Sore Throat & Mild Congestion → Infection → Antibiotics & Decongestant → Tinnitus Gets Worse

Hi all. I first got the dreaded tinnitus back in March of 2015. I spent the first few months suicidal and the next few years adjusting. I wouldn’t say I ever FULLY adjusted, but I certainly wasn’t suicidal anymore.

Fast forward to this week. I had a sore throat with mild congestion, and then I woke up on Tuesday morning with fluid in my ears. From here, you Tinnitus Talk folk know the script. As did I, but I went ahead with it anyway.

I went to Urgent Care and got looked at. Yup, infection. Antibiotics and a decongestant. I tried to remain hopeful that it wouldn’t worsen my existing tinnitus, but I spent the day in a MAJOR state of panic.

I woke up this morning to a much louder tinnitus. It is still my same tones, just MUCH LOUDER.

I’m looking for some hope here. What are the chances this returns to baseline after the infection clears?

I would love to hear from some people who have actually lived this. Thanks in advance.

 

Update: I woke up about 30 minutes ago. I still can’t pop my ears. My hearing feels even more diminished on my right side, and the tinnitus is even louder. I am very quickly starting to lose hope here.

 

It seems to me that your tinnitus feels louder because your hearing is diminished. Once you heal and regain your hearing, I would expect your tinnitus to go back to its prior level.

 

Thanks for the reply. I forced myself into work right now and was confronted with another new symptom. I sometimes operate a CNC machine, and when it is switched on, it emits a compressed air “hiss.” As soon as I heard the hiss, I knew something was wrong.

It sounds all modulated. If I plug my bad ear, it sounds normal and steady. If I plug my good ear, or listen with both, the modulation remains. What the hell is this?

 

Machine shops are one place where I always wore earplugs just in case a noise trauma is lurking. Better protected than affected.

 

I “hear you” on that one, heh. I wear hearing protection in that room, but I only put it on when running the machine or cutting something. With the hearing protection on, I couldn’t “hear” the modulation in this air hiss. It's really, really strange.

Anyway, I went back to the ER yesterday and pushed for Prednisone because of the high-frequency hearing loss I’m experiencing. The eardrum is still red and retracted, and fluid is still visible behind the eardrum. Prednisone was given. Trying to remain positive. We’ll see what life has in store for me next.

 

Your ears are the last to clear, so you can try steam inhalation, sinus rinse, and even antihistamines as pollen season is here.

Tinnitus can spike for a reason or for no reason at all, so it's best to use trial and error to find out what helps you the most during spikes. Be kind to yourself, and try not to let it stress you out, as it won't help.

Glynis

 

I’d say it’s very likely it’ll return to baseline. Congestion will spike your tinnitus, but extreme stress and hyper-focussing on it will amplify it even further.

It may take a while for everything to settle and for your central nervous system to calm down, but having lived through many of these episodes, I believe this is the most likely outcome.

 

Thank you both for your kind words. I am TRYING not to panic (keyword: trying), but it is difficult. My tinnitus was incredibly stable for the 9 years prior to this, so I’ve never really experienced a “spike” before. And I haven’t heard of people experiencing one WITH hearing loss and distortions thrown in.

 

Get off the antibiotics NOW! I have permanent tinnitus due to them. I have had it for 25-35 years now.

 

Even Amoxicillin?

 

Just wanted to update.

The distortion(s) have calmed down to essentially zero. The ringing is still increased over the previous nine years, though. Thankfully, the shower still masks it. Nothing else does because of its frequency (around 10-11 kHz).

One day at a time...

 

Stay calm about antibiotics. There are only a select few that can cause tinnitus. Not all of them. Additionally, many can only do so when given intravenously.

I understand that some here have perhaps been gifted tinnitus because of them, but literally tens of millions have not.

If you are taking antibiotics for an infection, chances are that it was the infection that caused the damage. That's why you're taking antibiotics.

 

Thank you. Sometimes we read too much and cause more damage (not treating the infection).