The ringing just won't go away. It's been over two days and you can still hear that unpleasant buzzing in your ears. you realize that the buzzing is tinnitus but your starting to worry about how long it will last.

Tinnitus can be brought on by injury to the stereocilia inside your ears (the air oscillations which your ears convert into sound, are sensed by these tiny hairs). That injury is most often the result of overly loud noise. That's why you observe tinnitus most commonly after, for example, attending a concert, eating at a noisy restaurant, or sitting near a deafening jet engine while you're taking a trip.

How Long Does Tinnitus Persist on Average?

Tinnitus can't be cured. But that doesn't mean it won't ever subside. There will be a large number of factors that will influence how long your tinnitus will last, such as the root cause of your tinnitus and your overall hearing health.

But if you just arrived home from a noisy day of traveling and you notice your ears ringing, you can usually expect your tinnitus to disappear in a day or two. 16 to 48 hours on average is how long tinnitus will persist. But sometimes, symptoms can last as long as a couple of weeks. Further exposure to loud sounds could also trigger tinnitus to flare up again, essentially resetting the clock.

It's usually recommended that you consult a specialist if your tinnitus persists and especially if your tinnitus is detracting from your quality of life.

Why is Tinnitus Sometimes Irreversible?

Usually, tinnitus is short-lived. But that means it can be irreversible. Especially when the cause of tinnitus is something outside the mundane When it comes to degree and origin. Some examples are as follows:

  • Traumatic Brain Trauma (TBI): The majority of the processing of sound happens in the brain. In certain cases, a traumatic brain injury (like a concussion) might cause tinnitus because those processors start to misfire.
  • Repeated exposure: After one rock concert, your ears will probably ring for a couple of days but frequent exposure will result in far more serious consequences. Frequent exposure to loud sounds can result in irreversible hearing damage, including tinnitus.
  • Hearing loss: Tinnitus and hearing loss often go hand in hand. So you might end up with irreversible tinnitus regardless of the cause of your hearing loss.

Short term tinnitus is far more common than lasting tinnitus. But permanent or chronic tinnitus still effects millions of Us citizens each year.

How do You Get Your Tinnitus to Subside?

You will want to find relief as soon as possible regardless of whether your tinnitus is long term or temporary. There isn't a cure for tinnitus but you can do a few things to lessen the symptoms (though they will probably last only so long):

  • Wear earplugs (or earmuffs): If you cannot steer clear of loud environments, then safeguarding your hearing is the next best step. (And, really, whether you suffer from tinnitus or not, you need to wear hearing protection.)
  • Try to keep calm: Maybe it sounds somewhat… abstract, but higher blood pressure can lead to tinnitus flare ups so staying calm can help keep your tinnitus under control.
  • Steer clear of loud noises. Attending another concert, jumping on another airline, or cranking up the volume on your earpods another notch may prolong your symptoms or increase their severity.
  • Find a way to mask the sound: In some cases, using a white noise device (like a fan or humidifier) can help you cover up the sound of tinnitus and, thus, overlook the symptoms (and, you know, get a restful night's sleep in the process).

To be certain, if you have permanent tinnitus, none of these strategies will cure your tinnitus. But decreasing and managing your symptoms can be equally significant.

How Long Before Your Tinnitus Goes Away?

In the majority of scenarios, though, your tinnitus will subside without you needing to do anything about it. Your hearing should return to normal within 16 to 48 hours. However, you will want to seek out a solution if your tinnitus persists. The sooner you discover a treatment that works, the sooner you can experience relief. Get your hearing tested if you think you have tinnitus or hearing loss.