Steroids: Prednisone / Dexamethasone / Others (Oral and Intratympanic Injections)

[HootOwl]

Yes I know. He was incompetente in this area (as many doctors seems to be in Sweden unfortunately).
But is there any point trying to get another appointment with another doctor to get a "real" dose of prednisone? From what I understand it is not likely to help acoustic trauma after like 48 hours anyway? And I read hours on this and other websites and hasn't heard anyone who said it cured their noise induced tinnitus anyway.

It honestly might be worth a shot. I'm on a 21 day taper (starting at 60mg for 7 days) but the first ENT I went to refused to prescribe me anything despite how concerning my hearing distortion was. Luckily I had booked 2 backup appointments in the event that he would refuse and the second one really listened to me, and wanted to do everything she could think of to help me in the acute phase.

This was 2 weeks after onset so the jury's still out of I'll see improvement in the distortion, but the prednisone does seem to have quieted some of my high frequency hissing and crickets somewhat.

 

[Winter]

It honestly might be worth a shot. I'm on a 21 day taper (starting at 60mg for 7 days) but the first ENT I went to refused to prescribe me anything despite how concerning my hearing distortion was. Luckily I had booked 2 backup appointments in the event that he would refuse and the second one really listened to me, and wanted to do everything she could think of to help me in the acute phase.

This was 2 weeks after onset so the jury's still out of I'll see improvement in the distortion, but the prednisone does seem to have quieted some of my high frequency hissing and crickets somewhat.

But reading this thread almost everyone has gone back to the original tinnitus sound after the pred it seems?

 

[MRItechssuck]

"I can't go back in time so it's stupid to think about I guess."

This is the best, most basic premise people with tinnitus need to learn. Sh!t happens... and move on and get on with life. It's not easy, and downright difficult at times.

What is a 21 day taper? I see 60mg x 7 and then what are you doing?

You are in the US and found a doctor to give you that much prednisone... wow! I literally had to doctor shop and see several minute clinic doctors to get multiple dose packs to add up the quantity which "could" "may" probably not" help...

These docs have no idea what the dosing needs to be to even have a 1% chance to help.

 

[HootOwl]

But reading this thread almost everyone has gone back to the original tinnitus sound after the pred it seems?

Possibly. I only have one other experience with pred for a previous worsening and that dosage was a lot like yours (20 mg 5 day taper) and it did nothing. It could be my hissing goes back to baseline too after the taper. But it doesn't hurt to try. You might get lucky.

 

[HootOwl]

"I can't go back in time so it's stupid to think about I guess."

This is the best, most basic premise people with tinnitus need to learn. Sh!t happens... and move on and get on with life. It's not easy, and downright difficult at times.

What is a 21 day taper? I see 60mg x 7 and then what are you doing?

You are in the US and found a doctor to give you that much prednisone... wow! I literally had to doctor shop and see several minute clinic doctors to get multiple dose packs to add up the quantity which "could" "may" probably not" help...

These docs have no idea what the dosing needs to be to even have a 1% chance to help.

Well, to be honest she was much more apt to prescribe that much do to my sudden onset of severe hearing distortion, not tinnitus. I think if had come in for tinnitus that dosage might have been off the table.

But I also explained the hearing loss notches that I found at specific frequencies; and unlike many ENTs she seemed really sympathetic. Maybe I just got lucky to have found her.

Sorry, I don't have the taper schedule on hand but its something like 60mg for 10 days, then down to 40 for 3, then 20 for 3, then 10 for 2, etc...

For the record, I haven't experienced any side effects at all (outside of some insomnia and a little bit of anxiety at night) and I'm on day 8 right now. But to be fair, other people can have some really ugly side effects. I think that's why doctors can be hesitant to do the "big boy" dose when it's "just tinnitus".

 

[MRItechssuck]

I've seen a 7 day course, but not 10... wow, I'm on 60mg on day 7 now and plan to go 50, 30, 10, 10...

I get some eye blurring and that's about it.

Thanks and good luck.

 

[Ruse]

Thanks for the reply. That's what I've read too. I wish I'd knew to get it as soon as the noise trauma happened. But I didn't know and also hoped it would disappear in the first 48 hours. I can't go back in time so it's stupid to think about I guess.

I wouldn't kick yourself, the evidence for them working even if administered within 24-48 hours is pretty sketchy.

 

[Winter]

I wouldn't kick yourself, the evidence for them working even if administered within 24-48 hours is pretty sketchy.

Thanks. This is what I think also. Otherwise I think I would have more or less demanded a "real" dose when I visited the GP last week. I am not convinced, I think if prednisone worked for "curing" acoustic trauma it would be standard to give to 60mg starting dose all over the world (it is not a rare medicine), but this isn't the case. I think many doctors give it because it's the only thing that COULD work, in theory. And then the doctor have "done something", instead of just saying "sorry, there's nothing I can do". But the evidence of them working seems lacking from what I've read (hours and hours of searching online). I rather go all in on vitamins and stuff that gives no side effects and perhaps at least can give me some good placebo effects if nothing else.

 

[Eric N]

I tried to take one pill of 20 mg prednisolone and I feel it's spiked my tinnitus within 10 minutes. Is this even possible?

 

[MRItechssuck]

I would say unlikely... 20mg is a relatively low dose, and 10 minutes is a pretty quick reaction. If you were allergic you would have other symptoms than just your tinnitus.

But I'm not a doctor....

 

[Eric N]

I've seen a 7 day course, but not 10... wow, I'm on 60mg on day 7 now and plan to go 50, 30, 10, 10...

I get some eye blurring and that's about it.

Thanks and good luck.

What are you taking it for?

 

[MRItechssuck]

Two acoustic traumas.
So I was tinnitus free for 15 years after a 3-4 years habituation from a 30 minute rock band set, first time not wearing earplugs.

2 months ago I had a "routine" MRI... not realizing how loud... no earplugs... welcome back to the tinnitus nightmare I thought I had conquered. I got prednisone 3 days after the exposure.

A month later trying sound therapy, I screwed up an iOS app and got a blast of full volume, that was a week ago. So my 2nd course of prednisone now in 2 months time.
I will start tapering today...

It's been a sucky 2 months...

 

[Pre55ure]

Reading this whole thread still makes me confused if prednisone has any good benefits for treating acoustic trauma after 48 hours+. Shouldn't there be any studies done to see correlation from the prednisone in this case? Acoustic traumas causing tinnitus must happen every day...

I'm not a doctor. But I do like to read lots of literature and try to stay informed about this kind of stuff.

My understanding is that there is very little evidence of Prednisone or other steroids being helpful for hearing loss from acoustic trauma.
Prednisone is usually prescribed for patients who experience sudden hearing loss (not noise induced). The reason is that in cases of hearing loss not related to acoustic trauma, it is much more likely that the issue causing the hearing loss is related to some type of dysfunction in the inner ear. Often times there can be swelling and inflammation as a result and since it is in an enclosed space this can often result in damage. Steroids reduce inflammation and swelling, and if this is what is causing the hearing loss/inner ear damage they (steroids) can help prevent long term hearing damage from occurring.

But from the research that I have done, that is the extent of what steroids do in treating hearing loss/tinnitus. They don't do anything specific to the ear structures, and they are not regenerative in any way.

Again - I'm not a doctor. (I've just spent too many hours questioning real ones about my hearing loss : (

 

[acute]

Two acoustic traumas.
So I was tinnitus free for 15 years after a 3-4 years habituation from a 30 minute rock band set, first time not wearing earplugs.

2 months ago I had a "routine" MRI... not realizing how loud... no earplugs... welcome back to the tinnitus nightmare I thought I had conquered. I got prednisone 3 days after the exposure.

A month later trying sound therapy, I screwed up an iOS app and got a blast of full volume, that was a week ago. So my 2nd course of prednisone now in 2 months time.
I will start tapering today...

It's been a sucky 2 months...

So did you have tinnitus for 3-4 years and then disapeared?

 

[Winter]

Two acoustic traumas.
So I was tinnitus free for 15 years after a 3-4 years habituation from a 30 minute rock band set, first time not wearing earplugs.

2 months ago I had a "routine" MRI... not realizing how loud... no earplugs... welcome back to the tinnitus nightmare I thought I had conquered. I got prednisone 3 days after the exposure.

A month later trying sound therapy, I screwed up an iOS app and got a blast of full volume, that was a week ago. So my 2nd course of prednisone now in 2 months time.
I will start tapering today...

It's been a sucky 2 months...

Wow, I've never heard of anyone having their tinnitus disappearing after years when the reason for the tinnitus is acoustic trauma. How is this even possible?

 

[summerbreezexx]

Today I may need to make a decision on whether to have steroids or not.

My ringing is from a fire alarm on Sunday (it is now Thursday).

I am v concerned regarding side effects.

If they just work on hearing loss I don't want to take them, as I am not fussed as much about that.

It's the awful ringing.

**What kind of chance of helping would these things have?**

The ringing is in my left ear, it is high pitched and loud.

I have not been very well, recently had surgery and am on other medications so the steroid thing is more risky for me unfortunately.

If I took NAC, Curcumin etc I don't have qualms.

 

[Winter]

Today I may need to make a decision on whether to have steroids or not.

My ringing is from a fire alarm on Sunday (it is now Thursday).

I am v concerned regarding side effects.

If they just work on hearing loss I don't want to take them, as I am not fussed as much about that.

It's the awful ringing.

**What kind of chance of helping would these things have?**

The ringing is in my left ear, it is high pitched and loud.

I have not been very well, recently had surgery and am on other medications so the steroid thing is more risky for me unfortunately.

If I took NAC, Curcumin etc I don't have qualms.

If you do decide to take them - please write back your results here. Because I've only read about one person that it has reduced the tinnitus for (when the prednisone is out of the system). If it is a cure and barely nobody writes about it fixing the tinnitus, then every person like yourself and I have to wonder if they should take the steroids or not... So, please write back here if it is a cure for tinnitus because I can't get a real answer from anyone online or doctors (except this one person here called PortalNaut).

 

[Winter]

Today I may need to make a decision on whether to have steroids or not.

My ringing is from a fire alarm on Sunday (it is now Thursday).

I am v concerned regarding side effects.

If they just work on hearing loss I don't want to take them, as I am not fussed as much about that.

It's the awful ringing.

**What kind of chance of helping would these things have?**

The ringing is in my left ear, it is high pitched and loud.

I have not been very well, recently had surgery and am on other medications so the steroid thing is more risky for me unfortunately.

If I took NAC, Curcumin etc I don't have qualms.

So did you take it and are you now cured? I don't understand why people won't write here if the steriods cure them. Maybe they take it and the T disappears and they forget about this forum. This is a problem because people with T trying to find answers if taking steroids is the right thing, and barely nobody shares their sucess stories about taking prednisone or other steriods here. Very frustrating...

 

[Christopher805]

2 days after ringing started ENT prescribed prednisone for eight days with a weaning off period. 2 days after last dose ring and pain was so bad that it sent me to emergency room.

 

[Audiophile_bg]

Has anyone had improvement with their tinnitus after taking Prednisolone? I have to take it because I went to an MRI scan last month and got this horrible low pitched noise.

 

[WntRelief]

Steroid pills does lower my tinnitus a noticeable amount during the taper, but after the pills, the noise gets louder. The injections stopped the tinnitus for a few hours but then it returned louder with a change in tone, went from a loud buzz to a high pitch ring with alternating periods of crickets and chimes. The problem is that steroids long term will mess up your vision, (e.g. cataracts, snow), among other side effects. I personally have seen 4 cases of cataracts from long term/high dose oral steroid use. Each one of these persons had to have cataract surgery due to steroid use. One of these cases was 6 months high dose oral steroids for ocular issues, another was for arthritis ( low dose for years), and I think another was for skin issues( low dose for years). I feel the steroid injections made my tinnitus worse in the long run even though I am still considered in the acute stage........

Overall the oral steroids are a good thing to try, but I would consider the side effects of long term use.

I did 2 oral steroid tapers and so far I haven't developed any bad side effects, I did notice a little blurry vision but that seems to have cleared up...

I would have thought that with your T being since 2018 that you would have already tried the steroids........

 

[Aiden]

My doctor suggested predisone as a possible treatment to me. It's been 48 hrs since I onset of tinnitus and hearing loss from a slap to the ear. Should I try and pursue the predisone? I've heard it's time sensitive to us.

 

[Jack V]

My doctor suggested predisone as a possible treatment to me. It's been 48 hrs since I onset of tinnitus and hearing loss from a slap to the ear. Should I try and pursue the predisone? I've heard it's time sensitive to us.

Yes.

 

[Nothisispatrick]

Hello, I developed tinnitus about a month ish ago.

My tinnitus has been changing a lot. It was really bad when it first started. It was like loud hissing sound/then went into crazy buzzing/ringing sounds.

I went to an ENT already, had all kinds of tests done and everything came out great.

About a week after ENT I went back to urgent care for ear pain/of course ringing was still going on. Dr said I had an ear infection so I've been on Amoxicillin. I notice tinnitus has been changing since some days are okay while other days still give me some anxiety. On Tuesday I basically had a silent day then the next some ringing then a little better.

I went back to urgent care to make sure my ears looked okay.

They prescribed me prednisone. I just started it yesterday morning.

I guess I'm nervous that this is temporary "good". Or is this a good sign? Any insight would be amazing, I'm 27 and really scared and feeling isolated and alone the last month.

 

[Aiden]

I think you'll recover. The prednisone had no effect on me, and when it fluctuates like you describe it is usually a good sign.

 

[Juan]

Hello, I developed tinnitus about a month ish ago.

My tinnitus has been changing a lot. It was really bad when it first started. It was like loud hissing sound/then went into crazy buzzing/ringing sounds.

I went to an ENT already, had all kinds of tests done and everything came out great.

About a week after ENT I went back to urgent care for ear pain/of course ringing was still going on. Dr said I had an ear infection so I've been on Amoxicillin. I notice tinnitus has been changing since some days are okay while other days still give me some anxiety. On Tuesday I basically had a silent day then the next some ringing then a little better.

I went back to urgent care to make sure my ears looked okay.

They prescribed me prednisone. I just started it yesterday morning.

I guess I'm nervous that this is temporary "good". Or is this a good sign? Any insight would be amazing, I'm 27 and really scared and feeling isolated and alone the last month.

Prednisone never helped me. And it has side effects. On a high dose you can expect sleepless nights at the beginning and also being more nervous, frantic.

 

[Nothisispatrick]

@Aiden it's hard to say because yesterday wasn't that bad but today it's kind of bad. It just keeps fluctuating.

 

[Fred185]

I took Prednisone 40-mg for 21 day, started 14-days after being several feet from an explosion inside fire drum. I was bad when I started and far better hearing when I stopped. Prednisone never reduced the tinnitus. I also have severe back pain, that prednisone pack for five days would provide relief. Now three plus years later, I will not take prednisone for any reason, because its puts tinnitus over the top.

 

[MusicTeacher]

I'm having a spike with my hyperausis. It's been much more sensitive the last couple days. I'm sure it's from being stuck inside with three children. The occasional scream is impossibly to predict. My left ear is also a bit clogged.

I have a script for prednisone. Would this be something that would help?

Best,
Tom

 

[DingDong]

Had an exposure to a Fire Truck Siren - Inside closed garage doors.

Was prescribed Prednisone -
28 Days Tapering Dose -
7 Days - 60 mg
7 Days - 40 mg
7 Day - 20 mg
7 Day - 10 mg.

It may be helping with the "possible" hearing loss. But it's definitely made the tinnitus worse then it was before taking it.
May have to do with the side effects of the Prednisone - Not sure.
But it's really affecting my head as well.
Strong med with strong side effects.