Struggling with Spike

Hey guys

I promised myself at the start of this week when I got this spike I would keep it together and stay calm, however 1 week on I'm really struggling and now seeking support.

I was going really really well prior to this, I went hours at a time never thinking about my tinnitus and felt like I was on the road to habituation. Three weeks ago I started to have stomach pains and my Dr thought it was a stomach infection, I was given a short course of mild antibiotics. Turns out it was in fact a kidney infection so an aggressive course of antibiotics for 1 week was required . The infection is now gone but the antibiotics have spiked my T to it's highest level yet, plus a new tone in my left ear. The antibiotics were meant to be fine for tinnitus but unfortunately have spiked mine terribly.

I know one week isn't long and I need to be patient but is there a chance this spike may be temporary or should I accept this is here to stay? Does anyone have any experience with antibiotic spikes?

I feel really annoyed at myself for not stopping when it started to spike, I wish I had demanded a different antibiotic. My Dr basically rolled his eyes at me and said it wasn't possible when I mentioned it had spiked.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post xx

 

It sounds like you already know if your medication is ototoxic, but here is a list of ototoxic drugs in any case. Your spike may be the result of medication or illness, or the stress of it all (it's really hard to figure tinnitus out). My spikes have lasted for days or weeks before returning to its normal state.
https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/prescription-drugs-that-can-cause-tinnitus/

 

Thank you for your reply Michael, drugs are apparently only very slightly ototoxic.

Perhaps it is the stress of it all..

 

I've found that the best thing for reducing spikes (besides avoiding noise) is relaxation and sleep. Stress can play a huge part, physiologically not just psychologically. I believe that the ears/brain needs to rest and recover until it is stronger again.

What antibiotic were you on?

 

When it comes to T, you ought to begin suspecting that it is permanent only after at least three months passes with no improvement. Right now it is too early to worry about it, and it is reasonable to continue assuming that it will eventually fade.

 

I was on metronidazole and Cefalexin. Spike is still very loud I think I may need to get sleeping pills to get me through, I am sleeping around 3hrs a night at the moment.

 

Thanks Bill, I'm trying to stay positive.

 

That sounds reasonable. I've run the gammut of sleeping pills in the past. Occasionally I use Ambien but I often settle on a few generic benadryls. Or gabapentin. Or both. I hope you can get some sleep.

 

Thanks for your help xx

 

I learned that the more attention I gave to "spikes", the worse they felt. I know it's hard, but try to shift your attention to other issues and try not to obsess too much the sound in your head.

Best,
Zug

 

Spike appears to be reducing, at around 8 pm my ear popped, it was absolutely excruciating. Since then it has reduced around 30%. Feeling a lot more postive, hopefully things will continue to calm down.