Tinnitus After Ear Syringing

Hey folks - I originally got tinnitus after COVID-19 last August. It was getting a lot better and I was barely noticing it.

My right ear had been hurting for a few days - I thought it was an ear infection (I had just gotten over a standard cold). I was having trouble sleeping, even with Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Yesterday, I went to urgent care; the doctor took one look and said that I had pretty much 95% earwax obstruction in that ear and about 50% in the other ear. The RN came in and put Debrox in each ear one at a time and waited 10 minutes for each to soften. He then used a syringe to irrigate each ear. It didn't hurt, and I didn't feel dizzy. He was really pretty gentle and was checking in with me constantly. I think my hearing actually got a bit better afterward, and the pain was completely gone.

Last night, I noticed the tinnitus that I had gotten with COVID-19, which had been almost completely gone, had come back with a vengeance. It's the same sound, the same frequency, just louder than it's been in weeks. Really freaking me out.

I've heard varying things about ear syringing - I've read disaster stories of tinnitus permanently worsening afterward, and I've read stories where it was bad for a few days or a couple of weeks afterward and then returned to baseline. I'd just like to solicit some stories - what have been everyone's experiences with syringing? I'm trying not to panic yet, but it's tough. I'm glad I did it because the ear really hurt, and this fixed it - but the tinnitus returning is a real bitch.

Thanks all!

 

After rinsing your ears, I understand you are experiencing a spike in your tinnitus. This is likely due to the pressure of the rinse irritating your entire ear.

I recommend that you visit an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist to have the earwax removed safely. As a cautionary measure, I would advise against allowing anyone other than an ENT specialist to remove the earwax. An ENT specialist may gently use a small stainless steel curette tool to remove the earwax buildup during the procedure. Hopefully, this will alleviate your discomfort, provide relief, and avoid a spike in your tinnitus in the future.

 

Thanks - the earwax is totally gone now, but the hissing remains. I got no sleep last night; today’s been really tough so far.

Any encouragements?

 

For sleep, you can see if an air purifier or fan helps mask it.

 

You need to get some medication to help you sleep. Lack of sleep will only make it worse. Ask your doctor about Remeron (Mirtazapine). I have found it effective at low doses, around 1-2 mg. You need to cut the pill to get that dosage; it comes in a 15 mg pill. Hopefully, it comes down in a few days if not take something for sleep

 

Unfortunately, it can’t be masked—it’s a hissing as loud as anything else I hear. Even though it’s high, above 15 kHz, it’s very intrusive. I try to use Dalesnale’s tinnitus maskers on YouTube; those are somewhat effective.

Thanks - I’m going to Urgent Care today and seeing a doctor tomorrow morning. I may ask him for Prednisone since I used that once before when my hearing was wholly distorted after the flu. Though this seems like mechanical damage, I’m just not sure.

 

Quick update:

The urgent care doctor was not much help but prescribed me Prednisone and Hydroxyzine to help me sleep. He said to wait until the morning to take the Prednisone, and since I have a 9:30 a.m. GP appointment, I’ll wait until after I talk to him.

The ringing is still the same volume but a little less terrifying. I’ll take any improvement whatsoever. Hopefully, I can sleep and still feel marginally better tomorrow morning.

 

Another update:

GP confirmed everything looks good. I feel a lot better today. I had good sleep with the Hydroxyzine, and my anxiety is down. The ringing is still there, but maybe 30-40% less. Ringing is more of a reactive type today as well. GP said not to take Prednisone but prescribed me Methylprednisolone instead. He said to wait on that, too - if it doesn’t improve more by tomorrow morning, then take it.

In all, some improvement. I will keep you all posted.

 

That's great news that your tinnitus is now less intrusive and you have a plan going forward.

 

Update:

It’s now Wednesday (last posted Monday), and unfortunately, the tinnitus has spiked again since about yesterday afternoon. I’ve decided against taking the Methylprednisolone for now - I just think that if it’s not idiopathic SSNHL, then I might be doing more harm than good. In other words, this has a cause, and I don’t think that a steroid is really going to help.

I didn’t sleep particularly well last night - lots of anxiety - and the Hydroxyzine made me so drowsy, but my adrenaline kept waking me up. This is all just such a bummer. I’m encouraged by the fact that the hiss felt very low Sunday night and I was able to sleep well that night and Monday night as well, and also by the fact that it’s early days. I don’t know how long this will take to habituate/heal, but I believe it WILL happen - I just wish it would happen sooner rather than later.

I have an appointment with an osteopath at an ENT office on Friday afternoon; I’m not expecting much other than “damage from syringing is unlikely” and an audiologist appointment, but who knows? I don’t think I’ve lost any hearing and there’s no fullness or ETD symptoms, so that’s a plus, but maybe tympanometry will show something.

I also wonder if it’s TTTS—tensor tympanic syndrome—but I'm trying not to drive myself crazy. Sunday night, I just watched TV quietly and didn’t visit this forum at all, and it was my best night—ironically, after my worst morning. Ah well. I'm trying to stay positive. I'm holding out hope that my ears were just “shocked” by the water and that this is temporary, but we’ll see.

Thanks, everyone, for reading.

 

I felt like posting again later this afternoon. Man, tinnitus is a tough one. I'm not sure who's out there listening or reading right now, I guess, but it feels nice to put something out into the world and feel like maybe you're being heard.

I think what's tough is that people recover and rehabilitate from tinnitus a lot more often than forums like this one might signify. We're all pouring through these tens of thousands of posts, looking for the one person who a) got tinnitus the exact same way we did, b) recovered, and c) came back to post about it. Finding the people that meet all three of those criteria - not common. And so it's "one more forum search" and "one more look through this person's post history, and then I'll be able to sleep tonight." And it just doesn't work like that.

I think that people who get better from their tinnitus quickly put this forum in their rear-view mirror, and I can't say I blame them for that. At the same time, I'm full of gratitude for the people who stick around and post success stories.

I wish I could skip time ahead. I remember when I first got tinnitus, a month after I caught COVID-19 last August, I was writing in my journal wondering what I'd feel like in six months, wondering what my tinnitus would be then. And the answer was: healed, for the most part. Until that stupid syringing, though...but still. Healed! And now I'm writing a post, sort of like a journal entry, wondering what this new, almost scarier tinnitus that almost feels like an injury, what this will be like six months from now. Six months and six months and six months...I don't know. Just sort of musing along here.

I will say the feeling I'm having now is a familiar one, and that's the feeling of being scared of my bed. Do you know? When I had COVID-19 and then tinnitus, it was months of not being able to sleep properly, and it got to the point where, as the afternoon lengthened, I'd get more and more anxious because it would mean I'd have to get into bed and just not sleep. Again.

I'll tell you what was interesting, though. I was never a Christian until about ten years ago, when I randomly started to work in church A/V here in California. Over the last ten years, I got to know some great people, some of the "good" Christians (a qualifier you have to add here in the US, unfortunately)—the ones who genuinely care about you, even if they have no reason to. One of those was my now-girlfriend.

The last time I was scared of my bed, she asked me if she could do something I might think was weird, which was that she wanted to bless my bed. I was like, "...sure?" But I had some small faith already, and I believed in God, and I told her to go for it, and she did - she said a small prayer over my bed. And then she went home, and I had the best sleep of my life. Maybe it worked.

Anyway, I am just musing here in my apartment as I wait for the evening and for this syringing spike to fade. I know it will; it's just a scary one. It'll just take time. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all their concern, even over people like me they don't know and have never met. There are good people here; that much is obvious. Good night, everyone.

 

Goodnight @brooklynfall. May you get a great night's sleep and wake up refreshed with renewed faith for your future.

 

Healing for tinnitus can be non-linear. Mine is a roller coaster, but it's much better on average than it was a few months ago.

 

New update:

The hissing/tinkling sound, mainly in the left ear, is still there but much more bearable and ignorable. I think it'll pass eventually. Unfortunately, there's a new tone in my right ear, a musical tone somewhere around 2-3 kHz, I think. It is only audible in complete silence and with my earplugs in, so it is very bearable. I think it has to do with the slight amount of pain in my right ear (more like in the "bone" directly behind my right ear (the original reasoning for the earwax removal, so it's a bummer that it didn't fix it).

I saw an ENT on Friday (two days ago), and he reminded me that I have ETD (Eustachian tube dysfunction) - it was diagnosed by a different doctor at the same office nearly ten years ago after my last battle with tinnitus and the flu. I had completely forgotten! He said my ears were clear, but there was some slight sinus swelling, and he offered me a Depo-Medrol (methylprednisolone) shot (in my arm, not my eardrum). I actually debated getting the shot back and forth with myself for a long time, and he was so patient with me. I didn't want to do anything to exacerbate the tinnitus, including taking steroids, so I opted not to get it. He said the decision really came down to quality of life: where was my physical discomfort on a scale? If it was bad, get the shot; if not bad, then don't sweat it. He seemed to imply that from what he saw, everything would most likely improve no matter what.

That being said, as I mentioned, the ear pain is back today. So, I think I'll go in tomorrow and get the shot. It's a very low dose, so I'm hoping it doesn't exacerbate anything. The doctor is not worried. I will post an update then.

Again, I appreciate this board and its members.

 

Update next day:

I considered the Depo-Medrol today, but I left it too long - I didn't decide until 12:30 pm, and at that point, I didn't want the side effects to make me anxious all the way into the evening and sleep. What I did do, however, was take some Mucinex-D (with pseudoephedrine) to see if it would help at all. Unfortunately, it seems to have made the hissing/tinkling sound louder for now (about 90 minutes later). Hopefully, it goes down again. I also took some Flonase and some L-Theanine at the same time, as well as my Zyrtec. I do think that out of all these things, it was the Mucinex-D that did it. I wonder why, though. It was definitely a bit more twitchy after the Mucinex-D, and I just wonder if it increased my stress level, thereby increasing the tinnitus. Hopefully it fades soon; it was doing great until now.

 

It happened to me, too; I think it's mostly the stress from the tinnitus. Try to relax, maybe watch some shows or something that you like to do. Just take care of your ears, and it should go down

 

Thanks! I’ll do my best. I’m not feeling too stressed about the tinnitus at the moment, but if it’s still at this level tomorrow, then that’s tough.

When yours spiked, how long did it last?

 

Update:

After two days of a spike, presumably from the Pseudoephedrine, the tinnitus finally started dying down again this morning. I think I helped it along last night by taking 200 mg L-Theanine, 1.5 mg Melatonin, and some Magnesium Glycinate. Those supplements have always helped me at least a little bit.

With some newfound confidence, I went back to the ENT and asked for the Depo-Medrol shot, just in case. I got 40 mg in my arm. As I suspected, immediately I felt like I drank a bunch of coffee and whatever stuffy nose I might have still had disappeared almost instantly. The tinnitus stayed low for about 3 hours afterward and is now creeping up again. I don't know if it's from the Methylprednisolone or if it was just going to happen. I also ate a half-pint of Cherry Garcia before it crept up again, and I'm sure that had something to do with it as well - my tinnitus, even before the syringing, seemed very sugar-sensitive. I'm encouraged by the fact that it can get low occasionally and not stay at the same volume for days. It gives me a lot of hope that, eventually, it'll get low and stay low.

I will continue to update here.

 

Great write-up, @brooklynfall - spot on!

I hope you'll feel better soon. And to my experience, "healing" of tinnitus is often anything but linear. You will experience good days and bad days.

 

Some random updates:

About 36 hours after the Depo-Medrol injection, the hissing started to get "better" - i.e., I got the shot Wednesday noon, and Friday morning through the evening, I was working all day and could barely hear it. So because of the time frame I really don't know if it was the steroid that helped, but my feeling/hope is that it wasn't the reason. I mean, if it could get that quiet on its own without drugs, then it gives me a lot of hope.

Then, Saturday morning, I woke up, and it was still quiet. I went through Saturday really hoping it didn't get loud again, and of course, with me focusing on it all day Saturday, it got louder.

It's Sunday morning now, and it's definitely loud again. But again - I think it has so much to do with sleep, and on Sunday mornings, I get up at 5:40 am for church work, so it's not unexpected. I'm a little more depressed today because Friday was so lovely - but I still have a lot of hope it'll go back down again. The worst-case scenario is I could take another Depo-Medrol shot and see if it affects it again as an experiment.

Many thanks again for the positivity on this board.

- Phil

P.S. I should add that I think there’s a little bit of hyperacusis in my left ear. I think it’s been there since the onset. I'm listening to music in church now, and some of the guitar and vocal notes have that kind of distorted sound. I hope that goes away soon, too. Ah well!

 

Good to hear that, @brooklynfall.

It seems like your ringing is the typical one that most people get. I hope it fully resolves or goes to a level that doesn't cause you many issues.

 

Me too! I move between pessimistic and optimistic. Hard to tell from people’s experiences what the prognosis might be, but I’m really trying to stay positive as much as possible.

 

I would lay off the medications and shots and focus on patience. It sounds like your case is not severe, and you have a great chance for recovery. Don't take shortcuts; the last thing you want is to worsen your situation with a side effect of some medication.

If you're having quiet days, you will continue to have more. You'll have good and bad days. Enjoy the good; don't stress. That stress will bring on spikes. I had to control that, and it changed my situation for the better.

Remember, your loud days are just temporary. Take comfort in this fact, knowing that they will pass and quieter days will return.

You absolutely should wear earplugs in church. Churches can be very loud. I would see your audiologist and invest in molded earplugs; they cost about $200.

 

Thank you so much for this! I so appreciate the positivity.

Quick updates for those interested:

One week ago (last Saturday/Sunday), it was about four days after the Depo-Medrol shot. My tinnitus was quite low that Friday, then high again Saturday and Sunday, and almost totally gone this past Monday through Thursday! So exciting. It started to creep up again on Friday, and today, it’s... okay. It's louder but not crazy-making. Keeping busy helps.

My thought is that the steroids brought the level down after all. It’s disappointing because I wanted it to have gone away on its own, but it also gives me hope that it CAN actually go away. Last night, I almost panicked about it but was able to calm down and get some sleep—5 hours only, but I had an early morning for church, ah well.

My mindset is better about it, for the most part. It feels so permanent, but that doesn’t mean it is. The next step is changing my diet a bit and trying to exercise more. I will keep you all posted.

 

Next day update:

My attitude shift yesterday helped things get a bit better today. This morning was as quiet as that first Friday, even without the steroid shot. Gave me hope. It's spiked a bit this afternoon - I think it may be due to the sugary coffee I just drank. Ah well. I'm also having some pain at the bridge of my nose and a headache - I hope it's not another sinus infection or COVID-19 god-forbid. Fun times! But today was still a good day, for the most part.

 

How are you now?

 

It’s been up and down. Thursday was really bad; on Friday, it started to calm down, and yesterday and today have been really quiet. The tinkling is definitely still there, but I can ignore it. Unfortunately, the new tone in the right ear has solidified, and while the volume hasn’t gone up since it started, it’s definitely new and, therefore, scary. I’ve got another ENT appointment and an audiogram this Wednesday. I will update again then.

 

Currently, I am experiencing the same fluctuations as you. In fact, just last night, a new ringing sound settled itself comfortably in my right ear.

 

Update:

I had an appointment with the ENT on Wednesday. He was really nice! However, he didn't seem too concerned about the tinnitus sticking around. He was confident it was due to inflammation since it temporarily subsided with the steroid. He mentioned that my eardrums were "clinically perfect," which was reassuring. He prescribed Lipo-flavonoid, but I was a bit disappointed as it felt like he was just guessing. I have a bottle that I bought but never opened, so I'll give it a try. He suggested doing a follow-up and having an audiogram in a month, so that's my plan. I'm staying positive about what the tinnitus will be like by then - maybe it will have disappeared!

The hissing was very low last Thursday and Friday, but today it has increased again. I'm hoping for more quiet days in a row. The musical tone in my right ear is still there but quiet. Its volume hasn't really changed, even as the hissing fluctuates. I'm fortunate that I can only hear it if I'm wearing my AirPods - I keep the volume extremely low and mostly listen to podcasts, not loud music. I still sleep with earplugs, which I know some people have mixed feelings about. I can still hear the tone in my ears with the earplugs in, but I haven't had any trouble sleeping yet. I'm hoping that it will eventually go away too. I'm still optimistic.

I hope this is helpful to others.

 

So you don't hear your tinnitus in your everyday life? That's a good sign.