Sudden Hearing Loss After Doxycycline and Amoxicillin? Help!!

Sept 1, I started an antibiotics treatment for Lyme disease (which my doctors have been suspecting for years to explain my T, and many other symptoms I have for 5 years now). The dosage was Doxycycline 100 mg 3 times a day, then on Sept 15, add Amoxicillin 1000 mg 3 times a day as well.

I've been on herbal supplements (could elaborate if needed) for 6+ months now, and was feeling a fullness (not that bad, but it was there) in both ears since August.

Sept 23, my right ear started to sound strange and at the end of the day, I had a very annoying full feeling, and was no longer hearing under 300Hz and over 10KHz. Something BAD was going on... I immediately stopped ALL the natural supplements and antibiotics (cold turkey). I stopped them as soon as the problem appeared because I was almost sure they were the cause. My naturopath told me it was OK to stop antibiotics and herbal for a few days if my symptoms were too hard to cope with.

The next day, things were not better so I went to see a doctor, and she saw an external otitis. She prescribed me some cortisone drops to put in my ear 3 times a day. There was not much 'pain', just that full feeling and hearing lost...

5 days later, I was not getting better so I went to the hospital's emergency and saw an ENT. I did an audiogram and compared to what I was a few months ago, I have 30 db lost at 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 6 KHz. I did a very high frequencies test myself (have all the needed tools) and I don't hear anything over 11 KHz anymore. Bone conduction indicated that there's a problem with my cochlea. The doc prescribed me 10 days of oral cortisone (prednisone 60mg 6 days then, 30mg on the remaining 4 days).

I'm at my 6th day of Cortisone today and I don't hear much improvement, if any... Anxiety is at maximum! I'm not 'deaf' but those 30db losts here and there, and nothing anymore over 11KHz means I'll have to do something else in life if I don't heal!! Am I done for good?

(Please note that I've had similar problems in April, in the same ear. I was taking some natural supplements only at the time (Astragalus + misc other herbal stuff). When the problem arrived, I stopped all supplements and took 7 days of cortisone and I healed ok in about 7 days.)

I have many questions for you today, and whishing for your help and suggestions please:

- How much time should I give to the oral cortisone before I see an improvement?

- I, of course, don't feel to expose my ear to any noise at the moment, but should I wear full protection all day long (ear plug)? Should I avoid ALL noises, including little 'house noises' like water from the faucet, etc.

- Should I try to sleep (or be very relax) all day long, or am I better to do a bit of exercise, walking, etc, to give the cortisone the maximum efficacity?

- Is there anything else I should take to help me, I'm open to your suggestions on natural supplements, or other things, but I'm now VERY scared...

- Why is my sudden hearing lost at so many different audio ranges? 125-250, then 6000, then 11000+ Hz? All different ranges in the cochlea. Is this a typical result of oto-toxicity? Can we heal back from oto-toxicity crisis?

So many questions... SO hard times for me...

 

One more thing to note: I've had very heavy vertigo symptoms on my second day on cortisone... During one or two hours, I had to go to bed, and my eyes were moving sideways out of control...

I'm better now, but every now and then during the day, I have some mild vertigo symptoms again...

 

I don't think there are definitive answers to a lot of your questions... I can just say that you should do everything you can do to protect your ears while maintaining your sanity. The steroids are definitely causing some anxiety for you so try to take that into consideration. I don't think this is an end game for you - its just a tough (hopefully temporary) adjustment to what you are used to.
Supplement wise I'd go with Magnesium, NAC, ALCAR, and antioxidant vitamins C, E, and A.
I've heard of many peoples hearing being recovered from many different types of loss either naturally or with Steroids.
Question for you- has you T been affected by this?
Hope you're coping OK and if you need to talk to some one I'm here.
Ben

 

Hi Ben, and thanks for your post and suggestions.

I've been taking NAC since February at about 1000mg per day (even went to 2000mg per day in August cause I had a big contract with long hours of music exposure (with extra protection though)) and haven't noticed ANY difference on my T or general condition. I just wanted to be on the safe side...

I've been on ALCAR daily about 1 week before my sudden hearing lost. Coincidence? Probably, as I suspect Doxy a lot more to be the cause.

I might try to eat more fruits and whatever contains vitamins C, E, and A, but I already eat SUPER well. NO alcool at all, limited sugar, NO soda, only water, and only 1 or 2 small deca coffee in the morning, etc. Really, I did all I can, especially during the last year.

My 4½ years old high pitched T has not been affected. However, since the hearing lost, there's a 200hz buzz (sometimes a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower) that has been VERY loud some days, but not always there, and it sometimes fluctuates in the day.

Since 2-3 days, I have a low 50hz rumble that is modulable with head movement, like if their was some kind of liquid somewhere (but the ENT didn't see any). When I quickly move my head, it disapears for the time I move, but reappears as soon as I stay still, in whatever position I am.

Thanks for being here for me!
David

 

No problem. At least your T is not really affected and stable. Keep us updated and take care of yourself.
B

 

I would sleep a lot and stay out of noise for a few months if I were you. Similar situation here, my mild T and slight hearing loss was made a lot worse with the use of ciprodex ear drops. I now have pretty much zero hearing above 9khz.

I think I was too quick to subject my ears to noise after this incident. My T seemed to become worse and worse every time I exposed my ears to noise. I believe there is a window of healing time (about six months). Use ear plugs everywhere you go for a while or even better stay out of noise completely.

 

Thanks for your post... Do you think Ciprodex could be the cause of your very high frequencies lost?

Or mostly the prematurate exposure?

Believe me, I will protect my ear as much as I can! (I already do all I can though...)

 

I think it was the combo, I don't think I could have made a full recovery but my ears seemed to be opening up again (hearing better, less T) and then I went out a few nights (loud pubs) and I was brought right back and could not recover after that.

But to answer your question, yes definitely the drops that killed my highs, the noise was just a factor when it came to recovering.

 

Awww poor you .. .. I'm very sorry.

I always try to stay under 60 to 70 db nowaday... I always have ear plugs wth me... I'll take your words.

Thanks, and wishing us all a cure ASAP....

 

Any recovery from your doxy poisoning?

 

Hi thanks for asking... I've been through very hard times lately... Please, let me explain,

I've seen some improvement about 15 days after the hearing loss. I was on a 10 days oral cortisone 60mg (taper to 30mg) treatment, started at day 5 after the loss. For some reasons, the improvement was fluctuating. The ENT concluded I have Endolymphatic Hydrops... He gave me an intra-tympanic cortisone injection try to help the recover as much as possible, and put me on diuretic (triamterene) meds. The following days were the worst of all! At the worst point, I was not hearing anything under 500hz, and over 8khz! I was devastated. Then suddenly, 3-4 days later, the full feeling went away and within' a few hours, I was hearing much better.

During the next days, I was encouraged. I had to go to the supermarket. The noise of the freezers and fridges was loud, in the bass frequencies, and I suddenly felt something was wrong again with my ear. I rushed outside to realize that I've lost my earing again, under 300hz and over 10000khz... There has been a few (3-4) episodes like that. Even eating a raw carrot once caused a little hearing loss... I was/am/(will remain?) VERY fragile. I decided to cancel all my professional work, and rest as much as possible at home, without any noise over 50-55db, and with an ear plug as soon as I leave the house.

3-4 days ago, I was like at 10 days in a row with an almost normal (90 to 95% recovery) audition. I was feeling confident that the diuretic helped me, and that I was out of trouble finally... So I decided to go to my studio to listen to some music - lightly and softly - just to keep looking forward; it's SO nice to finally hear normally again! I did that for 3 days in row (about 1-2 hours per day, at 55 to 70dba level). The 3rd day, I was listening to some reference tones at 50hz to 80hz (for some studio related technical reasons), and suddenly the nightmare happened again! Something went 'out of phase' in my ear (in the bass range) and it wasn't a faulty speaker......... I stopped ALL immediately, but I then knew I've pushed too far... The full feeling (very light this time) and high frequencies lost re-appeared also a few hours later.

I started another course of oral cortisone yesterday, hoping for the best. I will try to reach the ENT tomorrow (he's a cochlea specialist, one of the best ENT in my area), and I will try to get explanations on why my problem is always triggered by bass frequencies. I'm now 99% sure about that.

As for the antibiotics I took in September (for a 'possible' Lyme disease), I've been told by an audiologist that if they had been really ototoxic, I would have possibly never gained my audition... So right now, I think the Hydrops theory is more valid. The antibiotics might have aggravated my hydrops problem though. Who knows...

Studying the hydrops, there's many of my symptoms that concur. Ts for the past 4½ years, then more Ts last year, then full feeling this summer, then fragility of my ears, then sudden hearing loss. The only thing I don't fully understand though, is why I also loose the high frequencies when I have a crisis. I read that with time, the full audio spectrum would be damaged, but it usually starts with the low frequencies only.

I've been checked thoroughly for auto-immune and allergic disease last week. Still waiting on the results, but an auto-immune cause would probably affect my two ears. Time will tell, but only my right ear is problematic at the moment (though I have high pitched Ts on both since the beginning).

If anyone of you reading this have an idea or suggestion, please let me know!!

 

Thanks so much for sharing! Funny, I was on doxy for "possible" Lyme as well. Did you ever have a blood test for it?

 

I'm taking ginko and vitamin E, was on NAC and starting magnesium but it's been months since my hearing loss. I went on steroids for a month at 60mg and more after that.

 

How is the Ginko helping you?

How's your hearing today?

 

@JohnK Did the doxy bother you, John?

 

@davidchampoux

I also was just put on doxy for lyme disease; 300 mg a day. I started just 2 days ago with seemingly no side effects. Then on Sunday morning, I had a tinnitus spike out of the blue in one of my ears, and lost a bit of very high frequency hearing. Last night, taking my 4th pill, I had another tinnitus spike while trying to go to sleep.
In the morning I woke up with a 5-10 decibel loss in my low frequencies again, along with a strange stinging, burning pain in my ears. Nothing has recovered yet.

Does this sound about what you went through a year ago with these antibiotics?

 

Sounds familiar yes, but I had my sudden hearing lost around 3 weeks after I started the treatment, and I was at that moment under 300mg Doxy + 3000mg Amoxi as well.

My naturopath was clear regarding this treatment when I started: don't go too fast! And if something bad is going on, stop! That's what I've been told. If you really have Lyme, chances are the antibio work, but you're getting into trouble with a HERX syndrome. Read about this. This might be a temporary situation, but if you go to quick with the meds, you might have permanent problems (could be somewhere else than the ears too).

I would personaly talk to the doctor who prescribed the antibio ASAP, and ask his opinion. You could stop for 2-3 days, and progressively take the med back, 100mg per day for 1 week, then you do 200mg for another week, etc. And see how your body/immune system tolerates this dosage. Do you have a positive Lyme test so far? Are you supposed to add Amoxi in a few weeks?

The earing lost scheme you describe corresponds to mine a lot. The doctors diagnosis in the end was that I have Endolymphatic Hydrops, but they can't tell the cause. One say it might be a early stage Meniere disease, the other say it's not Meniere, etc. And they don't want to recognise I have Lyme (even with my positive USA test). Here in Canada, my tests are negative (but it seems that this test is not really accurate). It's a very bad disease to have here, no good diagnosis, and no good treatment.

What I think helped me is to take some diuretics (only Diamox 125 to 250 mg in the morning helped, NOT Triamterene), a few espresso coffees in the morning, and I followed the 'John of Ohio' method for Meniere disease (see attached). I took mostly the firsts 3 products and that helped for sure. I also try to completely avoid medium/loud sound exposure (and/or wear an earplug in my right ear when I go outside, etc.). I feel this helps the ear to heal... I hope it does... It takes MANY months for an ear to heal.

I recovered most of my hearing since this one year episode of hell, but I'm not perfect at all. Lots of T, full feeling, fluctuating audition, some days... I didn't find any real trigger yet, other than stress. Stress for sure makes all of the above aggravated.

Good luck!

 

@davidchampoux

Thank you for sharing your story. Makes me feel somewhat reassured!

I have only been placed on doxy, and probably will want to change to amoxicillin if I do come back with positive lyme tests, because there are other -cycline antibiotics that have a reputation of being ototoxic for a few people. I've completely stopped the doxy for now. I have no idea why they prescribed me such a high dose at the very beginning, especially when I told them I suffer from T and hearing loss regularly!
The I-spot lyme test doesn't even come back until tomorrow, so before then I am definitely not taking anything. Granted that I caught it so quickly hopefully my ears will have the chance to recover.

There is a possibility that this was a Herx reaction as well, as I did have tingly feelings everywhere that night and did not feel comfortable in other ways. I could have also been just having a migraine, so who knows. I was, after all , experiencing the low frequency hearing losses and the rumbly noises prior to starting the doxy, so it makes me think something was up. The only thing I had never experienced before was that burning sensation.

If you have lyme disease FYI that can also cause Meniere's symptoms; I've heard stories of lyme sufferers who had all the criteria to fit Meniere's disease, but it was all just a bi-product of the infection. Although I think the antibiotics got to you somehow, it is also possible your sudden hearing loss was some type of herx as well.

I'm sorry if you have had so much trouble getting treatment up in Canada; perhaps your ENT's just don't recognize that lyme can do all the Meniere stuff. How has your lyme treatment been going so far, by the way?

 

@Coyotesheaven

I stoped any Lyme antibiotics treatment. After my sudden hearing loss, I was so afraid that I decided to stop everything for a while. I took a lot of prednisone during many months and it didn't trigger or aggravated any Lyme symptoms (while it is supposed to), so who knows if Lyme is really my problem. I'm completely lost in fact...

I ordered some "TicTox" from Germany. This is supposed to help with Lyme. I've been on and off on that product since spring time. I think it helped at first. Hard to know what really helps, quite frankly.

The anitibio treatment I was on (with both doxy and amoxy at the same time) is from a protocol suggested by Dre Maureen McShane. She seems to be a Lyme specialist. I haven't meet her personally, but my naturopath is following here closely... Maybe I should give this another shot (still have the pills), but I'm definitely too scared!

Please let me know how it turns for you! Wishing you the best of luck!
DC.

 

@davidchampoux

Well turns out I don't have lyme disease after all. Now I feel like a total moron for taking those antibiotics and trusting my doctors (always trust your gut).

They do think something is up with my autoimmune system, which could well do a lot of nasty things, so I will explore there for now.

 

@Coyotesheaven

That's very interesting... That is exactly my problem too! I'm known for low white cells (~ 3) and platelets (~ 80 000) for 20 years now. Doctors just can't find the cause, and believe me, I've been tested through out!

Let me know what you find please, we can work this together. Feel free to PM me if you want to share more info.

 

@davidchampoux

Well I went to the clinic and they said that while there is no tick infection (tested negative for lyme and co-infections), there are however markers of an ongoing infection (somewhere) in my nervous system.

My CD-57 lymphocytes (I don't know what these lymphocytes are exactly) turned out to be abnormally low. So not exactly your situation, but like your immune system mine seems to be stressed and over-reactive in some way. They think that is why I had such a dramatic reaction to the antibiotics after only 2 days, and not because of the ototoxic potential of the medicine.

Did anyone ever suggest to you that you could have had an autoimmune reaction in your ears? I am pursuing that theory now for the reason I have been losing hearing so rapidly in my low frequencies. My body seems to hate any neuro-modulating medications and practically anything I do to it.

As for you starting the antibiotics again, I think it is best if you looked into herbal antibiotics? If you still tested positive for lyme, I would think you have some kind of infection that still needs treatment, but you should probably avoid doxy and other generic antibiotics.

 

Stephen buhner has a web site devoted to treating lyme and coinfections with herbals