Hello All:
I could really use any advice or remedies that you have used or found from undergoing medication-related spikes. I have been suffering from some sort of sinus infection/virus for the last week, and was given Amoxicillin to treat the illness. After the first dose on this past Thursday, I noticed that my ear pain worsened, became very sharp, and that my tinnitus spiked immediately after the dose. I figured that some slight spike might happen, but that it would eventually go away. That was not the case. After each dose of this medication, the tinnitus got louder and louder. My hearing became very muffled and I was growing very nervous with it causing me any permanent damage. On Saturday, I stopped taking it after two days after visiting the hospital. The nurse advised me to do so after she learned it was making my tinnitus worse. My tinnitus before this incident was about a 4-5...now it's about a 10. I can hear it over everything, and I'm concerned that it won't go back down.
I went to an ENT yesterday, and they performed a hearing test, which was normal. He observed my ears and told me everything looks fine, but that he thinks I have some form of slight ETD (eustachian tube dysfunction). I don't think the ETD is the main reason for the spike, because before I even took the medication; the T was bad, but it wasn't audible over everything. What is upsetting is that I specifically asked for Amoxicillin because I've been told it's the least ototoxic drug, and yet, it still spiked my tinnitus through the roof. I've been pretty bummed about this because I have been so careful with not taking ototoxic medications, and I've taken Amoxicillin before without any issues.
Has anyone else had this issue before? If so, how did you handle it? Any thoughts, positive messages or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
-Christina
