You just can’t get away from that ringing in your ears. That high pitched ringing in your ear has been bothering you ever since yesterday morning and it still hasn’t disappeared. You realize the sound is tinnitus, but you’re starting to wonder exactly how long lasting tinnitus normally is.
Tinnitus can be brought about by damage to the stereocilia in your ears (they’re the tiny hairs that pick up air vibrations which your brain then turns into intelligible sound). That damage is typically the result of excessively loud sound. That’s why you observe tinnitus most often after, as an example, going to a concert, spending time in a loud restaurant, or sitting next to a roaring jet engine while you’re taking a trip.
How Long Does Tinnitus Last on Average?
There’s no cure for tinnitus. But that doesn’t mean it’ll never go away. How long your tinnitus persists depends on a large number of factors, like the underlying cause of your tinnitus and your overall hearing health.
But if you just returned home from a noisy day of traveling and you find your ears ringing, a couple of days should be sufficient for you to notice your tinnitus going away. 16 to 48 hours on average is how long tinnitus will last. But often, symptoms can last as long as a couple of weeks. And tinnitus will come back if you are exposed to loud sound again.
It’s typically suggested that you consult a specialist if your tinnitus persists and particularly if your tinnitus is impacting from your quality of life.
Why is Tinnitus Sometimes Permanent?
In most cases, tinnitus is short-lived. But sometimes it can be irreversible. Especially when the cause of tinnitus is something outside the mundane When it comes to intensity and origin. Here are several examples:
- Traumatic Brain Trauma (TBI): The brain is where the majority of sound is processed. When those processors begin to misfire, due to traumatic brain trauma, tinnitus can be the outcome.
- Hearing Impairment: Tinnitus and hearing loss typically go hand in hand. So, whatever the cause of your hearing loss is, you might also wind up developing (or noticing) permanent tinnitus alongside it.
- Repeated exposure: If your ears are ringing after one rock concert, imagine how they’ll feel after several rock concerts a week or if you’re a musician who plays live shows and practices all day. Frequent exposure to loud sounds can lead to permanent hearing injury, including tinnitus.
Temporary tinnitus is far more common than permanent tinnitus. But permanent or chronic tinnitus still effects millions of Americans every year.
How Can You Get Your Tinnitus to go Away?
You will need to get relief sooner rather than later regardless of whether your tinnitus is permanent or temporary. Although there’s no cure for tinnitus, there are certain things you can do to lessen symptoms (though they may last only so long):
- Find a way to cover up the sound: Sometimes, utilizing a white noise device (including a fan or humidifier) can help you cover up the noise of tinnitus and, thus, ignore the symptoms (and, you know, get a good night’s sleep in the process).
- Stay away from loud noises. Going to another concert, jumping on another airline, or turning up the volume on your earpods another notch might prolong your symptoms or double down on their severity.
- Wear earplugs (or earmuffs): If you cannot steer clear of loud environments, then safeguarding your hearing is the next best option. (And, really, whether you suffer from tinnitus or not, you should use hearing protection.)
- Try to keep calm: perhaps it sounds somewhat… abstract, but staying calm can really help keep your tinnitus in check, mostly because increases in blood flow can trigger tinnitus flare-ups.
To be certain, if you have long-term tinnitus, none of these techniques will get rid of your tinnitus. But decreasing and controlling your symptoms can be just as significant.
When Will Your Tinnitus Disappear?
In the majority of circumstances, though, your tinnitus will go away without you having to do anything about it. Your hearing should return to normal within 16 to 48 hours. However, if your tinnitus lingers, you’ll want to find a solution. Finding a workable treatment is the best way to finally get some relief. If you think you have hearing loss (which is often associated with tinnitus) you should have your hearing checked.