Seeking Advice Regarding Dental Cleaning and Prednisone on Acute (Hopefully) Tinnitus

Greetings everyone, I decided to hop onto this forum in hopes of getting some advice regarding my situation. I am 23 and my tinnitus (in the form of a high-pitch ringing) started a week ago with no idea what the cause was (definitely not due to acoustic trauma). I had a vaccination and 4 blood drawn that day (unsure if that's the cause). Went to my GP and told to take amoxicillin and after a week it went from bilateral to unilateral (Mainly right: Unsure if it became louder in the right ear or subsided in the left). My experience was accompanied by slight fullness in the ear, tension in my jaw and face, hyperacusis and headaches. It became louder at first but better afterward (or that it was just on the right at this point). Just when things we getting better (tinnitus and slight hyperacusis only on right), I did something kind of stupid…

I initially thought I had TMJ issue and decided to make an appointment to the dentist. Here’s where I screwed up I think. They offered me cleaning and I had ear plugs on (note, this is the first time I went for a cleaning). It was roughly 5 minutes of drilling and stuff which was quite loud, but I didn’t think it was loud because I had nothing to gauge it (idk what is considered loud). I thought earplug would protect me but I'm stupid for not remembering the sound came from the inside. At the same time though, we do perceive sounds louder from the inside so I am unsure if the noise caused any problem. Although my tinnitus didn’t came from acoustic trauma, would this have adverse effect?

I also took my first dose of Prednisone (prescribed by an ENT Physician Assistant yesterday, what a coincident...) because she thinks it might be ETD since my hearing test came back fine (idk about now after the dental cleaning…). So I took Prednisone today and my tinnitus became louder. It's only been a few hours but I am unsure whether it was the after effect of the dental cleaning or Prednisone (getting a bit cold turkey now after reading about it being ototoxic?).

I am feeling a bit lost at the moment as to what is the best thing to do. Continue taking Prednisone or taper to end it sooner. I am seeing my ENT this upcoming Wednesday. How likely are my actions consequential today? Does dental cleaning or Prednisone cause permanent tinnitus? I am just really worried at the moment and a bit mad at myself for not waiting until my ENT appointment to get proper diagnostic. Any advice or personal experience will be appreciated. Thank you!

P.S. is it normal that Prednisone causes tinnitus increase? Should we judge it's effectiveness right afterward or until after the course is finished?

 

@Nocturne

Hi. My t sounds like yours. Pain and pressure in the jaw and face and fullness in the ears. I’ve had this for about 4 weeks now and the fullness and pain are better. I’m doing acupuncture so I’m sure it’s helped with that as well.

My doctor prescribed me 2 courses of prednisone on the onset and I feel it actually helped my t lower the volume somewhat. Maybe your stressing over the prednisone and it makes you pay attention to it more? I know I do this with certain things. Many ENT’s prescribe prednisone at the onset of t. My ENT was awful and told me to buy a large fan and live with it. My GP called a colleague ENT when I went in and followed his recommendations. I’m due to see him in 2 weeks.

I haven’t gone the dentist route yet. I wanted to talk to a knowledgeable ENT and do the necessary tests first. In my experience (I’ve had tmj for years) and good dentist who really understands tmj is hard to find.

Best of luck.

 

Hello Stephanie,

Thank you for the feedback and sharing your experience. I think mine might be due to TMJ as well. How ironic, I’m actually starting dental school this August. After some emotional stress, I somehow changed my mindset. I started to not worry about what might or wishing for it to go away, but rather accept it. Heck I might get this anyway as a dentist. So 4 years head start! Woot!

My T increase is probably from my crazy loud dental cleaning (you might be correct as well). Do hope that one is temporary though because it’s crazy atm. But a positive mentality overcomes anything! I might give acupuncture a try as well since my head muscle is really tense and stuff. Besides that I have come to the conclusion to just accept the worse and be happy in life.

Best of luck to you too and thank you once again for sharing your experience!

 

TMJ could be a culprit if you feel like your jaw is tender, extremely tense or hurts and pops when chewing. Did your dentist notice any wear on the teeth from clenching your teeth at night?

Prednisolone is a drug that is often administered by GP's or ENT's after acoustic trauma. Some studies show that it has a beneficial effect in the early stages of onset. Since I did not get my tinnitus from any specific noise exposure, my ENT only prescribed it after a few months of persisting T, for the same reason yours did: ETD. I mentioned crackling in my ear when swallowing or yawning. The dosepak did not help my T, but did not really worsen it either. I did react a bit averse to it initially because it tends to have nasty side-effects, such as anxiety and panic attacks (I had a bit of tachychardia at the highest dose). This could change up your perception of tinnitus of course. But this 'spike' (if you will) should settle down soon. I wouldn't worry about it being labeled as 'ototoxic' in some instances. Have a look at these statistics, to put things in perspective: https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/ringing-in-the-ears/

Other than that it is hard to say if your T will be permanent or not. Even if it is noise-induced, many people recover, that is for sure. Some of us don't pathologically, but still do emotionally. Odds are that this condition won't bother you this time next year, whether it is because it is gone or because you have habituated to it to a large degree.

But I think it is certainly worth it to follow up on the TMJ route: maybe get a night brace (go to a jaw specialist), some CT scans, do jaw exercises or have massage (maybe osteopathy or something?).

Good luck and take care!

 

@Nocturne

Good luck in dental school! Let me know if you pursue treatment for the TMJ. I definitely will be after my ENT appt and recommendations in 2 weeks. My jaw/face pain/ear fullness was crazy yesterday.