Permanent Increase in Tinnitus After Using Neomycin Ear Drops for 5 Days

Hi,

I am neither new to tinnitus nor Tinnitus Talk. I haven't been on here for a while because I finally habituated.

Last week, I was prescribed Neomycin ear drops for an outer ear canal inflammation in my right ear.

I used the drops twice a day instead of three times a day.

I started noticing a permanent increase in volume and got scared. I re-read the drug pamphlet and it said Neomycin causes sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Well sadly two weeks ago my daughter had this happen to her from getting a flu shot. She had treatment immediately with oral and intratympanic steroids without any improvement as of yet. Her hearing loss was profound and severe so I don't know if I should keep holding on to hope but of course I'm a mother and wont give up.

So with that said, I stopped the ear drops after the 5th day thinking I have caused damage to the inner ear and hearing. I didn't have a perforation to my knowledge but am just here for support I guess.

My doctor is from Mass Eye and Ear in Boston and is very good. She certainly got my daughter into the right hands immediately. I am also seeing her in 2 days as I called the office and that made me nervous. But I called the doctor on call over the weekend and he told me to stop the drops which I had done earlier in the day.

I'm so scared that this spike is telling me I did damage. And I am also sick over what happened to my daughter.

Anyone have any words of encouragement about my use of the drops for 5 days and/or about my daughter?

Tinnitus Talk saved my life when I first got tinnitus and I was so grateful for everyone that had helped me through my experience.

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

Neomycin is very ototoxic. I don't think you would get "only" a spike if it reached your inner ear twice a day for 5 days... I mean, you would know there is something really wrong, but that's just how I see things. If your eardrum is perfect there's no danger in theory. You were right to stop the drops though.

I don't know for your daughter. It seems she got the right emergency treatment. Recovery can be long, keep in touch with the doctor and ask him to follow her very closely.

Better times will come, you're in a tough one but you're tough too.

 

@Foncky, thank you so so much for responding. I was looking to hear from someone here and I do appreciate you taking time for me.

As far as my daughter, thanks for the encouragement. I don't know if a recovery is possible at this point as she had her last steroid injection yesterday and the surgeon said to wait six weeks and check in to discuss options, which I suppose is hearing aids since he did tell her the treatment was over.

I don't know anyone who has ever gone deaf in one ear and recovered so I am still praying for a miracle.

Thank you again for your support.

Sleepless

 

Hello - I just came across your post. I know it is several years old.

I wondered how it worked out for your daughter? Also how the tinnitus worked out for you?

I also got tinnitus a few weeks ago from ear drops with Neomycin (I have no eardrum perforation).

Given your tinnitus appears to have been started by the same issue, I wondered if you ever got silence? Or if not, if you fully habituated?

 

What were you prescribed these drops for?

 

I had itchy ears and mild fullness feeling.

I was given Otomize presumably because it was considered a potential bacterial infection.

I've since been told by another specialist that if it was an infection, it was more likely fungal, as there was no pain or discharge.

Neomycin, the key ingredient in Otomize, specifically targets bacterial infections.

 

It scares me that an EAR doctor doesn't know better.

 

Oh yes, they make many of us worse, myself included.

 

Hi there, did you tinnitus spike recover some time after stopping the ear drops containing Neomycin?

I’ve been taking the same drops (Otomize), and I feel like they may be causing a small increase in tinnitus with every spray.

I also have no holes in eardrum.

Would be interesting to hear if you had tinnitus improvement afterwards. Thank you.

 

Having had tinnitus for many years I can truthfully say no doctor or specialist has ever done me any good.

I am coming around to the belief that medical science has not got a clue how to deal with our condition and that the only thing to do is wait through it until the body habituates or cures itself.

I took many supplements. None of them did anything useful and some made my condition worse.

Trust your own gut feelings and don’t place any trust in cures.