Having a Cold — Should I Take Mucinex or Sudafed? Ears Are Plugged, No Huge Increase in Tinnitus Yet

Hi all,

I have a question regarding a cold...

My ears are plugged. I haven't noticed a huge increase in tinnitus...yet. I'm on day three. Is it better to take a medication like Mucinex or Sudafed, or should I try to ride this out without any mediation.

I'm not sure what is worse, taking medication or taking the risk and having my plugged ears cause a spike in my tinnitus.

Thank you!

 

I’ve tried Sudafed and Flonase for my plugged ears, they help but do give me a spike that eventually subsides.

I say you should ride it out a few days longer. If it doesn’t get better on its own, then try Sudafed.

I’ve drank eucalyptus teas and done steam inhalation and it seems to help a bit.

 

I'm bumping this up because I found out this morning that Sudafed does indeed help with a clogged ear (Hooray!) but it also caused a massive spike in pitch and volume. I'm not panicking yet because I think it will wear off when the Sudafed does, but for anyone wondering if it causes spikes it sure can. I checked my blood pressure and it wasn't any higher than usual. I'm also usually fine with a cup of coffee in the morning, but I guess the stimulant effect of the Sudafed is too much. If the spike does go down in a few hours it will probably have been worth it because having one clogged ear is pretty uncomfortable. I'll report back when the spike goes down. It better!

 

Hi @BuzzyBee, I ended up taking the Sudafed. It helped with my ears too. I also think I got a little spike that subsided once it wore off each time I took it. It caused a hissing type spike, but it did wear off. I hope yours does, too!

 

I'm about 6 hours in and the spike has gone down to my usual late afternoon "bad tinnitus day" hiss. However, my ear seems to have drained a bit so I'm thankful for that. At least now I know it was a clogged Eustachian tube and not some other terrible malady occurring in the middle ear. In the past I would just wait it out and it would take a few days, but the Sudafed really sped things up.

 

@BuzzyBee I feel the same way. I had a couple colds prior to the one I took Sudafed for and my clogged ear and congestion lasted a lot longer compared to when I took the Sudafed. It drained my sinuses up pretty quickly. I’m glad it helped you!

 

Yeah it helped me but I think my problem was it made me so nervous inside. Kinda like too much caffeine effect?
But it did wear off within a day or so.

 

It definitely has that effect, but for me the feeling is not necessarily nervous but energized and less worried. An hour into it the tinnitus spiked, but I ended up getting a lot of stuff done -- organized a sock drawer, cleaned a closet, moved some heavy boxes with the tinnitus being loud the whole time. The spike went down as the medicine wore off, and since I'd taken the Sudafed early I didn't have any issues with sleeping. T seems back to normal today and ear is not clogged. There's also the slim possibility that the tinnitus would have spiked regardless of the Sudafed, but I am almost positive the medicine spiked it because of the huge rise in volume and the change in tone.

 

@BuzzyBee, how much Sudafed did you take? I have a clogged ear and my tinnitus is already spiked because of it. I may try the Sudafed.