You just can’t get away from that ringing in your ears. That high pitched ringing in your ear has been irritating you since yesterday morning and it still hasn’t disappeared. you realize that the buzzing is tinnitus but your starting to worry about how long it will continue.
Tinnitus can be brought on by injury to the stereocilia inside your ears (the air vibrations which your ears turn into sound, are sensed by these little hairs). Normally, too much overly loud noise is the cause. That’s why you observe tinnitus most often after, for example, attending a concert, eating at a noisy restaurant, or being seated next to a deafening jet engine while you’re traveling.
How Long Does Tinnitus Persist on Average?
There isn’t any cure for tinnitus. But tinnitus usually doesn’t continue forever. There will be a large number of factors that will establish how long your tinnitus will last, such as the primary cause of your tinnitus and your general hearing health.
But if you just returned home from a noisy day of traveling and you find your ears buzzing, you can typically expect your tinnitus to disappear in a day or two. On average, tinnitus will last 16 to 48 hours. But in some cases, symptoms can last as much as a couple of weeks. Further exposure to loud noises could also cause tinnitus to flare up again, effectively resetting the clock.
It’s generally suggested that you see a specialist if your tinnitus persists and especially if your tinnitus is detracting from your quality of life.
What Leads to Lasting Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is usually impermanent. But that means it can be irreversible. Specifically when the cause of tinnitus is something out of the ordinary When it comes to degree and origin. Some illustrations are as follows:
- Repeated exposure: If your ears are buzzing after one rock concert, think of how they’ll feel after five rock concerts a week or if you’re a musician who performs concerts and practices all day. Continued exposure to loud noises can cause permanent hearing damage, including tinnitus.
- Hearing Impairment: Tinnitus and hearing loss often go hand in hand. So, whatever the cause of your hearing loss is, you could also wind up developing (or noticing) irreversible tinnitus alongside it.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): The brain is where the majority of sound is processed. When those processors start to misfire, as a result of traumatic brain trauma, tinnitus can be the outcome.
Temporary tinnitus is far more common than lasting tinnitus. But permanent or chronic tinnitus still impacts millions of Us citizens each year.
How Can You Get Your Tinnitus to Subside?
It doesn’t matter if your tinnitus is short lived or long lived, you may want to get relief as quickly as possible. There is no cure for tinnitus but you can do certain things to reduce the symptoms (though they will probably last only so long):
- Use earplugs (or earmuffs): If you can’t steer clear of loud situations, then protecting your hearing is the next best step. (And, really, you need to be protecting your ears whether you have tinnitus or not.)
- Avoid loud noises. Attending another live show, jumping on another airline, or cranking the volume on your television up another notch may prolong your symptoms or double down on their severity.
- Try to keep calm: Maybe it sounds a little… abstract, but increased blood pressure can bring about tinnitus flare ups so staying calm can help keep your tinnitus in check.
- Find a way to mask the sound: In some cases, employing a white noise machine (like a fan or humidifier) can help you mask the noise of tinnitus and, thus, overlook the symptoms (and, you know, get a good night’s sleep in the process).
Unfortunately, none of these practices will cure long term tinnitus. But diminishing and controlling your symptoms can be just as important.
How Long Before Your Tinnitus Goes Away?
Your tinnitus, in the majority of scenarios, will subside by itself. Your hearing should return to normal within 16 to 48 hours. However, you will want to look for a solution if your tinnitus lingers. The sooner you find a treatment that is effective, the sooner you can get relief. If you think you have hearing loss (which is often associated with tinnitus) you should have your hearing checked.