diff --git a/doc/filters.texi b/doc/filters.texi
index 2ad4a5913c..bdc4136a22 100644
--- a/doc/filters.texi
+++ b/doc/filters.texi
@@ -4702,7 +4702,9 @@ Set noise tolerance. Can be specified in dB (in case "dB" is appended to the
 specified value) or amplitude ratio. Default is -60dB, or 0.001.
 
 @item duration, d
-Set silence duration until notification (default is 2 seconds).
+Set silence duration until notification (default is 2 seconds). See
+@ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}
+for the accepted syntax.
 
 @item mono, m
 Process each channel separately, instead of combined. By default is disabled.
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_silencedetect.c b/libavfilter/af_silencedetect.c
index ed16f3dbb5..3eb378db0b 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_silencedetect.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_silencedetect.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 typedef struct SilenceDetectContext {
     const AVClass *class;
     double noise;               ///< noise amplitude ratio
-    double duration;            ///< minimum duration of silence until notification
+    int64_t duration;           ///< minimum duration of silence until notification
     int mono;                   ///< mono mode : check each channel separately (default = check when ALL channels are silent)
     int channels;               ///< number of channels
     int independent_channels;   ///< number of entries in following arrays (always 1 in mono mode)
@@ -50,13 +50,14 @@ typedef struct SilenceDetectContext {
                           AVRational time_base);
 } SilenceDetectContext;
 
+#define MAX_DURATION (24*3600*1000000LL)
 #define OFFSET(x) offsetof(SilenceDetectContext, x)
 #define FLAGS AV_OPT_FLAG_FILTERING_PARAM|AV_OPT_FLAG_AUDIO_PARAM
 static const AVOption silencedetect_options[] = {
     { "n",         "set noise tolerance",              OFFSET(noise),     AV_OPT_TYPE_DOUBLE, {.dbl=0.001},          0, DBL_MAX,  FLAGS },
     { "noise",     "set noise tolerance",              OFFSET(noise),     AV_OPT_TYPE_DOUBLE, {.dbl=0.001},          0, DBL_MAX,  FLAGS },
-    { "d",         "set minimum duration in seconds",  OFFSET(duration),  AV_OPT_TYPE_DOUBLE, {.dbl=2.},             0, 24*60*60, FLAGS },
-    { "duration",  "set minimum duration in seconds",  OFFSET(duration),  AV_OPT_TYPE_DOUBLE, {.dbl=2.},             0, 24*60*60, FLAGS },
+    { "d",         "set minimum duration in seconds",  OFFSET(duration),  AV_OPT_TYPE_DURATION, {.i64=2000000},      0, MAX_DURATION,FLAGS },
+    { "duration",  "set minimum duration in seconds",  OFFSET(duration),  AV_OPT_TYPE_DURATION, {.i64=2000000},      0, MAX_DURATION,FLAGS },
     { "mono",      "check each channel separately",    OFFSET(mono),      AV_OPT_TYPE_BOOL,   {.i64=0.},             0, 1,        FLAGS },
     { "m",         "check each channel separately",    OFFSET(mono),      AV_OPT_TYPE_BOOL,   {.i64=0.},             0, 1,        FLAGS },
     { NULL }
@@ -142,6 +143,7 @@ static int config_input(AVFilterLink *inlink)
     int c;
 
     s->channels = inlink->channels;
+    s->duration = av_rescale(s->duration, inlink->sample_rate, AV_TIME_BASE);
     s->independent_channels = s->mono ? s->channels : 1;
     s->nb_null_samples = av_mallocz_array(sizeof(*s->nb_null_samples), s->independent_channels);
     if (!s->nb_null_samples)
@@ -174,7 +176,7 @@ static int filter_frame(AVFilterLink *inlink, AVFrame *insamples)
     const int nb_channels           = inlink->channels;
     const int srate                 = inlink->sample_rate;
     const int nb_samples            = insamples->nb_samples     * nb_channels;
-    const int64_t nb_samples_notify = srate * s->duration * (s->mono ? 1 : nb_channels);
+    const int64_t nb_samples_notify = s->duration * (s->mono ? 1 : nb_channels);
     int c;
 
     // scale number of null samples to the new sample rate
diff --git a/tests/fate/filter-video.mak b/tests/fate/filter-video.mak
index 72d95ae415..9e6351be3e 100644
--- a/tests/fate/filter-video.mak
+++ b/tests/fate/filter-video.mak
@@ -747,7 +747,7 @@ fate-filter-metadata-cropdetect: CMD = run $(FILTER_METADATA_COMMAND) "sws_flags
 SILENCEDETECT_DEPS = FFPROBE AVDEVICE LAVFI_INDEV AMOVIE_FILTER TTA_DEMUXER TTA_DECODER SILENCEDETECT_FILTER
 FATE_METADATA_FILTER-$(call ALLYES, $(SILENCEDETECT_DEPS)) += fate-filter-metadata-silencedetect
 fate-filter-metadata-silencedetect: SRC = $(TARGET_SAMPLES)/lossless-audio/inside.tta
-fate-filter-metadata-silencedetect: CMD = run $(FILTER_METADATA_COMMAND) "amovie='$(SRC)',silencedetect=n=-33.5dB:d=.2"
+fate-filter-metadata-silencedetect: CMD = run $(FILTER_METADATA_COMMAND) "amovie='$(SRC)',silencedetect=n=-33.5dB:d=0.2"
 
 EBUR128_METADATA_DEPS = FFPROBE AVDEVICE LAVFI_INDEV AMOVIE_FILTER FLAC_DEMUXER FLAC_DECODER EBUR128_FILTER
 FATE_METADATA_FILTER-$(call ALLYES, $(EBUR128_METADATA_DEPS)) += fate-filter-metadata-ebur128