Hello everyone,
I would like to introduce myself. I am 26 y.o. male who had very mild tinnitus since childhood (probably after treating pneumonia with Gentamicin). I got moderate tinnitus by my own foolishness, by accident that took place in October 2022. I was cutting firewood with earmuffs (namely 3M Peltor Optime III) all day and by afternoon I went to my house to get some rest and eat dinner. When I went back to work, I realized I forgot my earmuffs. It was already going to rain, so I decided to cut the last piece of wood without hearing protection (silly me). The saw blade got stuck in the knot and that made a high-pitched sound which immediately made me almost deaf. I went to ER, where I got steroids (Prednisone...), Ginkgo biloba, Milgamma, Piracetam and some IV fluids. It helped to restore my hearing, but intrusive tinnitus was still there. I got transtympanic Dexamethasone injections as salvage therapy and that made great improvement. Tinnitus was not that intrusive, barely heard it at day, louder at night - but still bearable. It was a constant hiss with faint Morse code in the more affected (left) ear. Severe hyperacusis settled within 3-4 months.
Fast forward to May 2023. I was strolling through my city with my DSLR camera, taking some photos (this is my hobby). I stopped at the park, because I saw beautiful birds by the fountain. I took out my 3M 1100 earplugs to hear their chirp better and forgot to put them in again. A few minutes later, I went to a bus stop - that's where the hell broke loose. I was looking at previously made photos, when suddenly, out of nowhere, an ambulance with sirens on passed before me, followed by an idiot in a sports car, who shot from the muffler as he sped up. It all happened in the blink of an eye, I quickly reached to my ears trying to plug them with fingers, but it was too late. I felt something like electric current passing through my ears and I knew new damage was done. I went to ER and got the same treatment as before. Even got another round of transtympanic Dexamethasone, but to no avail. That's when I developed 5-6 tones, like: Star Wars lasers, cicadas, metallic hiss, Morse code beeping etc. My hearing was left slightly impaired too (on the extra high frequencies).
On last Tuesday I went to town hall to sign some documents. I was wearing the same 3M 1100 earplugs. Someone slammed the door (about 2 meters from me) so hard, that all people in the corridor complained. Someone even cursed badly. 30 minutes later I developed pain in my left ear, along with muffled hearing and hot feeling inside ear canal. I went to a private ENT on Thursday for a checkup and she said even though there's no significant inflammation in that ear, she recommends a short course of Prednisone (10 days, of which 5 days on 40 mg). I took 40 mg on that day and felt horrible, had some nasty side effects including heart palpitations, feeling dizzy, pain in joints and most of all: terrible insomnia. I contacted her and she said I should cease it immediately without tapering as I took only two tablets once. I remembered from Tinnitus Talk that every oral steroid course should be tapered, so I started tapering. By mistake, I took 20 mg yesterday (on Friday) and today 15 mg. My biggest concern are the new noises that Prednisone brought to me... Like drones flying in my left ear and strange beeping in the right ear, that haven't been there before. Will they go away once I taper? I need to stop taking this morbid pill as soon as it's possible, because I can't get proper sleep and got pain all over my body.
Please give me advice. My plan is to go 5 mg less by every day. Did someone have a similar experience and their extra sounds faded away? I'm afraid they will stay with me for the rest of my life. A week ago I got a new job and I'm afraid of losing it. I feel devastated by this condition and I want to live my life again.
I would like to call @Matchbox and ask for help.
Thank you very much for reading this.
I would like to introduce myself. I am 26 y.o. male who had very mild tinnitus since childhood (probably after treating pneumonia with Gentamicin). I got moderate tinnitus by my own foolishness, by accident that took place in October 2022. I was cutting firewood with earmuffs (namely 3M Peltor Optime III) all day and by afternoon I went to my house to get some rest and eat dinner. When I went back to work, I realized I forgot my earmuffs. It was already going to rain, so I decided to cut the last piece of wood without hearing protection (silly me). The saw blade got stuck in the knot and that made a high-pitched sound which immediately made me almost deaf. I went to ER, where I got steroids (Prednisone...), Ginkgo biloba, Milgamma, Piracetam and some IV fluids. It helped to restore my hearing, but intrusive tinnitus was still there. I got transtympanic Dexamethasone injections as salvage therapy and that made great improvement. Tinnitus was not that intrusive, barely heard it at day, louder at night - but still bearable. It was a constant hiss with faint Morse code in the more affected (left) ear. Severe hyperacusis settled within 3-4 months.
Fast forward to May 2023. I was strolling through my city with my DSLR camera, taking some photos (this is my hobby). I stopped at the park, because I saw beautiful birds by the fountain. I took out my 3M 1100 earplugs to hear their chirp better and forgot to put them in again. A few minutes later, I went to a bus stop - that's where the hell broke loose. I was looking at previously made photos, when suddenly, out of nowhere, an ambulance with sirens on passed before me, followed by an idiot in a sports car, who shot from the muffler as he sped up. It all happened in the blink of an eye, I quickly reached to my ears trying to plug them with fingers, but it was too late. I felt something like electric current passing through my ears and I knew new damage was done. I went to ER and got the same treatment as before. Even got another round of transtympanic Dexamethasone, but to no avail. That's when I developed 5-6 tones, like: Star Wars lasers, cicadas, metallic hiss, Morse code beeping etc. My hearing was left slightly impaired too (on the extra high frequencies).
On last Tuesday I went to town hall to sign some documents. I was wearing the same 3M 1100 earplugs. Someone slammed the door (about 2 meters from me) so hard, that all people in the corridor complained. Someone even cursed badly. 30 minutes later I developed pain in my left ear, along with muffled hearing and hot feeling inside ear canal. I went to a private ENT on Thursday for a checkup and she said even though there's no significant inflammation in that ear, she recommends a short course of Prednisone (10 days, of which 5 days on 40 mg). I took 40 mg on that day and felt horrible, had some nasty side effects including heart palpitations, feeling dizzy, pain in joints and most of all: terrible insomnia. I contacted her and she said I should cease it immediately without tapering as I took only two tablets once. I remembered from Tinnitus Talk that every oral steroid course should be tapered, so I started tapering. By mistake, I took 20 mg yesterday (on Friday) and today 15 mg. My biggest concern are the new noises that Prednisone brought to me... Like drones flying in my left ear and strange beeping in the right ear, that haven't been there before. Will they go away once I taper? I need to stop taking this morbid pill as soon as it's possible, because I can't get proper sleep and got pain all over my body.
Please give me advice. My plan is to go 5 mg less by every day. Did someone have a similar experience and their extra sounds faded away? I'm afraid they will stay with me for the rest of my life. A week ago I got a new job and I'm afraid of losing it. I feel devastated by this condition and I want to live my life again.
I would like to call @Matchbox and ask for help.
Thank you very much for reading this.
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