You just can’t get away from that ringing in your ears. It’s been over two days and you can still hear that nagging ringing in your ears. You realize the noise is tinnitus, but you’re starting to question just how permanent tinnitus normally is.
Tinnitus can be brought about by damage to the stereocilia inside your ears (they’re the very small hairs that sense air vibrations which your brain then turns into intelligible sound). Generally, too much overly loud noise is the cause. That’s why you observe tinnitus most often after, as an example, attending a concert, spending time in a noisy restaurant, or being seated near a deafening jet engine while you’re taking a trip.
How Long Does Tinnitus Persist on Average?
Tinnitus can’t be cured. But tinnitus normally doesn’t last indefinitely. How long your tinnitus lasts depends on a large number of factors, including the root cause of your tinnitus and your overall hearing health.
But if you find your ears ringing after a noisy day of traveling, a day or two should be sufficient for you to notice your tinnitus going away. 16 to 48 hours on average is how long tinnitus will last. But sometimes, symptoms can last as long as two weeks. And tinnitus will come back if you are exposed to loud sound again.
It’s usually 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?
Tinnitus is usually temporary. But sometimes it can be long-lasting. Especially when the cause of tinnitus is something out of the ordinary either with respect to origin or in terms of seriousness. Some illustrations are as follows:
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Most of the processing of sound occurs in the brain. When those processors start to misfire, because of traumatic brain trauma, tinnitus can be the result.
- Repeated exposure: If your ears are buzzing 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. Continued exposure to loud sounds can lead to permanent hearing damage, including tinnitus.
- Hearing Impairment: Frequently, tinnitus and hearing loss are joined at the hip. So you could end up with irreversible tinnitus regardless of the cause of your hearing loss.
Temporary tinnitus is a lot more common than permanent tinnitus. But permanent or chronic tinnitus still effects millions of Us citizens every year.
How do You Get Your Tinnitus to go Away?
Whether your tinnitus is short term or long term, you may want to find relief as quickly as possible. There is no cure for tinnitus but you can do certain things to minimize the symptoms (however long they may last):
- Find a way to cover up the sound: You can in some cases drown out the sound and get a restful nights sleep by using some source of white noise including a humidifier or fan.
- Use earplugs (or earmuffs): The next option, if you can’t keep away from loud situations, is to wear hearing protection. (And, really, you should be protecting your ears whether you have tinnitus or not.)
- Steer clear of loud noises. Your symptoms might be prolonged or may become more severe if you continue to expose yourself to loud noises such as a jet engine or rock concerts.
- Try to remain calm: Maybe it sounds somewhat… abstract, but keeping calm can really help keep your tinnitus in check, mostly because increased blood flow can trigger tinnitus flare-ups.
Regrettably, none of these methods will cure long term tinnitus. But it can be just as significant to control and diminish your symptoms.
When Will Your Tinnitus Subside?
Your tinnitus, in the majority of scenarios, will recede by itself. Your hearing should return to normal within 16 to 48 hours. However, you will want to seek out a solution if your tinnitus persists. Discovering 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 examined.