- Jul 16, 2022
- 4
- Tinnitus Since
- 05/2022
- Cause of Tinnitus
- COVID-19 and/or Ear Irrigation
Hi guys, new here, thanks for the add.
Did anyone get their tinnitus after an ear flush/irrigation, COVID-19/ear fluid/ear infection, or antibiotic?
My story is, about 2-1/2 months ago, I was on vacation in Florida for a week. I picked up what seemed like a cold on Wednesday. By the time I was flying home (2 hour flight) on Saturday night, I had full blown cold symptoms... runny nose, crackling in my ears, etc... I had never flown with cold symptoms before. There was a lot of pressure in my ears on landing and my right ear wouldn't pop.
When picking up our bags, my right ear hurt like an ear ache. Then the weirdest thing happened when we were driving home (about an hour after landing)... I heard a loud noise blaring in my right ear for like 2 seconds. My ear then popped for a second, but then went back shut again.
The next day, I tested positive for COVID-19, so I quarantined for a week. My cold symptoms subsided, but I was still having problems with my ears popping and sometimes aching very lightly. It was my doctor's turn to be on vacation, so I didn't get in to their office right away (I could only see a nurse practitioner). She said my left ear looked good, but she couldn't see my right ear due to wax.
So, she decided to flush it with an ear irrigation kit. It was very loud against my eardrum and the pressure was bothersome, but I never felt that it "hurt", it was just uncomfortable. They finally got it out and she looked at my ear drum. She said it looked "hazy", which can indicate fluid behind the ear drum. So, she gave me a prescription for Amoxicillin. My ear felt shut due to the water, but I didn't notice anything too odd besides that. A few hours later, the water finally came out.
Sometime the next day though, I began hearing a high pitched ringing in my ears. I had never had ringing in my ears that had lasted more than a few seconds. I have had the ear ringing since.
So, at this point, I'm not sure if the ear infection/fluid in my middle ear, COVID-19, or the ear flushing/irrigation, caused the tinnitus.
I just saw ENT for the first time this past week. He suspects the ear flushing/irrigation and I tend to agree. They didn't have me use drops to soften the wax or anything and I have no idea how long the wax was in there, but I wasn't bothered by it... I didn't notice any fullness or lack of hearing in that ear.
I've had my hearing tested twice, once by a private audiologist and then at the ENT appointment and both have come back fine.
My tinnitus seems reactive to sound. When I first wake up in the morning, I can usually barely hear it. But, as my ears are exposed to normal sounds (shower, electric toothbrush, etc...) it tends to ramp up and increase throughout the day.
It's been about 2 months since the tinnitus started. Is there any chance this could still be temporary or improve? Should I contemplate taking Prednisone at this point or is it too late? My primary doctor had me take Zyrtec-D and Nasonex at the same time to reduce fluid behind my ears and the combination by day 6 sent me to urgent care with a 2+ hour panic attack. So, I try to take as little medicine as possible, but if there is anything I can do to help not make this a forever-problem, I'm all for it!
Thanks for reading my extremely long post! Any advice is welcome!
Joe
Did anyone get their tinnitus after an ear flush/irrigation, COVID-19/ear fluid/ear infection, or antibiotic?
My story is, about 2-1/2 months ago, I was on vacation in Florida for a week. I picked up what seemed like a cold on Wednesday. By the time I was flying home (2 hour flight) on Saturday night, I had full blown cold symptoms... runny nose, crackling in my ears, etc... I had never flown with cold symptoms before. There was a lot of pressure in my ears on landing and my right ear wouldn't pop.
When picking up our bags, my right ear hurt like an ear ache. Then the weirdest thing happened when we were driving home (about an hour after landing)... I heard a loud noise blaring in my right ear for like 2 seconds. My ear then popped for a second, but then went back shut again.
The next day, I tested positive for COVID-19, so I quarantined for a week. My cold symptoms subsided, but I was still having problems with my ears popping and sometimes aching very lightly. It was my doctor's turn to be on vacation, so I didn't get in to their office right away (I could only see a nurse practitioner). She said my left ear looked good, but she couldn't see my right ear due to wax.
So, she decided to flush it with an ear irrigation kit. It was very loud against my eardrum and the pressure was bothersome, but I never felt that it "hurt", it was just uncomfortable. They finally got it out and she looked at my ear drum. She said it looked "hazy", which can indicate fluid behind the ear drum. So, she gave me a prescription for Amoxicillin. My ear felt shut due to the water, but I didn't notice anything too odd besides that. A few hours later, the water finally came out.
Sometime the next day though, I began hearing a high pitched ringing in my ears. I had never had ringing in my ears that had lasted more than a few seconds. I have had the ear ringing since.
So, at this point, I'm not sure if the ear infection/fluid in my middle ear, COVID-19, or the ear flushing/irrigation, caused the tinnitus.
I just saw ENT for the first time this past week. He suspects the ear flushing/irrigation and I tend to agree. They didn't have me use drops to soften the wax or anything and I have no idea how long the wax was in there, but I wasn't bothered by it... I didn't notice any fullness or lack of hearing in that ear.
I've had my hearing tested twice, once by a private audiologist and then at the ENT appointment and both have come back fine.
My tinnitus seems reactive to sound. When I first wake up in the morning, I can usually barely hear it. But, as my ears are exposed to normal sounds (shower, electric toothbrush, etc...) it tends to ramp up and increase throughout the day.
It's been about 2 months since the tinnitus started. Is there any chance this could still be temporary or improve? Should I contemplate taking Prednisone at this point or is it too late? My primary doctor had me take Zyrtec-D and Nasonex at the same time to reduce fluid behind my ears and the combination by day 6 sent me to urgent care with a 2+ hour panic attack. So, I try to take as little medicine as possible, but if there is anything I can do to help not make this a forever-problem, I'm all for it!
Thanks for reading my extremely long post! Any advice is welcome!
Joe