Peer, was your only exposure to loud sounds through music, playing in bands? Did you have some other occupation that put you in an atmosphere of loud noises?

No, just as a musician. Not even on stage with a loud PA, because I always play and sing unamplified. But people who are talking very loud, especially in a small space, can be terribly loud too. I never worked on a buildingside or anything.
The first time the tinnitus really became bad was after playing an hour or so on the banjo (clawhammer style, new hobby). Then it came and went; I had some noisy gigs, and then it stayed. Now i quit playing music altogether, even at home. A few tunes on a muted fiddle with the strings tuned down is all I can handle. Playing a CA triggers it again.