When you first hear that ringing in your ears you might have a very typical reaction: pretend everything’s good. You go through your day the same way you always do: you have a chat with friends, go to the store, and cook lunch. In the meantime, you’re trying to force that ringing in your ear out of your mind. Because you’re convinced of one fact: your tinnitus will fade away by itself.
After several more days of unrelenting buzzing and ringing, though, you begin to have doubts.
This scenario happens to others as well. Tinnitus can be a tricky little condition, sometimes it will go away by itself and in some cases, it will stick around for a long time to come.
When Tinnitus is Likely to Go Away on Its Own
Around the globe, almost everybody has had a bout of tinnitus because it’s quite common. Tinnitus is a non-permanent condition, in most cases, and will eventually disappear on its own. A rock concert is a good illustration: you go see Bruce Springsteen at your local arena (it’s a good show) and when you get home, you realize that there is ringing in your ears.
The kind of tinnitus that is linked to temporary injury from loud noise will normally subside within a couple of days (but you realize that it’s just part of going to a loud concert).
Over time loss of hearing can develop from temporary or “acute” to permanent or “chronic” because of this exact type of damage. One concert too many and you may be waiting a long, long time for your tinnitus to recede on its own.
When Tinnitus Doesn’t Seem to be Going Away on its own
If your tinnitus lingers for over three months it’s then classified as chronic tinnitus (but you should have it examined by an expert long before that).
Something like 5-15% of individuals around the world have documented symptoms of chronic tinnitus. The precise causes of tinnitus are still not very well understood even though there are some known associations (such as loss of hearing).
Often, a fast cure for tinnitus will be unidentifiable if the causes aren’t apparent. There is a good possibility that your tinnitus won’t disappear on its own if you have been hearing the ringing for more than three months. But if this is your situation, you can preserve your quality of life and deal with your symptoms with some treatment options (such as noise canceling devices and cognitive behavioral therapy).
The Reason For Your Tinnitus is Relevant
When you can identify the fundamental cause of your tinnitus, mitigating the condition quickly becomes much simpler. If a bacterial ear infection is, for instance, the cause of your tinnitus, you can revive a healthy ear and clear hearing by treating it with antibiotics.
Here are some possible causes of acute tinnitus:
- Chronic ear infections
- Loss of hearing (again, this is often associated with chronic tinnitus)
- Eardrum damage (such as a perforated eardrum)
- Meniere’s disease (this is often associated with chronic tinnitus, as Meniere’s has no cure)
- A blockage in the ear or ear canal
So…Will The Noises in My Ears Go Away?
Generally speaking, your tinnitus will go away on its own. But it becomes increasingly more likely that you’re coping with chronic tinnitus the longer these noises linger.
You can convince yourself that everything is fine and hope that the noises will simply go away. But eventually, your tinnitus might become uncomfortable and it could become tough to concentrate on anything else. In those situations, wishful thinking might not be the extensive treatment plan you require.
In most situations, though, in fact, throughout most of your life, your tinnitus will usually subside on its own, a typical reaction to a loud environment (and your body’s method of letting you know to stay away from that situation from now on). Only time will tell if your tinnitus is chronic or acute.