Experts say although we've likely seen the worst of inflation, it's unclear if things will ever get back to what we consider normal.“It's hard to predict how long inflationary periods are going to last,” said Risa Kumazawa, Duquesne University associate dean for academic systems and accreditation and associate professor of economics.“I don't think at all that we are going to go back to the prices that we previously saw, but I think the question is how quickly can we get back to more stable prices,” said Chester Spatt, a finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business.From groceries to utilities and even rent, people are feeling the pain of inflation.“Mainly electric and gas. Of course, the water and the sewage bills. The sewage has gone up,” Mark Mellinger said.“I do love to cook, so I do plan anyway, but with the prices of eggs especially, I think you are watching,” Pamela Sutton said.“What I have noticed is the impact is primarily on the cheaper goods like the chicken thighs and the pork,” Drew Hall said.“I hope that there is going to be something, an improvement in the future,” Tammy Ritson said.Kumazawa talked to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 about the potential timeline for these higher prices.“If you look back at U.S. history, in the '70s, it was pretty much an entire decade that we dealt with inflation. And then in 2008, we had a very brief stint of inflation that only lasted a month," Kumazawa said.Clarified: Inflation in perspective -- watch the video aboveThis time around, Americans saw higher prices creep in as the pandemic swept over the country.“When we were all cooped up in our homes, people just decided to buy a lot of things, and so this huge increase in our purchases of goods and services contributed to higher prices in the economy,” Kumazawa said. "Supply couldn't keep up, and so that meant there were higher prices for the items that we were waiting for because of the supply."Fast forward to this year, and Spatt said inflation is determined to stick around.“It's a real challenge to wring inflation out of the system,” Spatt said."Even in the current winter heating season, the prices of some of the energy services have increased dramatically," he said.Looking ahead, inflation may have an effect on the way Americans spend.“I think certainly there will be impacts to some degree on the willingness to invest in different ways because of changes in interest rates,” Spatt said.And the bigger question is, will there be a recession?“I think that we are in for a mild recession, so it’s not going to be as bad as the pandemic recession. We are not going to see crazy numbers of those magnitudes. But because the consumer spending has been effected by the Fed's rate increases, that is usually a sign that a recession could be on the horizon,” Kumazawa said.That means consumers will need to be patient.“I do think that all of us will be able to persist through this; it’s just a moment in time,” Hall said.