Hyperacusis/Reactive Tinnitus Caused by Prednisone: Looking for Advice

[Malnoth]

Hello all,

Looking for some advice for my current situation. I have had high anxiety throughout this ordeal and looking for some encouragement. Apologies for the wall of text but appreciate you reading. Here's my story:

A few weeks ago, I was watching TV in the evening and had a sudden onset of loud ringing in my left ear followed by muffled hearing in that same ear. I would say that sound was reduced by about 30-50%.

The following morning, my left ear was still ringing and muffled. I read online that I may have sudden sensorineural hearing loss and that I should see an ENT as soon as possible. I scheduled an appointment for that same day and the ENT prescribed me with a 7 day + 4 day taper of Prednisone (60 mg per day for first 7 days).

The next day after taking Prednisone my muffled hearing was almost back to normal, but I still had ringing in the left ear. After the third day of taking Prednisone, the ringing had disappeared, and my hearing was 100% back to normal. I continued with the 11-day treatment of Prednisone as instructed.

Shortly after I finished the prednisone, I began noticing that my ears felt a bit more sensitive to sound than usual. The left ear more sensitive than the right. It almost feels like there is a tightness to it. Additionally, and more annoyingly, all sound is accompanied by a ringing sound. Things like running water from a faucet or even white noise seem to cause the ringing to be the loudest, but it happens with quitter sounds as well, like rubbing fabric together. If I plug my ears, I hear no ringing. From what I've read, I seem to have 'reactive tinnitus'.

I had a follow-up with the ENT who assured me that this is normal, and my ears need time to adjust. They said my ears went through a shock and need time to heal. They specifically mentioned it sounds like hyperacusis and said within 1-2 months it would recover 100% and the ringing would go away. They also recommended Magnesium and threshold conditioning. During the ENT visit I also had a hearing test (audiogram) that confirmed I had hearing in the normal range and no issues there. I opted to skip the loudness test to avoid triggering the tinnitus.

I hadn't been sleeping or eating and was finally able to sleep almost a full night after hearing this good news. However, my mind is my greatest enemy and the doubt started to creep back in.

I did more googling. Read some success stories and some terrible ones. I am nowhere near as bad as some of the posts here. I do not have pain with the hyperacusis. But still the unknowing keeps me awake at night.

Through my googling I found a new concept, ototoxicity, and learned that Prednisone is ototoxic. Now I fear that I have permanently damaged my hearing with a poison. Maybe I panicked and should have just waited a few days to see if my hearing would have returned on its own.

Looking for any experiences or suggestions. Most of the Hyperacusis/tinnitus here seems to be from loud noise exposure and not ototoxicity. Is there anyone who has gone through a similar experience? Is there any hope for me recovering?

Thank you.

 

[Kiyomi]

I have the same type of reactive tinnitus. But I had it even before taking Prednisone. Do you also get it when listening to any digital audio? How does music sound?

I really would like to use sound enrichment but white/pink etc. noise only sounds great for 5 minutes until it slowly starts sounding like the speaker is going to explode or an airplane taking off. It even sounds the same when I wake up to it.

 

[Muggumbo]

For a couple of months my ears would scream anytime they heard any sort of forced air (fans, air vents, etc.) This has pretty much gone away though. Very rarely do these sounds effect me anymore and when they do it's pretty mild.

Hopefully you get better.

 

[Malnoth]

For a couple of months my ears would scream anytime they heard any sort of forced air (fans, air vents, etc.) This has pretty much gone away though. Very rarely do these sounds effect me anymore and when they do it's pretty mild.

Hopefully you get better.

Thank you for the encouragement. Was yours also caused by Prednisone? Did you do anything special, or did it just go away eventually?

I have the same type of reactive tinnitus. But I had it even before taking Prednisone. Do you also get it when listening to any digital audio? How does music sound?

I really would like to use sound enrichment but white/pink etc. noise only sounds great for 5 minutes until it slowly starts sounding like the speaker is going to explode or an airplane taking off. It even sounds the same when I wake up to it.

Some digital audio is OK. But when there is too much noise at the same time, it tends to set it off. For example, metal music is especially bad.

 

[Muggumbo]

Thank you for the encouragement. Was yours also caused by Prednisone? Did you do anything special, or did it just go away eventually?

Some digital audio is OK. But when there is too much noise at the same time, it tends to set it off. For example, metal music is especially bad.

Mine was from a concert I wish I never went to. I mostly just protected my ears and took some supplements. Not sure how much the supplements helped but they didn't hurt.

 

[JTL016]

I wanted to respond to this thread because I believe my problem began with Prednisone as well. I was prescribed 25 mg of Prednisone, and after taking just the first pill, I had a bad reaction. I felt a lot of pressure in my head, and my right ear, which has always had Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, felt full. The next day, there was a weird sound in my right ear for a few hours. I called the ENT, who told me to discontinue the Prednisone, which I did immediately.

I experienced many problems over the next couple of months, but eventually, everything seemed to settle down. The only lingering effect was a very low-level high-pitched tinnitus that was unnoticeable except in a completely silent room, and some reactivity to certain sounds, like the motor of the heater in my house. It wasn't super reactive or particularly bothersome. In fact, I basically forgot about it for months and was able to return to a completely normal life. I did whatever I wanted, and if it spiked, I just noted it, knowing it would quickly return to baseline.

Then I decided to go on vacation. After an 8-hour flight, my previously 0-1 tinnitus was screaming at me for about 2 hours. I completely panicked because I wasn't expecting that! The trip overall wasn't great; I struggled a lot, and now, two months since my return, I notice my tinnitus is more reactive than it used to be. For example, in a busy restaurant, my ears either tighten up or start to ring much louder. This issue is now negatively affecting my life.

Any advice on how to calm the reactivity would be super helpful!

I also wonder if this could really have been caused by a single Prednisone pill. The ENT at the time, and most ENTs since, are very skeptical that a single pill could have caused this.

 

[Jupiterman]

Did you protect your ears on the flights?

 

[gameover]

I wanted to respond to this thread because I believe my problem began with Prednisone as well. I was prescribed 25 mg of Prednisone, and after taking just the first pill, I had a bad reaction. I felt a lot of pressure in my head, and my right ear, which has always had Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, felt full. The next day, there was a weird sound in my right ear for a few hours. I called the ENT, who told me to discontinue the Prednisone, which I did immediately.

I experienced many problems over the next couple of months, but eventually, everything seemed to settle down. The only lingering effect was a very low-level high-pitched tinnitus that was unnoticeable except in a completely silent room, and some reactivity to certain sounds, like the motor of the heater in my house. It wasn't super reactive or particularly bothersome. In fact, I basically forgot about it for months and was able to return to a completely normal life. I did whatever I wanted, and if it spiked, I just noted it, knowing it would quickly return to baseline.

Then I decided to go on vacation. After an 8-hour flight, my previously 0-1 tinnitus was screaming at me for about 2 hours. I completely panicked because I wasn't expecting that! The trip overall wasn't great; I struggled a lot, and now, two months since my return, I notice my tinnitus is more reactive than it used to be. For example, in a busy restaurant, my ears either tighten up or start to ring much louder. This issue is now negatively affecting my life.

Any advice on how to calm the reactivity would be super helpful!

I also wonder if this could really have been caused by a single Prednisone pill. The ENT at the time, and most ENTs since, are very skeptical that a single pill could have caused this.

ENTs (and audiologists and other doctors) have destroyed countless people's ears (worsening/inducing their tinnitus) with their medieval procedures and unsafe practices and medicines. This is not a joke. The list includes microsuction, syringing, audiograms, acoustic reflex tests, various antidepressants, antibiotics, and other medications.

They will deny it all. It is easy for them to. You can't prove tinnitus, or even if you could, that it was caused by their malpractice.

I was worsened by just audiograms. You need to be incredibly vigilant. I am not saying there isn't anything doctors can help with, but anything loud or offensive to the ear is a no-go. Never trust them telling you something is safe. If in doubt, leave and come back after researching it.

This is the lobotomy level of medical practice. It is that bad. I would not believe it if I had not read it here and in other forums and would not have experienced it myself.

I hope as science and clinical practice advances - it might be another 50 or 100 years - they will be writing articles and books saying doctors at the beginning of the 21st century were savages, hurting people. Because they are.

The best advice for you is to stay quiet and avoid exposing your ears to sounds that aggravate your symptoms.

 

[Jupiterman]

The best advice for you is to stay quiet and avoid exposing your ears to sounds that aggravate your symptoms.

Unfortunately, no ENT, Audiologist or doctor will give this correct advice.


ENT: How can I help you today?

Patient: I have tinnitus, and it's driving me insane.

ENT: No problem at all. We can do something about that.

Patient: Really?

ENT: Yes, of course. We can give you a hearing test.

Patient: Will that help?

ENT: No, it may increase the loudness of your tinnitus, but that's what we do. Audiograms are such nice drawings; you can stare at them, realizing that these nice curved lines increase your tinnitus.

Patient: What?

ENT: Then, of course, we will give you an MRI, exposing you to over 100 dB. There is a good chance this will increase your tinnitus and add further noise as well.

Patient: Why do an MRI?

ENT: Because it's what we do, and you have the impression we are helping you.

Patient: Ehh, maybe I should leave now?

ENT: Surely you at least want me to do microsuction? You could have impacted earwax, causing tinnitus.

Patient: Isn't that dangerous for tinnitus?

ENT: It's over 100 dB of high-pitched hiss in your ears for around 15 minutes, so yes, it will almost certainly exacerbate your tinnitus symptoms.

Patient: I'm going to leave now (stands up.)

ENT: (Reaches into a drawer and pulls out a syringe) Surely you'll at least let me worsen your tinnitus with the classic water syringing?

Patient: (Walks towards the door.)

ENT: Leaving so soon? One last thing I should point out: when your tinnitus worsens after all the above procedures, it will be your fault that you have imagined it louder.

Patient: What will happen then?

(The door opens, and a man in a white coat walks in.)

Psychiatrist: Do you need my help?

Patient: (Steps away from the door) What will you do?

Psychiatrist: (Pulls a box of tablets from pocket) We will give you these. Lots and lots of them.

Patient: Will they help?

Psychiatrist: Absolutely not, and they'll also increase your tinnitus. But it looks like we are trying to help you.

Patient: Shouldn't I just try avoiding noise for a while, give my ears some rest?

(Psychiatrist and ENT look at one another in puzzlement.)

ENT: You mean us doing nothing?

Patient: Well, yes. It was a loud noise that gave me tinnitus.

ENT: Don't be ridiculous! You sound like the type of person who would suggest resting your leg after you've broken it!

Patient: I'm leaving (exits room.)

Psychiatrist: Whatever was the problem with him?

ENT: Yeah, it did sound like he was well-clued up on how to prevent his tinnitus from worsening.

Psychiatrist: Don't worry, we'll get the next one!

 

[Michael Leigh]

Well done @Jupiterman, I haven't laughed so much in ages...

On a serious note, I believe hearing tests are essential when someone complaining of tinnitus visits their ENT doctor for help. Let's not forget that these doctors are there to help us. They don't treat tinnitus; they treat underlying medical conditions within the auditory system that cause tinnitus, and there are many.

When the tinnitus is noise-induced, the patient should be referred to an audiologist specializing in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

Impacted earwax can cause tinnitus or make it worse for someone who already has the condition. If the earwax cannot be removed manually by curette or ear irrigation, microsuction is recommended. Before having microsuction, the patient should apply eardrops or olive oil three times a day to each ear for ten days. Failure to do this could make tinnitus worse or cause tinnitus to develop in someone who doesn't already have it.

I have followed the procedure above. I have had microsuction three times and ear irrigation the same and never had a problem.

Michael

 

[gameover]

Well done @Jupiterman, I haven't laughed so much in ages...

On a serious note, I believe hearing tests are essential when someone complaining of tinnitus visits their ENT doctor for help. Let's not forget that these doctors are there to help us. They don't treat tinnitus; they treat underlying medical conditions within the auditory system that cause tinnitus, and there are many.

When the tinnitus is noise-induced, the patient should be referred to an audiologist specializing in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

Impacted earwax can cause tinnitus or make it worse for someone who already has the condition. If the earwax cannot be removed manually by curette or ear irrigation, microsuction is recommended. Before having microsuction, the patient should apply eardrops or olive oil three times a day to each ear for ten days. Failure to do this could make tinnitus worse or cause tinnitus to develop in someone who doesn't already have it.

I have followed the procedure above. I have had microsuction three times and ear irrigation the same and never had a problem.

Michael

This guy is a relentless early chatbot prototype programmed to dish out dangerous advice. Countless people will say they were harmed by microsuction or irrigation, but it does not matter to him. He will just keep repeating they are "recommended," completely oblivious to the living experiences of people whom he purports to help. Ear drops will not mitigate 90-100 dB or whatever the microsuction generates.

@Markku, you haven't banned @Michael Leigh for whatever reason. Can his posts be decorated with an automatic warning banner of some kind instead? Like "Posts from this member often contain dangerous advice. Caution is recommended." or something to that effect?

 

[JTL016]

Did you protect your ears on the flights?

I had some earplugs in, but they were for pressure, not noise, so they didn't protect very much. I didn't know I would have that problem, so I didn't think to protect myself from the plane's noise.

I appreciate the advice not to offend my ears, if possible. But do you think the reactivity will ultimately settle down? I'm worried that too much quiet will make my ears more sensitive in the long run.

 

[Muggumbo]

I appreciate the advice not to offend my ears, if possible. But do you think the reactivity will ultimately settle down? I'm worried that too much quiet will make my ears more sensitive in the long run.

Quiet is your best bet.