My Son Experiences Tinnitus After Going Swimming — Can Water in the Ear Cause Tinnitus?

My son, who is 14, went swimming (indoor pool) 2 nights ago. He got water in his ear, later told us it hurt him and then he mentioned hearing a very low 'eeeeee'.

His mother told him to lie on his side and let the water run out. He said last night the noise was gone.

Tonight I asked him and he says the noise is there, but very quiet and he has to really listen for it.

Needless to say it fills me with horror to think my son might have tinnitus now. I'm taking him to the doctor tomorrow to check his ears.

Anyone any experience with this scenario? Can water in the ear cause a bit of tinnitus? Is it likely to go away?

 

Hi, I've gone swimming in the past and had water in my ears and had tinnitus for 2 days. It went away on its own. A close friend of mine had water in her ears from swimming and her tinnitus went away months later (she told me when I told her about my tinnitus).

I really hope your son will be okay and take him to the doctor.

 

Going forward he should maybe wear swimming ear plugs to keep excessive water from getting in his ear.

Obviously he now needs to protect his hearing and wear protection in excessively loud environments such as concerts, movies, etc.

Since he is very young he should bounce back and forget about the noise. He should still take hearing protection seriously though.

 

Just been to the doctors. Nurse had a look in his ear and said it was a bit red and inflamed. She prescribed him some ear drops (Otomize).

I said to her... Is that ototoxic?

She responded 'What does that mean'?

I said 'Toxic to the ears'.

She said 'So'? I could have slapped her.

So then I went to the Pharmacy and I said to the Pharmacist the same.

She muttered.... 'I don't know what that means'

FOR FS!

As it happens they contain neomycin which should not be used on a perforated ear drum. That's what happened to me.

Comes to something when you know more than the nurse and a pharmacist!

Going to try Garlic Mullen tonight before using this shyte.

 

I complained, and she had the audacity to ring me up later and tell me she asked her colleagues what 'ototoxic' meant and they didn't know either.

Way to justify your ignorance by telling me your colleagues are as equally ignorant.

 

What an embarrassment. She doesn’t know a medical term so she asks the other nurses who also don’t know a medical term so she calls you up and tells you they are all incompetent? This is next level stupid. Maybe go see an ENT specialist instead. Hopefully they know what it means.

Also sounds like your son saw a nurse pratictioner not a doctor. Nurse praticitioners serve a purpose in the medical field but they aren’t as knowledgeable as a doctor let alone an ENT.

 

I see an ENT on Monday. Hopefully get referred to their Tinnitus Clinic.

First thing I'm going to ask at the clinic is 'Have you heard of Neuromod/Susan Shore?'. And if they say no I think I'll freak out there and then.

Yes, he saw an 'Advanced Nurse Practitioner'.

I'm going to try them on my son as they are only ototoxic on a perforated eardrum. Will monitor it very closely.

 

@Allan1967
I'm sorry that you encountered such doctors.
But instead of relying on doctors use Google.
You can always Google "non ototoxic eardrops".

I'm currently using an antibiotic nose spray that can be ototoxic to some people and even thought I used similar drugs before tinnitus with zero problems right now I'm experiencing a spike.
I still don't know if it's from inflammation or the spray...

 

@Allan1967
You should look into Ciprofloxacin eardrops.
I think they have less chance of ototoxicity.
You should check it yourself though. I'm not at home right now.

 

Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

I didn't know nurses were authorized to prescribe meds.

Not that surprising, unfortunately.

 

Yea, this is quite common and likely has the same effect that impacted wax does. Try not to overly question him about it or raise too much concern because that could make him obsess over his ears and any sounds that he may hear in a quiet room at bedtime.

 

Nurse Practitioners can prescribe meds. These days in the US it is harder to see an MD than it is an NP. Though I will say in my experiences the NPs have been more helpful.

Allan,
I went to a "tinnitus clinic" and asked them their thoughts on bimodal stimulation and they had never heard of such a thing and that they doubted it would work. They suggested their Neuromonics and CR Neuromodulation worked for everyone. I haven't been back since. Hopefully you will have some better luck.

 

Agreed.

 

@Allan1967
I am sure your son will be just fine and the tinnitus will calm down and go completely away. Advise him not to use headphones too often and not too loud!

With respect Allan, I think you are being a little too hard on the nurse not knowing about ototoxic. You have let some of the people in this forum and their obsession with the word "ototoxic" rub off on you and also their paranoia. This isn't going to do you much good and advise you try to rein this in.

Regarding the tinnitus clinic. Try not to set your heart on being referred to it as I believe it's a private practice and NHS may not refer you there. I do not think you need it. Take whatever treatment is offered to you and as I've mentioned to you before, I advise not to discuss any treatment that you are having in tinnitus forums, and it would be best to keep away from them whilst having treatment for your tinnitus.

All the best
Michael

 

anything that disrupts the communication from the ear to the brain causes tinnitus, even ear plugs!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366980/

 

It should go away if it's just water, but an infection then maybe not. See a GP if it persists.