From my upcoming book:

The ringing in my ears just wasn’t going away. It was with me when I laid down every night and it was there, faithfully, every morning. My first and last thoughts of each day were eternally punctuated by this persistent (yet nonexistent) tone. Most of the time, during my normal activities, it wasn’t an issue: only in silence did it emerge, quietly reminding me of every sound I had ever heard.