Sometimes, but not usually. A UK study asked 4,746 adults about tinnitus twice, four years apart. Of those who had it the first time, 18.3% no longer did. Among those who still had it, about 9% found it less bothersome and about 9% more. Nobody can tell you which group you are in.
This is the question underneath every other question.
Most pages on this site end up here, so I will answer it directly, with numbers.
First, what I cannot do. I cannot tell you what will happen to yours. Nobody can. What I can show you is what happened to thousands of other people.
Does tinnitus go away on its own?
Sometimes. Not most of the time.
In the UK Biobank study, 4,746 adults were asked about tinnitus twice, four years apart. Of the people who had tinnitus the first time, 18.3% said they did not have it the second time.
Of the people who still had it, about 9% said it had become less bothersome. About 9% said it had become more bothersome. The rest said nothing had changed.
The authors summed it up this way: resolution is relatively uncommon, and improvement and worsening are equally likely.
Two limits. These are people’s own yes or no answers, not a clinic test. And everyone in the study was between 40 and 69.
Why does some tinnitus go away and some does not?
That study did not settle it, and I would be wary of anyone who says they know.
What it did find is what goes along with having tinnitus: older age, trouble hearing, noise at work, and medicines that can harm hearing. Trouble hearing was also linked to tinnitus becoming more bothersome.
That makes hearing the one lever with some support behind it. The authors found limited evidence that any lifestyle factor they measured changed how tinnitus progressed.
There is also the cause. The 2014 US guideline starts with a targeted history and exam to find conditions that, if found and managed quickly, may relieve tinnitus. When there is a fixable cause underneath, that is how it gets found.
When does tinnitus count as permanent?
There is no test for “permanent”. What clinicians use instead is time.
The guideline separates bothersome tinnitus of recent onset from persistent tinnitus, which it defines as lasting six months or longer. The reason is practical: the two are handled differently, and the split makes it easier to talk about what usually happens next.
So “permanent” is not a diagnosis. It is a word people reach for after enough months.
Is there a cure for tinnitus?
“Ringing in my ears cure” is the top suggestion in this group in Google and Bing autocomplete.
For the usual kind, with no fixable cause, there is no cure that works for everyone. A 2021 physician review in American Family Physician says cognitive behavioral therapy is the only treatment shown to improve quality of life. The 2014 guideline recommends against ginkgo, melatonin, zinc and other supplements for persistent, bothersome tinnitus.
If you are weighing a supplement, read this first. What is actually new in research is on its own page.
Can the sound stay while the problem gets smaller?
Yes, and this is the part with the best evidence.
A Cochrane review pooled 28 trials of cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus, with 2,733 people who had all had tinnitus for at least three months. The outcome was how much tinnitus interfered with daily life, not how loud it was.
Against no treatment, CBT may lower that impact. On a 0 to 100 questionnaire, the average gap was about 11 points. The authors treat 7 points as a difference a person would notice. The certainty was low.
Against ordinary hearing care, the gap was smaller, about 5.7 points, under that 7-point line. The certainty was moderate. I am giving you both numbers because both are true.
The review found probably little or no difference in serious side effects.
What can I do while I wait?
- Get your hearing tested. The guideline asks for a prompt full hearing exam if tinnitus is in one ear, has lasted six months or longer, or comes with trouble hearing. It lists the exam as an option for anyone.
- Ask about CBT. It is what the numbers above are about. In the trials it was mostly run in hospitals or online.
- Ask about hearing aids if a test shows hearing loss. The guideline recommends an evaluation for persistent, bothersome tinnitus with documented hearing loss.
- Look after sleep. The article on tinnitus and insomnia covers the trial that treated sleep in people with tinnitus.
FAQ
How long does it take for tinnitus to go away?
I have no number I can stand behind. The UK study looked at four years. The US guideline uses six months as its line between recent and persistent.
Mine went away and came back. Is that normal?
The study asked only twice, so it cannot speak to that. Loud and quiet stretches are covered in the article on why tinnitus is worse some days.
Is there anything that raises the odds it goes away?
The UK study found limited evidence for any lifestyle factor. The factor tied to tinnitus becoming more bothersome was trouble hearing, so a hearing test is the step with something behind it.
Can hearing aids make tinnitus go away?
The guideline recommends evaluating for them when persistent, bothersome tinnitus comes with documented hearing loss. That is a recommendation to check, not a promise that the sound goes.
Is it a problem if it does not go away?
Only if it interferes with your life. If it affects sleep, mood or concentration on most days, that alone is a reason to see someone, and the CBT numbers above are about exactly that.
When should I see a doctor?
Do not wait if it is in one ear, sudden, beating with your pulse, or comes with hearing loss or dizziness. Otherwise, six months is where the guideline draws its line for a full hearing exam.
Sources
- Dawes P, Newall J, Stockdale D, Baguley DM. Natural history of tinnitus in adults: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. BMJ Open, 2020 Dec;10(12):e041290.
- Tunkel DE, Bauer CA, Sun GH, Rosenfeld RM, et al. Clinical practice guideline: tinnitus. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 2014 Oct;151(2 Suppl):S1-S40.
- Dalrymple SN, Lewis SH, Philman S. Tinnitus: Diagnosis and Management. American Family Physician, 2021 Jun 1;103(11):663-671.
- Fuller T, Cima R, Langguth B, Mazurek B, et al. Cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020 Jan;1(1):CD012614.
- Marks E, Hallsworth C, Vogt F, Klein H, McKenna L. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) as a treatment for tinnitus-related insomnia: a randomised controlled trial. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2023 Mar;52(2):91-109.
- The tinnitus is pulsatile, beating in time with your heartbeat
- It started suddenly, especially in one ear only
- It came with new hearing loss, dizziness, or ear pain
- It is affecting sleep or concentration on most days