system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does my ear suddenly start ringing and stop just as abruptly?

The other day I suddenly lost hearing in my right ear, and it began ringing loudly. This went on for about a 45 seconds, and then it stopped and all was normal. What happened?
gpt
It's called spontaneous tinnitus, and it's something that everybody experiences from time to time. It doesn't usually last as long as 45 seconds; it usually resolves itself in about ten seconds, on average. It's possible that it just felt longer than it was.

The short answer to your why question is that nobody knows exactly what causes tinnitus, but it seems to have a variety of different possible causes. Some people experience tinnitus when they're in a silent environment, for example; that's thought to be neurological. With no actual sound for your auditory cortex to react to, you perceive a background hum or ring.

Tinnitus is also associated with things like the impaction of ear wax and inner-ear infections, but that's not what you're talking about. You're talking about the spontaneous kind that comes on suddenly in one ear, and just as suddenly resolves itself.

Nobody knows what causes that. What is known is that it happens to everybody, and it's entirely normal. It isn't, by itself, a sign of anything.