The Longer You Wait to Treat Tinnitus, the More Likely It Will Become Permanent?

I have had tinnitus for a couple of months and am wondering if it is true that the longer you wait to treat tinnitus, the more likely it will become permanent.

I have read this in a few places, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It seems that if there in an underlying issue causing the tinnitus it should go away once you address it, no longer how you have had tinnitus. I’m just asking because I have tinnitus due to a neck injury and have been hoping it will go away once my neck heals (I’m doing physio but am told it could take some time to completely heal). So far my neck is improving but my tinnitus has been erratic and I’m not sure if it is really improving overall (I’ll have a few good days followed by some days that are not as good - although never as bad as it was initially).

I’m just wondering if I should stay the course with what I’m doing, or if I should try other things as well now. My plan was to keep doing physio until my neck is fully recovered, and if the tinnitus doesn’t get better by then, I will try something else. But now I’m worried I may be leaving things too late if I wait.

 

Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people will experience it the same. Depending on what has caused it will determine when and what treatment is correct for one to try. It is important this is handled delicately and properly especially in the early stages of the condition, if it is rushed the tinnitus can easily be made worse.

Since your tinnitus is caused by a neck injury my advice would be to continue with the physiotherapy as you are finding it helpful. Tinnitus is notorious for taking its time to heal and linger on for months, an example is when caused by an ear infection. Therefore, give it time, at least 6 to 9 months, before trying another treatment providing you and your doctor are sure it was caused by the neck injury and is not noise induced tinnitus, or related to an underlying medical problem within your auditory system.

Once it's determined no underlying medical problem is causing the tinnitus, many ENT doctors advise patients to give it time as a lot of people habituate without treatment. The ear is is delicate organ and will often right itself, this is the reason it is recommended not to pursue treatment too soon. In the case of noise induced tinnitus a period of six months should elapse before trying a long term treatment such as CBT or TRT. Tinnitus can be very stressful particularly in the early stages, medication in the form of an antidepressant can be helpful and counselling if required. Some people may need to be admitted into hospital for treatment.

Michael

 

In general there is quite a lot of truth to this, though it does crucially depend on the cause. With some common causes of tinnitus such as ear infections or loud noise exposure, the sooner treatment is started (e.g. with antibiotics or steroids etc depending on the cause) the likelier it is that the tinnitus won't become permanent.

That would be a logical assumption but sadly this is often not the case, in all too many cases tinnitus remains even if the initial cause of the tinnitus appears to have been successfully treated. But this certainly isn't always the case so I would certainly continue with your physio treatment and keep your fingers crossed.

 

Thanks. I'll continue on with what I am doing then. I have no reason to believe it was noise induced, as I lead a pretty quiet life. I think, though, that stress has contributed to the problem, which I know I will need to address as well.

 

The more I read about it, the more I realize that this is a really strange and unpredictable condition. I guess anything to do with the brain can be like that. I struggled with depression for several years (although I have not had a problem for the past 12 years) and this reminds me of depression in some ways, such as in how it can defy reason. The main difference, I think, is that we are so much further along in having treatments for depression than we are for tinnitus.

 

Give it time and continue with the physiotherapy. Please click on the links below and read my articles: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Tinnitus, A Personal View, that you might find helpful.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Thanks. This is very helpful.