Should I Try to Get Prednisone for Noise Exposure 2 Weeks Ago?

Hi all,

Just want to say this forum is a great source of info and has been helpful to me to learn more about T.

So I'm debating what to do right now - about two weeks ago I exposed my right ear to a loud sound and my T got worse in that ear - to the point where I could hear it over the TV, in the car, etc. Of course, I'm also a very anxious/somewhat OCD person, so this could all be psychosomatic - I've been paying much more attention to that ear. But yeah, exposed my ear to a loud bang, I'd say louder than headphones or a concert would be but not quite as loud as a gunshot or firecracker at close range (I recreated it safely and measured with a decibel meter, could be ~120dBA, but momentary).

I've heard that prednisone taken right after exposure can help with that. However, I haven't noticed any hearing loss in that ear other than maybe for a few minutes after. Is prednisone only helpful for T that's associated with SSHL? Because I can hear equally well in both ears, right ear the T just got a few dB louder. Another fear too is side effects - I'm a pretty anxious person by nature (just started Zoloft a few weeks ago and have been gradually upping my dose each week) and I've heard prednisone can aggravate anxiety and insomnia, which could indirectly aggravate my T.

The kicker too is that today it seems to be better - my inclination is just to be more careful in the future about loud noises rather than try to make an appointment with an ENT. But I don't want to miss the boat to maybe mitigate my T getting worse. I've had it off and on for a long time, but it's gotten louder the last year. I saw an audiologist a few weeks ago (before I exposed my ear to the sound) and she basically told me to relax and stop trying to force it to go away, that my hearing was a bit damaged from years of DJing but that the T wasn't that loud and I should stop spending my time worrying that it's going to get worse.

TL;DR; Exposed right ear to loud bang two weeks ago. T got worse in that ear for last two weeks, hearing did not seem to be affected. T seems to be somewhat better today. Worth it to try and get prednisone or just be more careful in future? Thanks for any input!

 

This is a very personal decision. As far as I can tell, the actual evidence that steroids are more useful than placebo after noise exposure is somewhat muddy (at least, there are some studies which point in either direction), but the risks of taking a single course of steroids are also not that significant.

The main downside of taking steroids, barring a really unusual reaction, is that you might be anxious/depressed/moody and have problems sleeping for a week or so. I am, like you, an anxious person. I absolutely hated prednisone.

I predict that many people on here will tell you that you should unquestionably go get some prednisone; on the other hand, some people on here will suggest that when people complain about exposure to very routine, non-damaging sounds.

It's your body, so you'll just have to make your own decision.

 

Consider you are also on the late side of things. They are usually administered at the very onset (<48hrs) of a sudden sensorineural hearing loss event (and with or without the accompanying tinnitus). Some people do experience relief even if taken later though.

 

Ok, thanks for input guys. I've ultimately decided not to proceed - it seems to be better today and the risk of side effects makes it a very unattractive option. If it was a gunshot or something that was obviously implicated (this seems like it is probably psychosomatic) then I would, but it's not that level.

 

I took this stuff a few weeks ago to try and clear my blocked e tubes.
Didnt help that much for that but it made my T go down a bit.

 

I took it 10 days after T increase, 4 days 60 and then 4 days 40mg.
It helped with my inflammation after infection, T is lower after month from volume increase and some sounds are going away. I do not regret trying corticosteroids, side effects were minimal in my case - sweating, increased appetite and face skin was oily after 4 days, plus I had minor insomnia. Overall I would say it was worth it ( I rather have no regrets in future).