When you first hear that ringing in your ears you could have a very typical response: pretend everything’s good. You continue your normal routines: you have a conversation with family, go to the store, and make lunch. In the meantime, you’re trying to push that ringing in your ear out of your mind. Because you feel sure of one fact: your tinnitus will go away on its own.
You begin to worry, though, when after a couple of days the ringing and buzzing is unrelenting.
This scenario happens to other people as well. At times tinnitus will go away on its own, and other times it will stick around and that’s the reason why it’s a tricky little disorder.
When Tinnitus is Likely to Disappear by Itself
Around the world, nearly everyone has had a bout of tinnitus because it’s quite common. In virtually all circumstances, tinnitus is essentially temporary and will ultimately recede by itself. The most common example is the rock concert: you go see Bruce Springsteen at your local arena (it’s a good show) and when you go home, you realize that your ears are ringing.
The type of tinnitus that is linked to temporary injury from loud noise will normally decrease within a few days (but you realize that it’s just part of going to a loud performance).
After a while hearing loss can go from temporary or “acute” to permanent or “chronic” because of this exact type of injury. Too many of those types of concerts and you may wind up with permanent tinnitus.
Often Times, Tinnitus Doesn’t Just Disappear
If your tinnitus continues for over three months it’s then labeled as chronic tinnitus (but you should get it examined by a specialist long before that).
Something like 5-15% of people around the world have documented signs of chronic tinnitus. The precise causes of tinnitus are still not very well known even though there are some known connections (like loss of hearing).
When the triggers of your tinnitus aren’t obvious, it normally means that a fast “cure” will be unidentifiable. If your ears have been ringing for over three months and there’s no recognizable cause, there’s a strong chance that the sound will not disappear on its own. But if this is your circumstance, you can protect your quality of life and control your symptoms with some treatment possibilities (such as noise canceling devices and cognitive behavioral therapy).
It’s Significant to Know What The Cause of Your Tinnitus is
When you can identify the root cause of your tinnitus, mitigating the condition quickly becomes a lot simpler. If a bacterial ear infection is, for example, the cause of your tinnitus, you can restore a healthy ear and clear hearing by treating it with antibiotics.
Here are some possible causes of acute tinnitus:
- A blockage in the ear or ear canal
- Hearing loss (again, this is often associated with chronic tinnitus)
- Chronic ear infections
- Damage to the eardrum (such as a perforated eardrum)
- Meniere’s disease (this usually has no cure and is often associated with chronic tinnitus)
The Big Question…Will my Tinnitus Ever Subside?
The bottom line is that in almost all cases, yes, your tinnitus will subside on its own. But the longer it lingers, the longer you hear tinnitus noises, the more likely it becomes that you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus.
You feel that if you simply forget it should vanish on its own. But at some point, your tinnitus may become uncomfortable and it might become tough to concentrate on anything else. In those situations, crossing your fingers might not be the extensive treatment plan you require.
In most cases, though, in fact, throughout most of your life, your tinnitus will normally subside on its own, a normal response to a loud environment (and your body’s way of telling you to stay away from that environment from now on). Only time will tell if your tinnitus is chronic or acute.
