Prednisone for Tinnitus from Headphone Use Over a Week Ago? Is It Too Late?

[leftearguy]

Wednesday night May 6. I felt a pop and got tinnitus in my left ear after using over ear headphones for a couple hours. I've had some kind of static in my left ear for a while before this but it was very manageable. I now have either a direct spike or a new tone that blends in with the static. It goes up and down in pitch and intensity throughout the day but it's always there. Yesterday morning they were running lawnmowers outside my apartment complex. My window was open and I was waking up and falling back asleep for like half an hour before I realized how loud it was and I got up to close the window. I'm scared that my tinnitus has been worse since then. I went to an audiologist yesterday and of course with their lame hearing test my hearing was fine. But he still wanted to refer me to an ENT to discuss Steroid treatment.

I'm really scared right now and I can't even think this through straight, and I can't find hardly anything online regarding Prednisone for new tinnitus. Would it be worth it for me to try?

I'm not sure you could qualify my situation as "acoustic trauma" anyway. I can't tell if I have hearing loss but it would be really damn nice if I could get a test for above 8000Hz and a speech in noise test to make sure. I have no idea if my inner ear is damaged or not and I'm really scared that it is and my tinnitus is permanent.

But the static has been here for a while, since I got visual snow. I can seem to change it with my neck and jaw but I'm not sure if I'm really changing it or just adding a new tone. When I close my nose and swallow my right ear opens but my left ear with the noise does not. I really hope this ENT that I'm seeing will be helpful because the audiologist told me nothing. I need a straight answer from them about whether the noise I've been exposed to could really damage the cochlea and if steroids could help with this time frame. I really think this could all be related to whatever gave me visual snow and DPDR. Maybe my inner ears were already inflamed and more susceptible to damage. Or maybe my brain just more susceptible to neural noise. I honestly just really hope this will fade because it's not like an intense ringing from a loud noise. But I'm terrified that whatever happened to make my left ear pop and increase the noise had a permanent effect and the noise will be here for a while if not forever.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@leftearguy

You should hurry to get prednisome since you window of opportunity is closing. It is very important to get it right after the trigger event to have a chance of aided healing. Yes, it will be good to get a very high frequency hearing test. In my case, the standard audiogram looked OK, but the very high frequency showed that my left ear was in big trouble. I got prednisome 10 days after onset and it did nothing for me.

 

[Joe C]

This sounds actually really similar to how the on set of my tinnitus started (7-9 months ago is when it became very noticeable) please keep me up to date. I did the prednisone it wasn't any help as well as having a hearing test a few months back that I was told "you have a healthy ear" and that was pretty much it. I have an ENT calling me Monday but it's been a long over due process with this virus being in the way. In the meantime don't over stress it. My tinnitus would sometimes appear for 2-3 days after loud noise exposure. It wasn't until a few months back after working manufacturing that my ear seems to not have returned back to normal.

 

[leftearguy]

@InfiniteLoop I think I was hesitant because I just wasn't sure if that kind of headphone use really counts as "acoustic" trauma. Would it really have damaged my choclea right then? I would imagine that the damage would have been gradual instead. Has anyone ever heard of someone's ear popping and instantly getting tinnitus? And again, I can't pop my left ear with the tinnitus. I don't know if that's a clue towards ETD as I don't have many other symptoms of it.

@Joe C I'll definitely be updating this thread. I don't even know what I'm going to talk about with the ENT tomorrow but I'm going to do my absolute best to get some information and advice out of them. I'm gonna ask if they can refer to me someone who'll do a high frequency and speech in noise test. I need him to tell me what I need to know about the steroids, if it's too late, if it'll work at all, etc.
Thanks for telling me not to stress, I'm trying. I kind of still have hope that it'll fade. But I feel like it's just gotten worse the past couple days (since the lawnmowers?) it just hasn't shown signs of fading yet like I hoped it would. I don't really know what to think at this point. I guess everyone goes through this stage of wanting to understand their tinnitus to figure it's chances of fading. I honestly just hope that its linked more to inflammation in my brain (which I'm being tested for soon) than actual serious damage to my chochlea. I suspect that I have synopathy there but I just find it hard to believe that with my (seemingly) miniscule level of hearing loss would have permanent tinnitus that isn't attributed mostly to inflammation or something similar that's fixable. But I guess a lot of people here have said that.
Good luck talking to the ENT. Have you looked into getting a high frequency or speech in noise hearing tests? Those are the more advanced tests I know of. When did you try the steroids? I wish it helped you but I've seen very mixed results on them.

 

[leftearguy]

So I went to the ENT and he said that my hearing is fine even because the chart is fine up to 8000 hz even though I mentioned a high frequency or speech in noise tests. He said he didn't think steroids are a good idea because he's not sure how much they would help anyway. He did however say that my jaw juts to the left a bit. He said I should get a mouth guard But I didn't get a change to ask him any details about what exactly is wrong with my jaw before he kicked me out. I guess I'm gonna forget about steroids. I can't find anything online about them anyway. I guess I'm gonna look into fixing my TMJ but idk how much is that and how much is noise induced. The TMJ seems pretty mild. I feel like my brain has just had a glutamate overload anyway and maybe my inner ears were inflammed and more sensitive to damage. I hope any actual damage in my inner ear isn't at a severe level. Maybe if I fix the over activity in my brain and my jaw my tinnitus will reduce a good bit.

 

[Joe C]

@leftearguy no I have not, I took prednisone about 2-3 weeks ago though. And thats actually really interesting because my right jaw (same side as my tinnitus) clicks like described on tmj articles. But I don't have any other tmj symptoms or jaw pain or anything so I didn't know how much that would be contributing either. I did just go into an urgent care facility though and he said I have swimemrs ear. I'm hoping that was all it was but for how long it's lasted and how many people have looked at my ears last few months I feel kinda skeptical. Still going to talk to an ent on Monday. Let me know if the mouth guard helps eleviate your tmj at all. Wish you the best!

 

[leftearguy]

I'm still freaking out over this. I'm desperately hoping it'll fade at least a tiny bit over the next couple weeks. Does anyone think that I could really go from mild static to a more piercing noise like that just from headphones? Even if it's technically "noise induced" does it for sure indicate damage in the chochlea? Is it possible for my tinnitus to mainly be from neck and jaw issues but be sort of "activated" from headphones? I don't know how loud it was. Maybe it was louder than I was realizing. I wasn't listening to music, just talking with my friend. I can't believe I was using them for 2 hours without a break.
I suppose you could count it as a spike and it might fade? I'm so scared I want to cry.

To be clear it is a sort of hissing/static noise. Sometimes it becomes more of a ringing. I guess it's a good sign if it changes pitch and intensity? I can't tell if it's really changing or its just my imagination. I'm trying to be optimistic that it isn't the classical constant high pitched ringing that seems to be so common. It is a sort of static that seems to maybe shift a bit. I did have a background static in my left ear before but I was able to ignore it. I feel like it's the same now but just louder and more intense. I hope it can fade back to what it was.

 

[leftearguy]

Okay now I'm really freaking out, thinking about how I'm really close to or have already missed my change for Prednisone. I felt my ear pop and then ring the night of May 6. It turns out a pop and ring is a symptom of hearing loss. I can't tell if things are more muffled in my left ear but they might be. Now I'm so scared. it'll be 10 days as of tomorrow. How the hell do i talk to someone who will test me over 8000 Hz do a speech in noise test and see if I actually have hearing loss?? Who do I go to to get an emergency steroid injection? I'm actually in disbelief that I let the doctor today write me off like that. I've already been to an audiologist and an ENT and I didn't get any info from them. I'm scared that my punishment is permanent tinnitus.

Please does anyone have any idea who the hell I call to see if I can still get an injection? I want to cry I've gotten no help from anyone I've seen. I should have been more focused on steroids from last week I can't believe I've waited so long.

 

[Joe C]

@leftearguy hey man just know you aren't alone. I'm in the same boat. My right ear is still terrible and my left ear has been starting to ring as well. Its super hard to relax with everything going on but I'm hoping we both are just making our situation worse by noticing it. I'm worried about the same thing as well. It does seem like I have some bad tmj symptoms when it comes to clicking and the sounds my jaw makes so im praying for both of us that its just tmj amplifying the tinnitus a lot. Just try to relax tonight and keep your mind off it. Put on a TV show and take some melatonin and have some tea or something. I've been struggling to relax especially at night but I think its in our best bet. We can't make anything better by over thinking but until we can get seen by someone I know we both are only making ourselves feel worse by fixating on the sound. Wish you the best man stay well

 

[Goshawk32]

Hey @leftearguy and @Joe C . Just wanted to check in and see how you're doing.

I have had tinnitus in both ears since a faulty house alarm went off 15 days ago. I was exposed to high-pitched sound for 8-10 seconds after which there was puffiness, sound sensitivity, and tinnitus in both ears. I've seen an ENT and audiologist since who confirm there is no structural damage or fluid, and that there is normal hearing loss. They provided no treatment for the tinnitus, despite my asking about HBOT and prednisone. Just blew me off. Did you guys have any luck in taking any? If so, did it help?

I hope you're well!

Brandon