When you first notice that ringing in your ears you may have a very typical response: pretend everything’s ok. You go through your day the same way you always do: you have a conversation with friends, go to the store, and prepare lunch. While you simultaneously try your hardest to ignore that ringing. Because there is one thing you feel sure about: your tinnitus will fade away on its own.
After several more days of unremitting buzzing and ringing, though, you start to have doubts.
You aren’t the only one to ever find yourself in this situation. Tinnitus can be a challenging little condition, at times it will recede on its own and sometimes, it will stick around for a long time to come.
The Condition of Temporary Tinnitus
Tinnitus is extremely common around the world, nearly everyone’s had a bout every now and then. Tinnitus is a temporary condition, in most instances, and will ultimately recede on its own. The most prevalent example is the rock concert: you go to your local arena to see your favorite band and you notice, when you get back home, that your ears are ringing.
Within a couple of days the type of tinnitus connected to damage from loud noise will usually disappear (and you chalk it up to the price of seeing your favorite band on stage).
Of course, it’s exactly this kind of noise injury that, over time, can cause hearing loss to move from temporary (or acute, as they say) to chronic. One concert too many and you could be waiting a long, long time for your tinnitus to recede on its own.
When Tinnitus Doesn’t Seem to be Getting Better on its own
If your tinnitus lingers for over three months it’s then referred to as chronic tinnitus (but you should get it examined by an expert long before that).
Something like 5-15% of individuals globally have recorded indications of chronic tinnitus. While there are some understood close connections (such as hearing loss, as an example), the causes of tinnitus aren’t yet really understood.
Usually, a fast cure for tinnitus will be unidentifiable if the causes aren’t apparent. There is a good possibility that your tinnitus won’t go away on its own if you have been hearing the ringing for over three months. But if this is your situation, you can preserve your quality of life and manage your symptoms with some treatment possibilities (like noise canceling devices and cognitive behavioral therapy).
It’s Relevant to Know What The Cause of Your Tinnitus is
When you can establish the fundamental cause of your tinnitus, dealing with the condition quickly becomes a lot simpler. As an example, if your tinnitus is produced by a stubborn, bacterial ear infection, treatment with an antibiotic will usually solve both issues, leading to a healthy ear and crystal-clear hearing.
Some causes of acute tinnitus might consist of:
- Loss of hearing (again, this is often associated with chronic tinnitus)
- Meniere’s disease (this usually has no cure and is often associated with chronic tinnitus)
- Chronic ear infections
- A blockage in the ear or ear canal
- Eardrum damage (such as a perforated eardrum)
So…Will The Ringing in My Ears Go Away?
In general, your tinnitus will go away by itself. But it becomes increasingly more likely that you’re facing chronic tinnitus the longer these tinnitus sounds last.
You can persuade yourself that everything is fine and hope that the noises will just go away. But eventually, your tinnitus may become unpleasant and it might become tough to concentrate on anything else. And in those cases, you may want a treatment strategy more comprehensive than crossing your fingers.
Most of the time tinnitus is simply the body’s reaction to loud noise that could be damaging over time and will go away on its own. Whether that’s acute or chronic tinnitus, well, we’ll only know over time.