I have it. Previously went for 2 operations to clear my ear
passage.. and subsequently I suffer from occasional bouts of
labyrinthitis, an infection of the inner ear. The "yin"-ning sound
gets very loud each time.. it's better these days.
The ear specialist I saw at the time told me the sound is caused by
air passing thru the small holes in your eardrum, infections, or
wax blocking the ears. He said tittinus is mostly harmless itself,
it's only a symptom.. most notedly he said this - hearing problems
are usually caused by wear and tear o the eardrum (that's why u
lose hearing as u grow older), but with loud earphone/headphone
usage or prolonged exposure to loud deep sounds, the process speeds
up dramatically.. he singled out earphones with deep bass sound,
and/or the ear bud designs that keep noise out, as the worse
offenders..
More about Tinnitus