Root Canal → Prednisone and Tylenol → Weird Tinnitus Symptoms

I have been living with tinnitus for four years now. Hissing and static in both ears and a secondary beep in my right ear. I’m not dealing great, but I was habituating. Then I got a bad root canal and went on lots of meds, and I’m not sure if that is causing my problem or something else.

Long story, sorry, but I really need help. I’m freaking out. The hearing in my right ear was cut out for five minutes the day before yesterday. The next day it did several times. Today, twice, but in addition to not hearing, my tinnitus in my right ear blasts out of control so that I cannot hear out of my other ear. I was standing next to a very loud fish tank filter that sounded like a truck, and I couldn’t hear it for about three minutes. It was just the tinnitus for those three minutes. That was the only noise I could hear. I got lightheaded but I don’t know if that’s a symptom or because I panicked. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m freaking out. This cannot become permanent. I can’t live like that. Below are the drugs they put me on for the root canal in case someone has had this happen with any of them or a combination. I'm just looking for advice from people who understand.

The pain from the root canal was explosive. They put me on Prednisone 5 mg and Tylenol, the latter of which I reduced to one pill of extra strength 500 mg every six hours, which didn’t seem to bother my tinnitus. I also started taking THC/CBN gummies for pain and sleep. One and a half at night per day. The gummies are 4.1 mg THC and 1.2 mg CBN per piece. Everything was fine until two days ago. I started treatment on April 16th, 2024. I had no problems with my tinnitus until the night of the 20th. That day, I did go to a garden store, and I do have allergies. Could it be sinus-related?

I’m not sure if I should stop something or what to do. I’m already on the taper side of my Prednisone, but I still have five days counting today. But I’ve heard jumping off a taper can be worse than just finishing the taper.

Help.

 

Did you take 5 mg Prednisone per day? Isn't that a pretty small dose? I think around 40-60 mg is way more common.

 

The THC can make tinnitus worse. It certainly did that to me. I finally had to get away from it because it spiked up the ear ringing so much. There is a lot of evidence that it's not something people should be using if they have tinnitus, and it could even cause it. This is a medical fact, not some crazy THC stuff.

Prednisone is a steroid that has a laundry list of side effects. I can't figure out why you were put on that for a root canal. It can cause serious mood swings, high blood pressure, infection of the middle ear, confusion, diabetes, and a lot more bad things. It's a really nasty drug. I was the primary care provider for my cat, who had lymphoma, and she was on it, along with chemotherapy drugs and other steroids. It isn't a drug that someone should be on for very long, if at all. And yet... some say it can work to restore hearing. This is typical; you just never know because different people respond differently to drugs. I wouldn't take it though.

Tylenol can cause tinnitus or make existing tinnitus worse. So basically your dentist is giving you things that you should stay away from, not be on! Unfortunately, this happens all the time. I have had permanent tinnitus for around three decades because a doctor was putting me on antibiotics that were causing tinnitus so loud that I was suicidal. With tinnitus, you have to do a lot of the research yourself and don't take ANY drug you are prescribed until you know for sure that it isn't ototoxic. Fortunately, the internet can assist you in getting informed and learning about tinnitus.

The good news is that we can often mask our tinnitus to make it bearable, and tinnitus can go up or down on its own accord. You need to watch what you eat, too; diet can play a role in tinnitus patients. Stay healthy and get outside. Often, the background sounds of nature can mask tinnitus. Don't despair, just take charge of it, as well as the rest of any other health issues you may have. If you aren't sure, come here; we know what it's like.

 

I took a taper dose. So, I started with taking the 5 mg five times a day. Now that I’m tapering down, the trouble has started, though. I think at the height, I wasn’t too high, but probably 25-ish mg a day.

I’ve stopped the THC for now. A little improvement, but not much.

I wish I could just stop it, but I’m already on the downward taper, and I read it’s really bad to stop without tapering off. I just hope my tinnitus returns to baseline. It’s also developed this higher pitch that’s worrying me. I hate this.

Thank you. I will come when I need help. I took your advice and got out. That really does help. I have a noise maker and I’ve turned that on high. I’ve also been trying to eat better. I’m usually a healthy eater, but the Prednisone (evil stuff) had me craving sugar and giving me low blood sugar episodes, so I drank a lot of sugary juice. I definitely think that made things worse. Crossing my fingers that I get through this taper and everything settles. So nerve-wracking.