Decongestant Containing Xylometazoline — Safety Profile with Regards to Tinnitus?

Has anyone got experience with decongestants containing Xylometazoline? Especially regarding potential tinnitus spikes?

 

I want to know too.

 

Short-term use is absolutely fine; prolonged use (months) can lead to very bad rebound inflammation that may leave your ears in a vulnerable state and have the potential for worsening with other factors.

Just my experience with it.

 

My mother became addicted to it - she wouldn't leave the house without it in her purse.

 

The same thing happened to me (minus the purse).

I started taking it around the Hayfever season as it truly clears your sinuses like nothing else. I tried to stop using it after 5-6 weeks, and the rebound congestion was horrific, so I stayed on it for 7 months. I honestly believe this was a big factor in my crazy worsening.

I attempted to quit cold turkey starting on Sunday. I woke up on Monday morning with this weird static feeling in my ears that I can’t describe, but it dissipated after a short while. The same thing happened on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Wednesday was a relatively loud day at work, but nothing out of my norm. Thursday morning, I had a full-blown worsening of tinnitus.

My hypothesis is the cold turkey created a lot of rebound congestion and, therefore, inflammation, and we know how the ENTs are connected. I think this put my ears in a vulnerable state, and the noises in work I could usually tolerate were just too much for ears in an inflamed state.

Of course, this is just my opinion, it could have absolutely nothing to do with it and just be an accumulation of dangerous noise levels. We’ll never know, but the theory makes sense in my head.

 

I can only share that I have used Xylometazoline nasal sprays for short-term use infrequently throughout the year and have been fine with my tinnitus and noxacusis.

@Hardwell, I chuckled at your (minus the purse) add on

I hope you, your ears, and your partner are feeling better since we posted the other day. I am mentally a little better, so I am currently packing for the city break... a lot of emotions, but hopefully, it’ll just be quiet sightseeing and good food!