Why Does Tinnitus Take Up to 2 Years to Go Away?

I've had tinnitus for 9 months now and it's gotten a lot better. I got tinnitus from neck/jaw misalignment.

Why does it take up to 2 years to go away?? Is it just the ears healing themselves??

 

Im not a scientist but ive read somewhere that after 12 months the damaged hair cells start to die and are replaced by non function new hair cells.
Maybe thats why...

Also thats why some treatments could be effective up to one year and useless after.

 

I thought that once damaged hair cells die that’s it.

 

It is. Inner ear hair cells cannot regrow. Once they’re gone or broken, they’re not replaced.

 

Im Three years in and its SLOWLY getting better...hang in there folks ! X

 

Non functioning hair cells? Where did you read that? Could it be that those are the supporting cells that the Frequency Therapeutics are trying to activate???? I am confused...
Also, some people say that your nerve cells die so that is why tinnitus is gone... I don't believe that...

In my opinion maybe it really could be that in some cases hair cells were just slightly damaged so they are able to come back...they are not completely washed away... So that is why tinnitus goes away...

I just don't understand how is it possible that doctors cannot trace this with MRI?

I have recently watched Dr. House and they did an MRI on a patient and they saw some auditory activity in the brain. That is how they figured out that the patient was hearing voices in his head. Is this possible to see on MRI? Isn't tinnitus the same as the voices in the head???

 

The noise is fading or you’re more used to it?

 

@Kelvin Do you have hearing loss ?

 

You’re not the only one.

 

why has no one attempted to do cochlear transplant?

 

@Philippe79

I think its probably a bit of both...on bad days its as bad as it ever was...BUT...there are fewer bad days.
So the noise is capable of being as loud as it ever has but its happening less.
On bad days I don't ( cant ) listen to music or tolerate noisy environments or conversations. I just keep myself to myself.
On good days life seems normal.
It seems to be that if I get a really bad day i then get 2/3 better or good days.
I wish I know why some days are better, but there is nothing I can see that causes good and bad days.
My approach is to keep exposing myself to sound at a tolerable level in the hope that someday it goes.
If I plug up my ears with foam earplugs, it helps in that day or moment BUT my ears then seem extra sensitive when the plugs come out.
I have avoided headphones of any sort until now. I just couldn't contemplate piping music straight at my eardrums.
Not found any medication or herbs or vitamins that have helped.
I hope you find your way... I am sure you will at some point.
Keep busy, keep distracted, keep exposing at sensible levels and don't spend too much time on TT or similar unless you need some support.
All the best.

 

No...test where fine.
100% mine is jaw related as started after a Dental tooth filling

 

@Kelvin

I only asked because I see you’ve had tinnitus about the same time as me. I can relate so much to your post. I am the same, I have good and bad days. There is no rhyme or reason, I’ve just learnt to accept what ever day tinnitus gives me. I seem to have particular trouble in the mornings and sleep has a massive impact on my tinnitus. I can sleep okay, it’s the waking up! Mine is down to high frequency hearing loss. I’m making the best of a bad situation. I won’t go on!

All the best to you too

 

Why do you wake up? Do you hear it in your sleep?

 

Being asleep is one of the few times I don’t hear my tinnitus. Sometimes if I’m not in a deep sleep I can hear it, but I’ve learnt not to react to it. It’s still there I’ve just learnt to tune it out. My tinnitus is nearly always worse in the morning though after I’ve woken up. The sleep itself isn’t a problem but something in my brain changes during a sleep cycle that nearly always makes my tinnitus worse. After waking up, it may stay how it is or fade a little until my next sleep cycle.

 

Depends. Tinnitus can go away in 1 hour or never.
Has to do with the cause of tinnitus. If the cause is fixed, tinnitus will stop.

For example in sudden hearing loss when hearing returns to 100% tinnitus will stop.

 

Mine is from a misaligned jaw and neck. The jaw and neck is constantly in the same place now since I got my night guard mouth thing.. Really though I have T for 4 days on and 4 days off for like 1.5 months now.

 

@Mathew Gould
How long did you wear it before you started to notice a change? I’m thinking I’m in a similar situation.

 

In my opinion, I think it's because the parts of your ears that are damaged are essentially nerves, and nerves take a long time to heal. Anyone who has had a nerve injury can attest to that.

 

I wore my night splint for a week or two and I felt a difference, although every one is different. Can you open your jaw fully right now?? My jaw at its worst was only opening about 50%. I still have tinnitus, but it's very slowly gotten better. I would say I no longer have horrible days.

 

Funny that you say that because when I swallow I can feel that my ears are semi-filled. They were never like that before, it's like everything shifted in my head/face a few millimeters... I never hurt my ears though, but maybe something to do with the nerves??

 

But I never damaged my ears. I got my T from a misaligned neck/jaw and I would classify my neck and jaw around 80% aligned and I don't see them getting any better. So does my misaligned cause damaged hair cells in my ear??

 

I'd be quite happy if I was told mine would take 2 years to go away... I suspect I'm not alone!

 

I don't understand this "two years to go away" statement that I read everywhere. I've had tinnitus for 2 years and 3 months and it has not gotten one bit quieter. That blast of feedback in my ear caused the ringing that I still hear to this day at the same volume as on that first day. My only hope (my desperate hope) is that it not get louder.

 

It's probably because there are so many different threads , blogs, newsgroups that post different recovery times. I could probably find anything I wanted by searching google.

 

@Mathew Gould
Thanks for responding. No, I can only open it maybe 50% right now. I was diagnosed with TMJ about 15 years ago and had a night guard made. Wore it for a few years, changed my habits and it improved. Had wisdom teeth pulled and they tried to reshape the night guard but it never fit correctly again so I stopped wearing it. My tmj was very manageable until about 4 weeks ago. I yawned to wide in the shower and it locked. I freaked out(husband out of town, 5 year old at home). Stood under hot water and massaged it until I could close it but the pressure was insane. Immediately put ice on it after the shower. Super sore for 2 days, then gradually started feeling pressure, jaw pain, facial pain, random tooth pain, and ear fullness. The t started a day or 2 after that. Went to a shitty ENT who wouldn’t listen to my story and no lie told me my ear fullness and TMJ issues were “in my head”. Promptly went to GP the next day who called his ENT friend and prescribed me prednisone (which helped somewhat with the fullness) and a muscle relaxer/anti anxiety. I have an appt with this ENT in 2 weeks. Hoping he can point me in the direction of a good dentist and I can get started on treatment. This jaw and facial pain/pressure make it difficult to eat, smile or talk for long periods of time. I’m glad the appliance is working out for you. Did they give you a muscle relaxer too? My t is probably 30-40% lower when I’m on that and my jaw is relaxed. Something has to be out of place in there after the jaw lock. That’s when all of these problems started.

 

I hope this works for some. I’m 40 years in and it is getting progressively worse.

 

I couldn't imagine going through this with a kid... Yeah they gave me Flexeril (5m) and it helped me open my mouth a little more. I also went to a Physical Therapist that specializes in TMJ she didn't do much, but it helped. Yeah you need to get an appliance made for you're TMJ. They will take a 360 x-ray of you're jaw and make the appliance for you, this was the best step to getting better for me. Shop around and try to find the best person in you're area to make the TMJ night guard. If you're jaw gets aligned perfectly again I'm pretty sure the TMJ/Tinnitus will go away or improve a ton. Do you have any neck pain?? Feel free to ask anything our problems are very similar.

 

I think the 2 year thing is more geared to people that have T from TMJ or a jaw misalignment, not acoustic trauma.. I could be wrong though.

 

Does your tinnitus go up with sound like mine does?? My tinnitus goes up from the TV and furnace.. Or does sound mask your tinnitus??