No Hope Getting Out of Tinnitus: It's Gotten Worse as I'm Tapering Off Prednisolone

This is one of my first posts here. I feel like I'm a really dark place with no hope of getting out of this.

I got noise-induced tinnitus two years ago and at the start it was a bit hard but I habituated fairly quickly.

About two months ago I had a major increase in my tinnitus that sort of came from nowhere. I already had hearing loss in the high frequencies so I decided to go and get a hearing test done which showed the same hearing as I had 2 years ago.

Then a week ago my ENT told me to give Prednisolone a try which I did. I'm now tapering off it, but this week on Monday I woke up with my tinnitus extremely spiked.

The tinnitus has been up since then. I don't know how to deal with this. It's such torture.

I'm not sure if the Prednisolone has anything to do with this spike?

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this?
Do I have any hope of the tinnitus lowering down or me habituating to this level?

 

Don't worry about it. The spike hasn't lasted very long. It could improve.

Once you've been off the Prednisolone for a month, you'll know if the spike is your new baseline.

 

I really hope so. These past two months have been really bad for me. I was getting a little bit better last week. I just don't understand how this thing gets worse.

 

Have you been using headphones, earbuds, or headset even at low volumes? Listening to loud music in the car, at home? Working in a noisy environment? Do you use a computer that has a spinning internal hard drive and noisy fan? Is the PC close to you?

Hope things improve.
Michael

 

The last time I used headphones was probably a year ago, and even when I did, it was at low levels but I never listen to anything loud.

It all started about two months ago when I got an echo hearing sensation that went away the next day, then progressively the days after I started noticing my tinnitus much louder.

This time it has gotten even a bit more aggravated since I woke up on Monday and the two days before that I was not working or doing anything loud.

I do work in the construction industry but I'm always extra careful, I wear ear muffs and sometimes earplugs.

I've also developed intolerance to sound. I'm not sure if its paranoia or hyperacusis.

Honestly this has been a nightmare.

 

I think you do. Temporary spikes can last well over 3 months.

 

This happened to me coming off Prednisone... twice.
Hopefully this post finds its way to calm others down in our positions of sheer terror when we were there.

The volume increase, and any wavering tones you get will get quieter (as for a timeline it took about a week and a half). Some new tones may pop up but they are likely temporary and will dissolve.

It eventually quieted. It has not totally disappeared (my tinnitus has gotten worse but not due to steroids, they weren't part of the picture, for me it seems very related to CSF pressure and an overzealous guy trying to sell me on HBOT).

Sleeping aids helped alot during this time. Just remember to taper Prednisone and sleeping pills, EXTREMELY slowly, if you use them use only what you need. Think compound interest, 25% less from previous roughly as you go per day. If you get a new tone out of nowhere, do not freak out too much, try to calm down and talk to people, chances are good it won't last from my experience (or it'll lower in volume / change pattern/tone to something less terrifying, positive things).

There are other accounts of people on Prednisone, as well as case studies I found with this very issue... everything I've read points to "it is temporary / leaves parting gifts of music" but might take a while to resolve. In my experience it did quiet down... twice... enough to get on with life. (Before my other accident making my situation debilitating.)

 

I'm sorry this has happened to you...

I have a similar experience to you...

I'm still in the process of trying to rehabituate...

I think it's too soon to judge if this is your new baseline...

Even if it is, let's rehabituate together... you can do this!

 

Thanks a lot for the support guys. Honestly it's hard to explain my situation to anyone as they don't know what it's like. I'm currently taking some days off work as it's just too much at work especially when I put earmuffs on, they make the tinnitus so much louder!

I really appreciate your support, @Matchbox.

Thank you for your support. I hope that's the case with me. I hope things calm down a little at least, and I'm sorry things got worse for you, I'm hoping it gets better for you too or has gotten much better.

 

@Michael1334 I have a theory about Prednisone. While taking Prednisone, the hair cells are heightened and any exposure to loud noise could mow them down?

 

im wondering if its something to do with construction, its a noisy job even with ear protection, thats what i would be wondering if i was in your position

 

@Paul201 I work in the domestic field so on new homes, not massive commercial constructions, so it's mostly only my crew on site.

We don't use the loudest equipment, it's all hand held tools and I haven't had a problem with it for the past two years since I got tinnitus.

I have had muffs on at all times and I don't engage in the stuff that I know Is going to be loud, but this time around I'm having this sort of irritation to any noise, but not painful.

 

My Prednisone theory is when you come off of it you have no cortisol produced to keep your immune system in check, and there's an imbalance, so it reacts aggressively and more inflammation and damage is done collaterally (or it induces the cells that are damaged to now for sure die via various cytokines).

Long story short, you're better off not using it except on immediate onset or if it's a true immune condition killing hair cells. Definitely not for anything other than sudden hearing loss.

After my experiences I think Prednisone suggestions are insane.

Benzos for a day or so makes more sense for a spike.

 

Hi Michael,

I was once prescribed Prednisolone, and I had a horrible reaction to it. It's pretty natural when a powerful drug is coming out of your system for all kinds of symptoms to creep in or get worse. That's why withdrawal can be so tough to manage.

Once the drug is out of your system everything should calm back down again, so please try not to worry (although I know first hand how hard this is!) All the horrible symptoms I had from my withdrawal did resolve.

Tinnitus can also fluctuate unexpectedly and for no reason. I often get 'spikes' out of nowhere. They can last a few months, or they can resolve very quickly. Although people will sometimes try to put a timeline on spikes, there really isn't one - as the Success Stories section will show you. So there is always hope.

Please continue to protect your ears whilst at your job, and I hope this resolves for you very soon.

 

I am tapering off Prednisone too and today I woke up with a loud spike, but maybe it’s because I slept in a cold environment and woke up with clogged ears and nose.

What do you guys think?