The ringing just won’t go away. It’s been over two days and you can still hear that nagging ringing in your ears. You know the noise is tinnitus, but you’re starting to wonder exactly how long lasting tinnitus normally is.
Tinnitus can be brought on by injury to the stereocilia in your ears (they’re the very small hairs that pick up air vibrations that your brain then transforms into intelligible sound). That damage is typically the result of overly loud sound. That’s why when you’re sitting near a roaring jet engine, eating at a noisy restaurant, or going to a concert, you notice tinnitus the most.
How Long Does Tinnitus Persist on Average?
Tinnitus can’t be cured. But tinnitus normally doesn’t last indefinitely. There will be a wide variety of factors that will determine how long your tinnitus will stick around, such as your overall health and the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
But if you just returned home from a noisy day of traveling and you find your ears buzzing, a day or two should be sufficient for you to observe your tinnitus going away. 16 to 48 hours on average is how long tinnitus will last. But occasionally, 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 continues and specifically if your tinnitus is impacting from your quality of life.
What Causes Lasting Tinnitus?
Usually, tinnitus is short-lived. But that means it can be permanent. Specifically when the cause of tinnitus is something outside the mundane When it comes to intensity and origin. Some illustrations are as follows:
- Repeated exposure: After one rock show, your ears will ring for a couple of days but continued exposure will lead to far more serious consequences. Repeated exposure to loud sounds can result in irreversible hearing injury, including tinnitus.
- Traumatic Brain Trauma (TBI): Most of the processing of sound happens in the brain. When those processors begin to misfire, because of traumatic brain trauma, tinnitus can be the outcome.
- Hearing loss: Frequently, hearing loss and tinnitus are joined at the hip. So you could end up with permanent 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 Can You Get Your Tinnitus to go Away?
You will want to get relief as soon as possible regardless of whether your tinnitus is long term or temporary. Even though there isn’t any cure for tinnitus, there are a few things you can do to decrease symptoms (however long they may endure):
- Find a way to mask the sound: You can in some cases drown out the sound and get a restful nights sleep by utilizing some source of white noise like a humidifier or fan.
- Try to remain calm: perhaps it sounds somewhat… abstract, but increased blood pressure can trigger tinnitus episodes so remaining calm can help keep your tinnitus in check.
- Use earplugs (or earmuffs): The next option, if you can’t avoid loud environments, is to wear hearing protection. (And, really, whether you suffer from tinnitus or not, you should use hearing protection.)
- Stay away from loud noises. Your symptoms might be extended or may become more severe if you continue to expose yourself to loud noises such as rock concerts or a jet engine.
To be certain, if you have permanent tinnitus, none of these techniques will get rid of your tinnitus. But it can be just as relevant to control and minimize your symptoms.
How Long Before Your Tinnitus Subsides?
In most circumstances, though, your tinnitus will subside without you needing to do anything about it. Just wait the 16-48 hours and your hearing should return to normal. However, you will want to seek out a solution if your tinnitus persists. Finding a workable treatment is the best way to ultimately get some relief. Get your hearing tested if you think you have hearing loss or tinnitus.