!