Tinnitus Confusion

[MattFlannigan]

Hi there.

I had a brief bout of Tinnitus in early October 2014, during which time I panicked as we all do after doing the initial google searches etc. I had a couple weeks of ringing and then without me even thinking about it, it eventually disappeared on its own without me paying it much attention. Thinking of it now, I have no idea how I managed to forget about it and completely take my mind off it to the point where it vanished on its own.

On Wednesday 29th April last week, the ringing in my ear started again. I believe it was due to me bashing loudly at work breaking down unitainers ( I work in a small grocery shop). I was listening to music in the morning but this was not through headphones and it was at a fairly normal volume. This ringing is back together with the same dull ache behind the ears, precisely the same symptoms as my first experience of it. Its certainly not as unbearable as some others have described theirs. I would describe mine more as irritating than anything else. But the longer it goes on the more annoying it is getting.

I have done the precise same thing in my stupidity, searched the internet and been met with stories of people commiting suicide due to it and everything else. The thing that worries me is that this is permanent.

Now I had the precise same worries last time and the issue resolved itself without me even realising or remembering.

I guess my question is, can ''temporary'' tinnitus last a week? I am quite down about it as I had made several changes since my last issues with it, such as turning down the volume on things and ditching the headphones. It is such an annoying issue.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I guess my question is, can ''temporary'' tinnitus last a week?

Hi Matt -

Tinnitus can resolve on its own after a day, week, a month, or even a year. In fact I know of one person whose tinnitus resolved as quickly as it came on after three years, but that would be considered rather rare.

As far as what you read on the Internet, in my opinion the very best site is ...

www.IveDoneGreatWithMyTinnitusAndHereIsHowIDidIt.com​

... but sadly that site does not exist. So you wind up gleaning your information instead from sites like this that are largely dominated by very well-intentioned folks representing the minority sub-population of individuals who are by and large not doing particularly well with their tinnitus, or they would not be here seeking information and support in the first place! Please do try to keep that in mind.

And as far as suicide goes, suicidal ideation is not all that uncommon in tinnitus. But the actual suicide rate is no greater in the tinnitus population than in the general population.

Hope this helps!

stephen nagler