Do You Need Treatment for Tinnitus?

You can’t stop that sound from going on in your ears. Even though it’s been more than two days, you can still hear that annoying buzzing. You know that the noise is tinnitus, but you are starting to wonder how long it usually lasts.

Damage to the stereocilia in your ears can lead to tinnitus. Most of the time, this damage is caused by sounds that are too loud. This is why most people experience tinnitus after going to a loud concert, eating at a loud restaurant or sitting next to a loud jet engine while traveling.

How Long Will Tinnitus Last if Everything Is Normal?

You can’t get rid of tinnitus. But tinnitus doesn’t usually last forever. How long your tinnitus will last will depend on a lot of things, like what caused it in the first place and how well your hearing is in general.

But if you just got home from a noisy day of traveling and your ears are buzzing, it should only take a couple of days for the buzzing to go away. The average time that tinnitus lasts is between 16 and 48 hours. But sometimes the symptoms can last as long as two weeks. And the ringing in your ears will come back if you hear loud sounds again.

It’s usually best to see a hearing health professional if your tinnitus keeps going on, especially if it’s making your life less enjoyable.

Why is it Sometimes Impossible to Stop Tinnitus?

Usually, tinnitus doesn’t last long. But it can sometimes last for good. When it comes to intensity and origin, this is especially true when the root cause is not typical. Here are several examples:

• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Most sound processing happens in the brain. When these processors start to work wrong because of a head injury, the result can be tinnitus.
• Hearing loss: Hearing loss and tinnitus are often two sides of the same coin. So, no matter what caused your hearing loss, you could also develop permanent tinnitus.
• Exposure more than once: Imagine how your ears would feel if you went to five rock concerts a week or if you were a musician who played concerts and practiced all day. Hearing damage, like tinnitus, can be caused by long-term exposure to loud noises.
• More people have short-term tinnitus than long-term tinnitus. But millions of Americans still have permanent or long-term tinnitus every year.

How Can You Get Rid of Your Ringing Ears?

No matter how long your tinnitus lasts, you will want to find relief as soon as possible. Even though there is no cure for tinnitus, there are a few things you can do to make the symptoms less bothersome:

• Find a way to cover up the sound: Sometimes you can cover up the sound and get a good night’s sleep by using a fan or humidifier to make white noise.
• Try to stay calm: High blood pressure can cause tinnitus to get worse, so staying calm can help keep your tinnitus under control.
• Put in earplugs or wear earmuffs: If you can’t avoid loud places, the next best thing to do is protect your hearing.
• Don’t go near loud sounds: If you keep listening to loud noises like a rock concert or a jet engine, your symptoms may last longer or get worse.

Unfortunately, none of these methods will get rid of ringing in the ears for good. But it can be just as important to get rid of and control your symptoms.

How Long Until Your Ringing Stops?

The majority of the time, your tinnitus will go away on its own. In 16-48 hours, your hearing should be back to normal. But if your tinnitus doesn’t go away, you’ll need to find a way to stop it. As soon as you find a treatment that works, you can start to feel better. If you think you have hearing loss, which is often linked to tinnitus, you should get your hearing checked.