If you have a notched music file, as long as you can hear it, you'll be fine. In other words, you could play the file on your computer and it would work, you could play it via headphones and it would work. All that matters is that your brain can hear it and that the file is notched at the correct frequency or frequencies.
The general recommendation is that you listen for a minimum of 1.5 hours every day for at least a month. If your tinnitus frequency is under 8,000 kHz, listen for as long as you want during the day. You can listen all night if you want to use the notched audio file as a masker. As far as how long it takes, that depends on the individual and it's also dependent on how much time you invest in listening.
I've been listening to notched violet noise for the last five days, for at least six hours a day, and probably more. My frequency is about 7100 kHz. I created the audio file myself with Audacity and a downloaded violet noise file from YouTube. I think I've had some improvement, but it's too soon to tell because my tinnitus has been known to calm down for several days at a time and then come roaring back. I'll know for sure in a month.
Don't listen to movies or anything else while you're listening to the notched file, because you don't want to take the chance that another sound in the environment is going to fill in that missing frequency. Listening to conversation shouldn't be a problem.
From what I've researched about audio notch therapy, it's better to create an audio notch file with white, brown, pink, or violet noise, rather than music. Also, a .WAV file is going to have less data compression than an .MP3 file, so the accuracy of the frequency will be a little bit better. A very detailed explanation of that is in the article, "
What Data Compression Does to Your Music."
Having tried both notched music therapy and notched violet noise therapy, my preference is definitely the violet noise. It's easier to ignore if I get focused on another task.
I hope this info helps.
