Fireworks Directly Outside My House — Was It a Good Decision to Take Prednisone?

Last night after midnight, a bunch of kids let off a "Act of Valor" fireworks set (35 shots in 20 seconds) about 60 feet in front of my house. These normally go 100 ft in the air before giving their display, however by the looks of the flashing I saw, it was not secured, flipped on the first shot and then the rest basically exploded on the ground rather than the high-air burst.

I was at the back of my home, but it being open-concept have a clear path to the front window.s Needless to say it was really loud (even a family member whose hearing isn't the best said it was very loud)... I did manage to get my Peltors on but at least 8-10 shots had already gone off.

About an hour after, my left ear (which was the one facing towards the front of the house) felt a bit muffled or "off" a bit. This morning I noticed my hearing seemed "flat" and I still felt a little strange in my left ear, plus my ears seemed spiked noticeably (on top of another spike I am enduring).

I have perhaps popped small dosages of Prednisone in the past willy-nilly, but I know there seems to be a big difference of opinion as to using steroids short of severe acoustic trauma. Fearing there may be delayed onset (which seems to happen to me), I took 25 mg (5 x 5 mg) out of the small supply I have. Not sure what tomorrow will hold, but I will probably taper down 5 mg each day. I know this is far from the 60 mg that seems to be recommended, but I must admit I am hesitant to take such dosages due to side-effects and not having much medication on hand. In the past I have had spikes from less noisy (and non-impact) events subside temporarily on low and fast doses.

Given the circumstances, I am second guessing my decision to take these... would you have done the same thing or just "ride it out"? With the flattened hearing and slight muffled feeling it was a decision I made knowing the clock was ticking.

 

No opinions?