Ear Infection?

So I went to the doctor on Friday because my tinnitus has increased out of nowhere so I wanted to get my ears checked and the doctor told me I have an ear infection and gave me some antibiotics to get the fluid out of my ears. My tinnitus first started from an ear infection so I'm worried and hoping that my spike goes down soon. Also the doctor prescribed me azithromycin which I read could be bad for tinnitus. Is this true? Should I continue taking it? Has anyone with tinnitus caused by an ear infection gotten another infection that spiked it? Did it go back down when the infection cleared up?

 

I'm now in my 6th infection in 6 months. The initial infection triggered my tinnitus, however the later infections had no lasting effect on my tinnitus (thankfully)!! I think we'll be OK kiddo, but the infection I have right now is a pretty hefty one so I'm far from relaxed about it!! I'm sending positive thoughts for both of us!! X

 

Did your ear infection eventually clear up? My spike is still pretty bad, it keeps changing. Every time it starts to go back to baseline it spikes again. My ears have felt full off and on so I think I still have fluid in my ears. I'm planning on seeing an ENT sometime soon so hopefully they'll be able to prescribe something to clear up my ears.

 

Hi Logan I'm having the same problem only the nurse I seen said my ears look pink and healthy but theres fluid near the ear drum because its shiny and she sent me on my way with no anti-biotics and said wait to see ENT. I am also having a bad spike atm and having mild ear pain/discomfort. Do you get any other symptoms? I ask because if I have fluid in my ear then is all these symptoms listed. I have never had fluid in my ears before. Luckily I see ENT next week x

 

Unfortunately it is almost impossible to predict the effect of any drug on the auditory system - or any other part of your body for that matter, as I am living testament.
As a question though, are you allergic to Amoxicillin? It is the normal first option for sinus/ear infections.

 

I have some pain in my ears off and on but not very often, my ears also feel full/clogged sometimes. When did your spike start?

 

My pain is on and off to. My spike has been the past couple of weeks since before Christmas. I have had a couple quieter days in that time though. Mine also feel full but not constantly I have it on and off where I my ears will have pressure then go after a while and sometimes itchy deep inside like a tickling sensation like somethings there x

 

Yea the inside of my ears feel itchy pretty often too. My spike started around the beginning of December I think. I'm scheduling to see an ENT sometime soon (hopefully this week) and hopefully I can get this infection cleared up. I'm hoping your ears get better too.

 

I often get an itchy feeling inside my right ear as well. I'm convinced there is something mechanical going on in my ear that causes the noises, but whenever I have mentioned it to a doctor, I am told it is just somatic. Despite this, I remain convinced that there is something more too it - especially as my tinnitus was brought on by allergy.

 

Yea my tinnitus was caused by allergies and an ear infection I got a few years ago, but I never had an itchy feeling in my ears until last month when my infection started. I'm assuming it's caused by the fluid in my ears, maybe you have some in your ears too? If your ears start bothering you more you should see a doctor just to make sure you don't have an infection or anything.

 

Hi Logan,

Sorry to hear that you are still having a nasty spike. Mine did eventually calm down and I'm pretty much back to baseline now. I had to go a couple of rounds of some pretty strong antibiotics though to eventually shift all the infection. My ear still doesn't feel quite right though.....but then again it hasn't for 6 months!

I know you're going to an ENT but have you been back to your doctor in the meantime?

 

No I haven't been back to the doctor unfortunately. I don't think it would help much anyway because every time I've gone to a normal doctor for my ears they never seem to help much. I did manage to get an appointment for the ENT this Thursday though so hopefully they'll be able to prescribe me something that actually works. I'm glad to hear that your spike has gotten better though!

 

Thanks Logan!

Good luck with it and keep me posted!

 

So I went to the ENT yesterday and she said I have some fluid in my ears which could be causing the spike but it doesn't look infected. She told me to continue taking the nasal spray I've been using and to take a decongestant to help. She also said it could take up to 3 months for the fluid to drain completely. So do you think once the rest of the fluid drains that my spike will calm down? I've been really stressed and anxious lately about this and it seems to just be making it worse.

 

I reckon once the fluid clears you will begin to notice an improvement in your spike. Ears can take a looooonnnngggg time to heal. Since my last infection I still have days were it feels full then the next day it feels clear again....very unpredictable! I think you're best bet is to focus on calming your anxiety as I reckon this will really help in settling your spike. Hope things improve for you! Keep me updated! X

 

I think we are in similar situations, Logan.

10 weeks ago I noticed ringing in my ears and congestion soon followed. Over the last couple of months I've been forcing mucus out of my throat, and my ears have been plugged. It was only a few days ago that my right ear feels a bit more clear. I know your eras are supposed to "crackle" when you yawn and swallow, but now that my right is not nearly as loud as the left, I'm convinced they were indeed plugged. At the beginning when I smoked weed, my ears felt immense pressure so that was probably tightening up my sinuses.

My throat also got infected a month ago, after I thought I was getting better. I think we just got with nasty colds that attacked our ears/back of the sinuses and it is taking a long time to heal. I'm sure this can't be from noise exposure. Fluids, tea especially, have helped a lot for me. I'm confident for the both of us! Prednisone helped reduce inflammation. I'm just sick of being sick at this point. Hoping we both knock this s#it out soon!

 

Yeah it seems like you have the same problem as me. I've had tinnitus for almost 3 years now and it was much better and not as noticeable but then I got really sick and congested in December which increased the volume. I've gotten colds before with T and most of the time it increases the volume but it usually doesn't last as long as it has for me. Do you know if you have/had an ear infection? My ears also crackle when I yawn and swallow but they've done that for most of my life so it doesn't really bother me but it does tend to get worse when I'm congested. Have you been using a nasal spray or any sinus medicine? I've been using a nasal spray for the past month or so and it's supposed to help open your tubes to drain the fluid out of your ears but my ENT said it can take up to 3 months for all the fluid to drain. She also recommended I take Sudafed PE to help with my sinus congestion.

 

I've been using Afrin, although today is the last day before I take a 5 day break (doc says it can be addicting or whatever lol). I've never had any ear infections before and the tinnitus came with the congestion, so I'm 80% sure it'll go away when I finally clear up. It died down a bit after the first 2 weeks, and even more so now. There were times where it would come back but my guess is because my sinuses just flared up and go re-infected (when my throat started to get infected as well). The nasal spray has definitely helped make me breathe a little better, so I'm hoping it'll open my ears back up. It's made me hyper-aware of the crackling, but I don't remember it ever being this prominent.

Hope things go well for you!