Steroids: Prednisone / Dexamethasone / Others (Oral and Injections)

I have been hearing a new tinnitus sound for the past 3-4 days, it sounds very much like a siren.

No real loud sound exposure I think. An ambulance drove by a week ago, I was inside the car with double protection.

Dogs barking a few times, also with double protection. Can’t be that loud?

Is Prednisone worth trying for this?

Maybe a stupid question but I feel desperate and I’m just scared this will be permanent.

 

I’m sorry man. That’s terrible.

 

Did anyone here take Prednisone after Pfizer (or any other) COVID-19 vaccine to lessen the tinnitus spike? Did it help?

 

That's the advice I need. I'm having a very stressful episode now, I have a tone that gets very loud at night, but fades back daytime.

I take it Prednisone would be overkill?

 

I am taking a cycle of Prednisone for sciatica and just started to taper. The first 2 days it eliminated my tinnitus, but now it is back when I began to taper.

I can’t believe there is no option for those of us whose tinnitus is eliminated when taking Prednisone.

 

You could give it a shot, but it has some very unpleasant side effects while you are on it.

 

Yup that happens to most of us including me. It’s like a cure is at your fingertips lol.

 

Is it normal for Prednisone to increase tinnitus? I am off a 5 day course since Sunday and I feel like it spiked me.

 

After my 2 Pfizer COVID-19 shots, I had no spiking or side effects. But a week ago, I had my booster shot and the tinnitus is spiking like crazy!

Yesterday I went to an orthopedic doctor about some pain in my shoulder & elbow. I’ve had it for a few months, but it’s gotten worse. Turns out I have golfer’s elbow, but I don’t play golf! lol.

I was prescribed a short course of a low dose of generic Prednisone to taper off over 6 days.

I’m interested to see if it will help with this nasty spike. I’ll post the answer.

 

Could’ve been it lowered it while on it so now you’re back at baseline and maybe perception is worse.

 

Hey everyone, I managed to get my ENT to prescribe me a Methylprednisolone Medrol Dosepak (6 day with taper): 24 mg, then 20 mg, 16 mg, 12 mg, 8 mg, 4 mg, 0 mg. I tried to get 60 mg, but they wouldn’t go higher.

It has been 7 weeks since the onset of my tinnitus spike. I tried to get it first 2.5 weeks in, but the doctor didn’t agree. Is there any point in taking this now? I am concerned that the dosage is too low and too much time has passed, even though some say there’s a 2-3 month window possibly. My spike was caused by headphones at low volumes for hyperacusis pink noise therapy.

I’m also concerned that the Prednisone could make it worse, as I’ve seen some reports of that. Right now, my tinnitus is pretty bad (sounds like a drumbeat, car engine, hum oscillation). It’s about 35 dB and can be masked somewhat easily due to the low frequency nature of it.

I’m on the fence on what to do. Don’t want to make it worse, but also don’t want to wonder if it could’ve helped?

 

Are you sure, pink noise therapy on low volume with headphones? How many hours a day? What is "low" volume?

I don't think this could logically cause any damage, if I tapped your wrist repeatedly, it wouldn't break the bone, no matter how long I tap it. If your pink noise was low volume in headphones that would be like 1-5 dB or so?

So should you take it? I've taken it 2-3 times, didn't make my tinnitus worse (but I don't even know, maybe it did...), but it sure didn't improve it. I've taken it at 30 days after onset, and then at other times post that period.

Anything under 60 mg is too low, from the research I have seen. I wouldn't trust that ENT.

Would I take it? For 5 dB pink noise, probably not.

 

@CDNThailand, thanks for the reply. I am 99% sure my spike that started 7 weeks ago is from the headphones and pink noise therapy. I’d say the dB level was no greater than 30 dB. I did the therapy for a few hours each day, like a few sessions each day lasting 1 hour with breaks, over a total of 5 days. At the time, I didn’t know headphones were risky because I had used white noise generators in the past, and my mind thought they were the same concept. My WNGs were no longer working, though, and I was advised by some hyperacusis “experts” elsewhere to do the headphones. I didn’t know it was risky until later on when I saw a bunch of info on this forum from people who had bad experiences with headphones, even at low volumes.

So I am pretty confident this was what spiked me. It’s a bad spike. The tinnitus went from a 1 out of 10 to a fluctuating case of sometimes 5, 6, or 8, and occasionally it quiets down to like a 2 or 3. It’s very sporadic and intense. I used to just have a very low hum that could only be heard in the most quiet of rooms. It was like a 1/10. Now it can be heard in environments under 35 dB, unless it’s calmer. It sounds like a drumbeat or light saber, oscillating with a pulsating rhythm, and sometimes it sounds like a car engine idling. So the thought of setting for this as a possible endgame is scary.

I’m almost 2 months in and the Prednisone, I dunno if it’s worth the risk or could make it worse. I’ve seen some instances where people spiked bad from it. My doctor said that’s happened, too. I have a backup dose pack and if I combined the 2, it would be 48 mg day 1, 32 mg day 2, 24 mg day 3, and so forth. Not sure what to do. I generally react badly to meds. Even Turmeric spiked me bad and it’s an anti-inflammatory. But I also don’t want to regret later on not trying it if it could help. It’s been 7 weeks since the onset of the spike. The ENT wouldn’t give the Prednisone first time I tried to get it 2.5 weeks in.

 

I think 7 weeks is past the window of opportunity for Prednisone to be of any help, and it's really only indicated for SSNHL. Also the dosage you were given is not high enough nor for long enough.

 

I agree, dosage is wrong, another incompetent ENT...!

 

Hi, did Prednisone help you with the spike?

 

@lucy_snow, yes it did. It never went away but definitely got quieter. As soon as the Prednisone was out of my system, it slowly returned to its regular volume. I cannot get any doctor in my NY area to prescribe it for me.

 

I'm glad that it helped you

What dosage did you take?

 

Sorry to hear of your struggles. I'm not expert and I know what is written here about headphones, but I find it hard to believe that pink noise at very low volumes could damage your ears in any way. I suppose if you have a reactive type of tinnitus it could irritate them and temporarily spike things, but 30 dB pink noise cannot possibly cause harm to your ears. It's just not loud enough to cause actual damage. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems extremely unlikely to me. I don't profess to understand the inner workings of tinnitus but there is a lot of speculation on this website leading one to conclude that basically anything and everything will lead to harm. I am sympathetic and suffering myself but some things may be causing alarm when there are other explanations.

 

@lucy_snow; I took a 20 mg 6 day pack, tapering down over the 6 days. It is considered a low dose protocol. Like I mentioned, the tinnitus relief was temporary and came back not long after I finished the pack.

 

Is that the general consensus or what you’ve come across @Wrfortiscue? I’m hoping this is an indication that inflammation is the cause for our group.

 

Most of the time steroids reduce it just momentarily and once coming off, the tinnitus comes back. Same thing happened to me. I believe low inflammation diet helps some.

 

Thanks for confirming @Wrfortiscue. I’m still holding out hope that for those of us who improve are rooted in inflammation. I’ve read a few reviews here and there that didn’t help or spiked tinnitus on high Prednisone.

 

Hi Saliner. I would like to ask you how exactly you received this diagnosis and treatment. I have been zeroing in on the cause of my tinnitus residing somewhere inside my neck with measurable connections to certain muscle contractions. I have not been able to find a doctor that is able/willing to follow the evidence this way. So I am hoping you could tell me more of your story so it might help me.

 

So, two different ENTs had suggested I take Methylprednisolone (5 mg) for my tinnitus.

For those that don't know what I've written in the past, I'm a new to tinnitus person who developed it probably when the ENT was manually trying to remove earwax. I had two good days after that removal... and then horrible tinnitus since (been a month now of tinnitus). It's terrible at night, but usually gets better throughout the day. The reset at night is the worst part.

I've been taking Clonazepam (0.5mg) these last few nights... and that's been the only relief I think I've gotten so far. Wondering if I should throw in this Methylprednisolone and gamble that it could help or hurt things. At the strength they've given me... dunno if it'll do anything at all, actually.

I should add I've had several hearing tests... and no hearing loss. I had an MRI... nothing on their but slight sinus stuff.

Opinions?

 

I asked a few ENTs and no one would give steroids unless I had sudden hearing loss. i even had 3 hearing tests. Personally maybe I should purposely screw up the tests to get steroid treatment. I'm just wasting time doing nothing.

 

I recently had a round of three injections of corticosteroids directly into the middle ear. It is making a big difference. I advise everyone to find a clinic that practices this and give it a try.

 

Can you advise who administered these shots? I think for a lot of us it’s difficult finding an ENT to do this.

Is your tinnitus recent onset?

 

I got it in Vienna, Austria, at “Tinnitus Zentrum Wien.” The doctor told me that it is also done in the US, but I don’t know exactly where.

My tinnitus has been around for about 9 months.

 

@mbsq, what type of tinnitus do you have? High pitched? Tonal or fluctuating? Cicadas? Is it reactive to other sounds?