What's the Percentage of People Who Had Tinnitus and It Went Away?

[CarloZ]

Among people who've had tinnitus for a while, how many had tinnitus and had it go away?

Also, what is the percentage of people who habituate?

 

[LadyDi]

Hey @CarloZ: Could be wrong, but don't think there really are any accurate numbers on this. Or none I would trust.

In general, I think you can say:
The majority of people who develop tinnitus ultimately habituate to it.
And the longer you have tinnitus, the less likely it is that it's going to go away.

Also, I think pinning numbers on things can be frustrating and just make things worse. You start fretting: well, all the other kids started habituating at three months. What about me? What's wrong? Or: It's been exactly 40 days, does that mean I am stuck with it? Every person's tinnitus experience is different. The best thing you can do for your tinnitus whatever stage you are at is, if possible, DO NOT put it front and center 24-7. T feeds on worry and attention. Distraction is your friend, always.

 

[JohnK]

My ENT said 90% of people get better in a year, but he didn't have any data to back it up (i'm the sort of person who would ask these annoying followup questions!)

 

[eric peterson]

My ENT said 90% of people get better in a year, but he didn't have any data to back it up (i'm the sort of person who would ask these annoying followup questions!)

Among people who've had tinnitus for a while, how many had tinnitus and had it go away?

Also, what is the percentage of people who habituate?

I agree that the data is probably hard to get at. Many people have tinnitus. For a lot of people it never was a problem, because their volume is very low and they never really thought about it. I think that 90% in the first year is probably a decent guess, and I've heard 98% in the first 18 months from @Dr. Hubbard . So the vast majority, either way.

 

[JohnK]

An even harder (and more useful) statistic would be recovery rates sorted out by cause.

 

[BettyHasHope]

Doctors aren't concerned about tinnitus but they should start doing surveys about this and follow up with patients to atleast get information for new sufferers. I'm sure there's many people out there who can give us some light.

 

[MikeL1972]

The answer to this question is hard to answer accurately, because there is not a quantifiable count of all those with tinnitus around the world.

It would be like asking how many people are millionaires. Obviously, not everyone will reveal this information for one reason or another. This same thing applies to many topics, such as tinnitus for example. Oh and for the record, I am not a millionaire -- far from it.

 

[Jomo]

I suggest just not thinking about if it will go away. I know that can be hard to do but based on people here and an uncle who is 71 and has had it for a real long time all i can say is you should think about hoping it gets to a point where it becomes easy to deal with. My uncle is the perfect example. I never knew he had it until i got it and thats because it doesnt bother him.

 

[CDNThailand]

I've read 85%+ habituate

 

[BrianW.]

An even harder (and more useful) statistic would be recovery rates sorted out by cause.

So you got tinnitus twice in 4 years? After habituating to the first time?

Does habituating = strategically ignoring?

 

[MBH]

I'm not in this percent but my guess is 30 percent.