Does tinnitus go away on its own or is it a permanent condition? It is an unpleasant experience that can persist and cause you to have sleepless nights. When you get tinnitus, you may begin to wonder whether it is permanent.
You just came back home from a rock concert but your ears keep ringing. Or you sat next to a deafening jet engine and your ears kept ringing a few days after that trip. This buzzing sound in your ears is tinnitus. It is brought about by the damage loud noise causes to stereocilia in your ears. These little hairs are responsible for converting air oscillations into sounds.
How long does it take for tinnitus to go away?
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Tinnitus is not curable but this also does not mean it will continue forever. Several factors affect the length of time your tinnitus takes to fade away including the initial cause of the condition and your hearing health.
If you come back home from a noisy concert or traveling or a football match and you notice your ears are constantly ringing, a few days are enough for you to realize your ears are no longer buzzing.
Research also suggests that tinnitus arises from a shortage of stimulation of the auditory cortex. This is the part of the brain tasked with the processing of incoming sounds.
When the brain is not stimulated enough chances are you are likely to experience tinnitus. This might happen if you have a hearing problem. When signals fail to come through your brain cells, the brain stimulates sounds of its own to try to fill this void. As a result, the brain hallucinates sounds. These hallucinations can last for a while.
This condition usually lasts for 16 hours to 48 hours on average. Other people experience tinnitus for even up to two weeks straight. However, you need to exercise precaution because once it fades away, it can always come back when you expose your ears to loud music again.
Can tinnitus go away after Years?
In most cases, tinnitus is temporary. It can last from a few seconds to even two weeks then disappear. But it also can be permanent. A permanent condition results when the root cause is not usual.
This irreversible condition negatively affects the quality of life of those affected. Those with permanent conditions can hardly sleep or concentrate on their work. Tinnitus can become permanent when the following happens:
- Repeated exposure
Continued exposure to loud noises like in concerts can cause your tinnitus to remain permanent. If you went to a concert for the first time and your ears kept buzzing for two days, imagine how it will be like when you go to a five-day rock concert.
Also if you are a football lover imagine how your ears will buzz after coming home from the world cup. Wearing hearing protection will save you from having tinnitus and a permanent one too.
Also read: Signs tinnitus is Going Away: 6 Important Tips To Consider
- Traumatic brain trauma
The brain is the most delicate engine of the body. It stimulates all the signals the body needs to function correctly. It is where most of the sound signals are processed. When a traumatic brain injury occurs, the processors are unable to process sound signals, and as a result, tinnitus happens.
- Hearing loss
At times when a person experiences hearing loss, tinnitus also follows. So the cause of your hearing loss can also lead you to experience irreversible tinnitus. Hearing loss can result from impacted wax. Thus, clearing this wax can return your hearing and eliminate tinnitus.
Most people experience short-term tinnitus, which usually results from exposure to loud noise. This condition is temporary and lasts for a short time before disappearing. However, tinnitus becomes irreversible and it has affected millions of people.
How to treat tinnitus Condition?
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Tinnitus without hearing loss goes away. You will want to relieve yourself from tinnitus as soon as you can, it doesn’t matter whether it is short-term or long-term. Though there is no known cure for this condition, some ways will lessen the symptoms.
You can subside your tinnitus by:
- Covering up the sound
You can cover the ringing in your ears by using a source of white noise such as using a fan or humidifier. This will help you get through the night and sleep without difficulties.
- Utilize earplugs
Earplugs come in handy if you cannot avoid a rock concert or a noisy football match if you are an ardent fan. This hearing protection helps safeguard your ears. Therefore, they are an important accessory whether you are suffering from tinnitus or not.
- Keep away from loud sounds
You have heard of the saying “Prevention is better than cure.” Tinnitus can be prolonged or worse still become irreversible with continued exposure to loud noises. Thus, it is in your best interest to avoid such places if you can.
- Be calm
As odd as it may sound, keeping calm helps your body in more ways than you know. When your blood pressure rises, it can bring with it tinnitus flare-ups, which is something that you do not need.
- Use hearing aids
Hearing loss is one factor that leads to tinnitus. When the brain does not interpret signals then it will create its sounds. A hearing aid will ensure the brain receives enough stimulation for it to function normally. Thus, a hearing aid will make one hear properly and eliminate tinnitus.
Furthermore, there are hearing aids with added technology to neutralize the symptoms of tinnitus. The devices are fitted with white noise that is a bit more pleasant than tinnitus ringing.
Conclusion
Tinnitus condition is mostly temporary but it can become permanent depending on how you take care of yourself. The temporary condition only lasts a few seconds to two weeks depending on the severity of the exposure. Thus, if you can, avoid noisy places like sitting close to deafening jet engines. If the situation is unavoidable like going to a rock concert, use earplugs.
