Prednisone for Idiopathic Unilateral Sudden Hearing Loss

[matthew_bk]

Curious what experiences people here have had with taking high-dose prednisone following an idiopathic unilateral sudden hearing loss.

I've been on it (50mg 1x/day) a few days, a little less than 2 weeks after waking up one morning with ringing in 1 ear. I went to Primary Care after a week (delayed slightly due to anxiety around high number of COVID-19 cases in NYC and really kicking myself now) who seemingly misdiagnosed me with an ear infection. I went to ENT less than a week later after antibiotics didn't help.

So far it's been a bit mixed. On my second day with the pill it seemed like the high-pitched ringing sound was nearly gone/reduced to a lower-pitch rumble. I was super excited that I might get away with only minor loss. But on the third day, and today (fourth) the ringing seems to be back up to baseline and I'm concerned.

My audiology tests showed roughly 20-25 dB loss in a few higher frequencies in the left ear; right ear suffering no loss.

I've been scouring this site and reading studies that show encouraging signs for at least some recovery (I'm under 40, began treatment in under 2 weeks [barely], and have no other comorbidities). Looking for a bit of hope/encouragement/insight from the veterans out there.

Thanks for reading.

 

[matthew_bk]

Feeling like a complete idiot. I didn't even consider that taking Melatonin would impact my Prednisone. I've been sleeping terribly so I happened to start Melatonin alongside Prednisone. I've just found out that Melatonin boosts the immune system and should NOT be taken with Prednisone or other corticosteroids. I've possibly wasted several days of this treatment. Put a call into my doctor to see how to proceed.

Let this be a warning to whoever else happens to stumble upon this.

https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/melatonin

 

[matthew_bk]

Just bumping this because I took my 7th (final) 50mg Prednisone today. Heading for a follow-up tomorrow morning and want to be armed with info about how others have proceeded.

What outcomes have people had with Prednisone to treat idiopathic SSHL, and how have those mapped to next steps on prednisone? (e.g., no success -> continued for a week? some success -> stopped?).