New and Worried: Did Alcohol or Amoxicillin Cause My Tinnitus?

[Joseph K]

Hi all. My name is Joseph and I'm from Ireland. Hope you don't mind me sharing my story below. Would be very grateful to hear from you guys.

I've had tinnitus for just over three weeks. I'm very stressed about it and concerned that it's here to stay.

It all started for me from beginning of September, I was boxing with a friend and he caught me with a punch directly on my ear. Everything was fine but then 4 days later I started to fell unwell - headache, reduced hearing and feeling generally out of sorts. Went to my GP a few days later and he said my ear drum was perforated.

My eardrum healed up after a few weeks but my ear still felt clogged. A few nights it felt very inflamed and was ringing (but that went away the next day). I was also feeling a lot of pressure in both my ears and at the back of my head. I also had intermittent neck pain on the side where my ear was injured. The GP referred me to an ENT.

Before seeing the ENT, I went to an audiologist and everything came out normal. Also had microsuction to remove wax.

I was worried that I had an ear infection so I took Amoxicillin for 5 days (500 mg x 3 times a day). I had Amoxicillin in the house from a previous dental prescription and checked online and discovered it could treat ear infections. On the last day of taking the Amoxicillin, I went out with a friend and had quite a lot to drink (maybe 8/9 drinks).

The next day I noticed a weird hissing noise from my "good" ear. The day after that I noticed a ringing noise coming from the back of my head. Now three weeks later and I have high pitched ringing in both ears. Feels like everyday the noises are different.

I've discovered online that antibiotics and / or alcohol can cause tinnitus. Needless to say, I feel so stupid for taking the antibiotics and then drinking.

I've been to the ENT. He says my ears are fine and tinnitus is coming from something else - possibly neck. I've been to a physical therapist who says my neck is very tight and muscles are contracted. I haven't told the ENT about the Amoxicillin. I did tell him about the alcohol but he says it's unlikely to have caused the tinnitus.

I'm just wondering if anyone has similar experience with Amoxicillin or alcohol causing tinnitus?

Really struggling to get to grips with this situation.

Thanks guys!

 

[Michael Leigh]

I've had tinnitus for just over three weeks. I'm very stressed about it and concerned that it's here to stay.

Before seeing the ENT, I went to an audiologist and everything came out normal. Also had microsuction to remove wax.

Hi @Joseph K.

Tinnitus in the early stages can stressful but this usually calms down with time. Many things can cause it, one of the most common is exposure to loud noise and listening to audio through headphones, earbuds or headsets at too high a volume. A knock or injury to the head can cause it too as well as an underlying medical problem within the auditory system.

If you haven't been exposed to loud noise and don't listen to audio through headphones at high volume levels, then the punch to your ear is the likely cause of the tinnitus. The ENT doctor and audiologist haven't found anything untoward within your auditory system, that could be causing the tinnitus. Therefore, my advice is leave your ears alone and give them time to heal. Most ENT doctors advise this once the patient is not experiencing: deafness, balance problems, dizziness or acute pain in the ears.

An ear infection can cause tinnitus so it's best to see your doctor if it hasn't cleared up. I don't advise you to self medicate so please see your GP. You mentioned that you had earwax removed by microsuction. Whenever having earwax removed, either by microsuction, ear irrigation or manual removal by curette, apply olive oil/eardrops 3x a day to each ear for 7 to 10 days, to thoroughly soften the wax before the removal. Failure to do this can cause some people to develop tinnitus or make it worse if it is already present.

See your doctor about the ear infection and about any stress you are feeling. Please click on the links below and read my posts: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Tinnitus, A Personal View.

I don't think the alcohol or the medication you took are the likely cause of the tinnitus.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Jack Straw]

Hi all. My name is Joseph and I'm from Ireland. Hope you don't mind me sharing my story below. Would be very grateful to hear from you guys.

I've had tinnitus for just over three weeks. I'm very stressed about it and concerned that it's here to stay.

It all started for me from beginning of September, I was boxing with a friend and he caught me with a punch directly on my ear. Everything was fine but then 4 days later I started to fell unwell - headache, reduced hearing and feeling generally out of sorts. Went to my GP a few days later and he said my ear drum was perforated.

My eardrum healed up after a few weeks but my ear still felt clogged. A few nights it felt very inflamed and was ringing (but that went away the next day). I was also feeling a lot of pressure in both my ears and at the back of my head. I also had intermittent neck pain on the side where my ear was injured. The GP referred me to an ENT.

Before seeing the ENT, I went to an audiologist and everything came out normal. Also had microsuction to remove wax.

I was worried that I had an ear infection so I took Amoxicillin for 5 days (500 mg x 3 times a day). I had Amoxicillin in the house from a previous dental prescription and checked online and discovered it could treat ear infections. On the last day of taking the Amoxicillin, I went out with a friend and had quite a lot to drink (maybe 8/9 drinks).

The next day I noticed a weird hissing noise from my "good" ear. The day after that I noticed a ringing noise coming from the back of my head. Now three weeks later and I have high pitched ringing in both ears. Feels like everyday the noises are different.

I've discovered online that antibiotics and / or alcohol can cause tinnitus. Needless to say, I feel so stupid for taking the antibiotics and then drinking.

I've been to the ENT. He says my ears are fine and tinnitus is coming from something else - possibly neck. I've been to a physical therapist who says my neck is very tight and muscles are contracted. I haven't told the ENT about the Amoxicillin. I did tell him about the alcohol but he says it's unlikely to have caused the tinnitus.

I'm just wondering if anyone has similar experience with Amoxicillin or alcohol causing tinnitus?

Really struggling to get to grips with this situation.

Thanks guys!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER take prescriptions without a Doctor's approval!

We will probably never know what exactly caused it since you had so many possible triggers.

If I were to guess, it would either be the microsuction, antibiotics, trauma to ear from punch, perforated ear drum, or the overall infection. It could also have been a combination of them all. I don't think it would have been the alcohol though.

Give it time and it will probably go away. Try to distract yourself so it doesn't dig in with anxiety.

 

[Joseph K]

@Michael Leigh Hi Michael. Many thanks for your response and the useful links. I will try give it some time and see how things go.

@Jack Straw Hi Jack. Thanks for your response. I know, lots of potential triggers for sure. That antibiotic seems like it is a very common one - hard to imagine it could have caused the tinnitus but you never know. Hoping things calm down a bit. Thanks again!

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Joseph K, best of luck, take care...

 

[GregCA]

I'm just wondering if anyone has similar experience with Amoxicillin or alcohol causing tinnitus?

The blow to your ear is a prime suspect for me, much higher in the list than amoxicillin or alcohol. It was severe enough to rupture your ear drum. That trauma can have all kinds of bad consequences for hearing, including tinnitus.

Good luck.

 

[Joseph K]

Hi guys.

I've been off the forum for a while trying to let things settle down. Unfortunately they haven't. My tinnitus has got worse over the past few weeks which is quite disheartening.

I saw another ENT about 5 weeks ago. Had another normal audiogram. That's two normal audiograms now. The ENT said my tinnitus is stress/anxiety induced and I need to try to relax and it can go away. He said my inner ears are fine.

However, my ears are constantly sensitive and I have a full feeling in both of them. Loud noises actually hurt my ears. I've recently had a newborn (3 weeks ago) and I feel that every time he cries my ears get hurt. I went to a pub around 2 weeks ago. There was music playing on a juke box, it wasn't overly loud but the next morning I woke up with a constant buzzing noise coming from the middle of my head, which is still there. Both my ears are ringing pretty much constantly. I seem to have multiple different noises from my ears and head.

It feels like there is damage to my ears as opposed to stress/anxiety causing all these issues or can stress/anxiety actually cause all the above?

Does the fact that I don't have any apparent hearing loss mean that maybe it is something other than inner ear damage?

Is ear fullness/pressure and pain part of having tinnitus or could that be something else? I also get a lot of ear popping when I chew or stretch my jaws. It also seems that the way I sleep (ie, where I position my head) affects the ringing.

Sorry for all the questions. It's been 2.5 months of tinnitus and I am trying to stay positive that things can resolve. I've read that it can take months for tinnitus to settle down (or in some cases, go away). Still holding out that this can go away!

I also appreciate anyone that takes the time to read and respond.

Thanks

Joseph

 

[DimLeb]

@Joseph K, sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately those hearing tests (even the extended ones) don't necessarily mean that there is no damage to the inner ear. They just test some frequencies out of thousands, so there is always the possibility that there is "hidden" hearing loss.

Also, whenever the medical community can't explain something, they blame it to anxiety and stress so don't bother beating yourself up that it's somehow your fault for not lowering stress etc. Everyone has stress, but not everyone has this shit of a condition.

Protect your ears at all times, try out supplements, keep a healthy diet, exercise and if I were you, I'd avoid loud places like pubs and such.

 

[Simon85]

Hi @Joseph K.

However, my ears are constantly sensitive and I have a full feeling in both of them. Loud noises actually hurt my ears. I've recently had a newborn (3 weeks ago) and I feel that every time he cries my ears get hurt.

Congrats on the newborn. If you are currently experiencing ear pain then I'd suggest treading carefully for the next month or so and try not to expose your ears to unnecessary loud noise. That pain is your body's way of telling you that it didn't like the noise and to avoid it. It may help to invest in a pair of musician's earplugs for protection around loud places if you feel you need them. In the long run you don't want to lean too heavily on ear protection, but for the short term leaning towards more protection is not a bad bet. There are many threads on the forum debating the optimal level of protection...

I saw another ENT about 5 weeks ago. Had another normal audiogram. That's two normal audiograms now.

Audiograms unfortunately appear to be a blunt instrument. You may have damage at frequencies they haven't tested.

Sorry for all the questions. It's been 2.5 months of tinnitus and I am trying to stay positive that things can resolve. I've read that it can take months for tinnitus to settle down (or in some cases, go away). Still holding out that this can go away!

The majority of people will have their tinnitus settle. Annoying that it can take such a long time, but you should be feeling some relief after another 3 months. Wishing you all the best and some quieter times ahead.

 

[Joseph K]

@DimLeb, thanks for your reply. Yes, I will definitely protect my ears from now on. Yeah I have heard that about audiograms. I might check if there is a way to do a test that checks high frequencies also.

@Simon85, thanks for your reply. The newborn is keeping me occupied for sure. I have ordered myself some musicians ear plugs so hopefully they help. Not knowing the exact cause is the most frustrating part. Hopefully things settle down.

Thanks again.

Joseph

 

[pc1]

How are you going now Joseph?

 

[Joseph K]

How are you going now Joseph?

@pc1, still much the same unfortunately. Have the ringing all the time but also being affected a lot by hyperacusis. If I hear any kind of loud sound my ears clog up and start this weirding crackling sensation.

Had the unfortunate experience of going back to my ENT in March and he casually did microsuction on my left ear (without asking or telling me that he was going to do it). Ever since I have had pain in that ear, constant crackling, a clogged feeling and pretty bad hyperacusis.

For the most part I am just trying to deal with it all the best I can, with the hope that things will eventually improve / settle down.

Hope you're doing ok.