tinnitus

does anyone else here suffer from tinnitus?
I've had a strange form of it for about 16 years.It's not just your standard ringing in the ears though, it's more like the sound of a geiger counter or a cat purring and I can almost feel my ear twitching inside.
I only get it in my right ear and only when I lie down on that side, so I've spent the last 16 years falling asleep on my left side which can be a pain when I've got my husband snoring and farting away at me.
strangley I also get it in my left ear when I hear water running.
I actually had a check with an ear nose and throat specialist about 7 years ago and all he suggested was to perhaps get a hearing aid to cover up the sound at night and that at least it didn't look like cancer.He said that i probably had the noise going on all the time but only noticed it when it was quiet at night(which I know isn't true) His english wasn't very good so I didn't understand much of what he said and I couldn't get him to understand that it seems to be more of a feeling in my ear with sound that just a noise on its own, so I never bothered going back.
has anyone else ever experienced anything similar?