When Should I Start Considering of My Tinnitus As Being Permanent?

I'v had tinnitus for 4 weeks now, and It doesnt seem like it will fade away anytime soon. I don't know the exact reason, but I blame loud music and headphones. What I have read so far is that once the hair cells in the inner ear is damaged, it cant be fixed or repared. But if thats the case, why does noise-induced tinnitus go away for some people? are they just lucky, or can our ears heal itself even after many months? I know this is a question asked many times before, but based on statistics, when should I start considering my tinnitus as permanent?

 

try steroids like Prednisone for 10 days or so ... not much else you can do at the moment ... relax, sleep, give your ears a rest, don`t dirnk alcohol for atleast a month ... let your body find it`s chemical balance by feeding it healthy things ...

 

@ceauses97. It might be good idea to keep away from loud music and not to use headphones for a while. Hopefully the tinnitus will calm down or go away in time. Try to avoid quiet rooms during the day and especially at night. Consisder using a sound machine or playing music via iphone, mp3 player by the beside at night.Try to keep the volume below the tinnitus . Good luck. Michael

 

Michael what is your obsession with avoiding quiet rooms? You say it like they may make T worse. My T always loved the quiet, that's when it resets and goes down after the noise of the day.

 

I may be wrong, but I think he advised against it because for most people it causes them to focus more on their tinnitus, thus aggravating their anxiety about it. You can I are different, in that quiet rooms seem to calm the hyperactive neurons down a bit. Of course, quiet room or noisy room makes no difference when the T is really on a rampage.

@ceauses97 At six to eight months, tinnitus is pretty well considered to be permanent. The good news is that it can fade a bit, and/or your brain becomes "hardened" to the noise where you don't notice it as much. Or, even if you notice it, you're better able to cope with it. A lot depends on the volume of the tinnitus and what kind of noise it makes. For example, the higher the frequency, the harder it is to ignore, just as it's easier to ignore the sound of your refrigerator than the sound of a tea kettle whistling. Tinnitus that has multiple tones and noises is also more difficult to adapt to.

In the meantime, don't focus on your tinnitus. Distract yourself as much as possible, because focusing on it just tells your brain that it's an important noise and then your brain will do its best to keep you aware of it. Do stay away from headphones and earbuds, be cautious about loud noises. Try to get as much sleep as possible. Take a look at the Back To Silence thread on this forum. It does help some people. This is a very long thread with a lot of posts, but you'll find a great deal of useful information on it.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

 

@noisebox. We are all different and if you or anyone else prefer a quiet room that's fine. I don't and many tinnitus books, and healthcare professionals that work in ENT advise against it especially at night. I have explained the reasons many times. If anyone would like to know more about the use of sound enrichment and its benefits please, look on my created threads by clicking on my profile picture. Michael. Wishing you all the best for 2016 Noisebox.

 

I know it's what ENT recommend but what do they know anyway. Most don't suffer from T. You are fortunate in that you say you have had 2 rounds of proper TRT, I am curious however as to the benefit you gained from it, as you say your T hits bad points and you need medication.
I have to say before my medical induced relapse this year, I had no TRT, no sound enrichment and yet most days I did not have T at all. I lived as though I had sensibly and only certain venues brought it back but it was amazingly stable. After nearly 3 years and no help from ENT at all.

 

@noisebox. I am typing on a tablet and not my pc, so please forgive me for the short and consise reply. Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same. According to my consultant and hearing therapist (who also has tinnitus) I have one of the most severe types. Perhaps it's one of the reasons I was medically retired from my job many years ago and why I have to have my computer in separate room because of my sensitivity to the pc EMF or hardrive high freqency noise that it emits as it spins at 7200 rpm. I don't want to get into a long discussion with the non believers out there. It's good that you can cope with your tinnitus.However, As I said tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities. Be thankful that your tinnitus isn't a lot worse and that you can sleep in a room without sound enrichment because many can't. I wish you well . Michael