How to Know if Tinnitus is Temporary or Not?

When experiencing the symptoms of tinnitus, it can be distracting, frustrating and many other things besides. And one of the questions you’ll be most interested to know the answer to is whether or not it’s going to be a temporary problem or one that goes away with time.

Understandably, most people aren’t too keen for their tinnitus symptoms to stick around for long. And there are many things that will determine how long you experience those symptoms. We’re going to talk about this as well as some of the things that can be done to treat and mitigate the symptoms of tinnitus, so read on to find out more.

Wait it out 48 hours

First of all, you should wait it out for a short period of time. You can’t know what you’re dealing with until you see if it passes or not. In most cases, tinnitus symptoms will disappear after about 48 hours. Before you start to worry about further problems, you should give it 48 hours and see if the problem subsides. If it does, you obviously don’t have a permanent problem.

For some people, the problem will last a matter of hours, and for other people it will last a few days. If you were exposed to a loud noise and it was a one-off occurrence, the problem will probably clear itself up within a few days. So, before you do anything else, wait a couple of days and see how your symptoms develop in that time.

See an audiologist if it persists more than two weeks

If you have a problem with your hearing that persists for more than a couple of weeks and your symptoms aren’t going better, it’s a good idea to seek professional help. An audiologist is the professional that you should turn to if you’re having these kinds of problems with your hearing because they’ll be able to get to the bottom of the for you.

Most temporary tinnitus cases will last for two weeks, so if your symptoms last longer than that and things aren’t getting better, it makes sense to take action. An audiologist will be able to carry out all the right tests and find out what the situation with your hearing and any potential hearing loss is.

Earwax related tinnitus

For some people, their tinnitus problems are linked to earwax. Compacted earwax can cause hearing loss and a symptom of that hearing loss can be tinnitus. It’s something to keep in mind and have explored when you’re dealing with these kinds of symptoms. It might explain what you’re going through.

If you do have problems with earwax and you’re also experiencing symptoms of tinnitus, it’s a good idea to have a professional clean out your ears. The wrong thing to do would be trying to clean your own ears with buds or other instruments. This can compact the earwax further and potentially cause damage to the inner ear and that’s not what you want.

Recent exposure to loud noises

If you’ve been in a position where you’ve been regularly exposed to loud noises, this is the likely cause of your tinnitus. In some cases, exposure to loud noises leads to temporary hearing loss. But if the exposure happens on a regular basis over a prolonged period of time, it might lead to longer term tinnitus and hearing loss.

Loud noises should always be taken seriously and if you know you’re going to be exposed to them, it’s important to take action and take steps to protect your ears. Ear protection is a good idea and there are many different types of ear protection that can be used in a range of different situations.

Treatment options are out there

There are so many treatment options out there that you can make the most of if you are diagnosed with tinnitus. There are solutions such as hearing aids that are often used to mitigate the symptoms and reduce them. And other people use sound machines to override the sound in their inner ear.

White noise machines are commonly used by people who have permanent tinnitus. It drowns out the sound in the inner ear and makes the symptoms easier to deal with going forward.

If you’re having symptoms of tinnitus and you want help from reliable professionals, we’re here to help you. Here at Rocky Mountain Hearing & Balance we have the expertise and experience required to help you get the treatment you need for tinnitus. You can call us at (801) 685-3456 to arrange a time to visit us.