I am starting to buy into the brain compensating for a loss of input. It would explain why mine has persisted for decades. I have had the benefit (?) of annual baseline OSHA hearing tests since the incident until recently. The damaged left ear never recovered. Interesting how it the different frequency of consonants that make some more difficult to discern. I maintained my right ear successfully and was always quite thankful it was always quiet on that side. Now it is slowly creeping into my right brain. I suspect my last job as it was quite and consistently noisy but no testing.
LOL about richer than BG no doubt! Not to whine (ouch) but this stuff is a curse. The unrelenting nature is wearing and has to be experienced to believe.
A fascinating book on how the brain creates our world is " Visual Intelligence: How we create what we see" by Donald Hoffman. Seems off topic but the author touches on all aspects of our senses and the rules used to literally provide us all generally the same world. And if you think our hearing is complex learn a little about how we see.
Ear wax. Gross. Check for it anyway...
HAPPY LISTENING