Medication-Induced Tinnitus Improved, But Neti Pot May Have Worsened It Recently

[Clarity033]

I'm new to this site, not to tinnitus. In 2014, an antidepressant triggered my tinnitus. I do not suffer from depression or anxiety. The doc prescribed the antidepressant off-label, for a different usage that was not mental health. I specify that info because I don't want my tinnitus to be accidentally misconstrued as part of a mental health disorder. No stigma against mental health; I just want the medical info here to be correct.

Anyway, I got off the horrible medication and, over the years, my tinnitus improved greatly. However, it recently flared back up on my third day of neti pot usage for a stuffed nose. Could the neti pot have done this? Please help:

Day 1 of neti pot usage - didn't notice any problems with ears
Day 2 of neti pot usage - didn't notice any problems with ears
Day 3 - I used neti pot in afternoon. At night, I noticed my ears ringing horribly
Day 4 - I used a neti pot again, because I hadn't yet realized there might be a relationship. Ears were ringing before neti pot usage on this day and kept ringing afterward
Day 5 - no neti pot. Ears ringing all day
Day 6 (today) - no neti pot. Ears ringing all day. Went to emergency room and they did not see any water in my ears, nor bulging, nor infection

When I used the neti pot those times, I did blow my nose hard afterward, but don't recall feeling any pain or anything weird in my ears when I was blowing.

Did the neti pot do this to me? I've read the stories here about neti pots triggering tinnitus. Has anybody improved from neti pot-induced tinnitus?

@Amelia
@Konstadinos

 

[Tinker Bell]

I'm not sure, but why was your nose stuffy? What caused you to use the neti pot? Did you have a possible sinus infection? A bad cold?

The reason I ask is because viruses can cause hearing loss and tinnitus, too. Is it possible that the cause of your stuffy nose also caused your tinnitus?

 

[Clarity033]

I did have a possible sinus infection, and that's why I used the neti pot. If it were the virus, then why didn't the tinnitus happen before the neti pot usage?

 

[Clarity033]

I did have a possible sinus infection, and that's why I used the neti pot. If it were the virus, then why didn't the tinnitus happen before the neti pot usage?

 

[Tinker Bell]

I did have a possible sinus infection, and that's why I used the neti pot. If it were the virus, then why didn't the tinnitus happen before the neti pot usage?

In the case of viruses, it can take a while for the damage to manifest as tinnitus. I have hearing loss and tinnitus from a virus, but those symptoms did not show up with the onset of the virus.

Have you seen an ENT?