Sudden Wild Longer-Lasting Fleeting Tinnitus Episode — Would Appreciate Your Thoughts

My tinnitus has been quite manageable lately.

But last night... it reminded me how erratic it can be.

I was finishing up some last minute work after dinner and my right ear had a fleeting episode (as it normally does - 2-10x week). Usually it lasts 10-20 seconds. But this time it STAYED. I had been goofing around with my two year old for a few hours, tickling him and he was screaming - but I had earplugs in and this wasn't out of the normal. That was the only catalyst I could imagine.

What was nice (if you can call it that) was that the it was the same tone. So I had less of a reaction after an hour or so to the tone but the fullness was very intense. I was unable to test my hearing but it didn't seem to be affected (other than the louder tinnitus creating more a distraction).

So I ended up taking 60 mg Prednisone, .5 mg Klonopin, and watching The Office until I was tired.

I woke up to let dogs out at about 2 am and it was still going strong.

When I woke up at 7 am, it was back to normal.

WTF? Anyone have this happen before? Did I over react with the meds? Now I have to go to the doctor and try to reload for the next emergency.

Thanks all - this forum is a godsend and I hope one day it doesn't exist.

 

That happened to me once, about 2 months after my first onset of tinnitus. It never happened like that again since. So personally I wouldn't stress too much about it.

Hope that helps.

 

Easier said than done BUT will do my best. The "drop out/muffled hearing" is what scared me the most. Sounds like it's maybe more common than I thought - at least for those who experience tinnitus.

 

Sudden brief unilateral tapering tinnitus (SBUTT) is actually fairly common and is experienced by people with and without tinnitus.

It is actually a poorly understood phenomenon and theories range from muscular jaw issues to a spasm within the ear. It usually lasts only a few seconds so it is curious if it lasted so many hours for you. I think the longest one has lasted for me was several minutes.

I find I get them more frequently when I’m very stressed so maybe there is credence to the whole jaw/maxillary issue.

Both my ENT and otologist said that they are nothing to worry about it and is not an indication of worsening tinnitus.

I have to ask though, do you just have Prednisone hanging around your house? When I have had a threshold change in my hearing I have had to fight like heck with my ENT to even give me a short term Medrol pack.

 

You can do it. It still happens to me all the time, and less than a week ago I started getting episodes of fleeting tinnitus 20-30 times a day (not an exaggeration) for 3 days straight. Hasn't done it since, but other than that I've been experiencing some signs of healing after 3 years of pure hell.

 

I do! I go to the doctor and tell them that I have tinnitus, that I was exposed to a loud noise and the tinnitus is louder and that the only thing that helps is a long course of high dose of Prednisone. I've seen 2-3 different doctors and they give it to me every time. I have a stockpile.

 

Very smart. I actually ended up going to Urgent Care to get a prescription. I told them that I could detect a change in my hearing and I couldn’t get in to see an ENT. So I have some in the house in case I feel like I need to take some. I’m very concerned about getting the COVID-19 vaccine so I want to have them on hand in case I’m one of the unlucky ones who has a worsening of their tinnitus after the vaccine.

I mean it’s a serious medication and we should be judicious about taking it because it can certainly cause a lot of other issues, particularly because the effect of steroids is cumulative in the body. But I don’t want to feel like I have to fight with my ENT to get a steroid when I suspect I’ve had hearing shift. And every single time they drag me in for a hearing test. I have had like four this year already. After a hearing shift, if it is still within normal limits, forget about getting a steroid. Regardless of whether or not you’re tinnitus is worse.

I have what the otologist called a damaged left ear and they don’t know why, but he said damaged ears experience fluctuation in hearing. I had some mild hearing loss and tinnitus for over a year. And I had another shift in that ear and I convinced my PCP to give me a long dose of steroids. My hearing improved and the tinnitus primarily resolved... So even after a year my hearing improved with steroids.

 

Yes, this has happened to me numerous times, SBUTT that lasts hours.

 

I have had the hearing drop - louder tinnitus thing happen to me a few times. I am not sure what causes it as it can happen even in general silence.

I don't care about my tinnitus as much though. I understand how debilitating it is for many but that's where I'm at right now.

 

Yeah this is just as you thought, an extended temporary episode. I had them a few times in my life but seem to be related to nothing.

Sometimes lasting 45 minutes including fading, sometimes a low level lingers for hours but once I go to bed and wake up, it’s gone.

They don’t correlate to actual permanent tinnitus, at least in 99% of cases. The hearing drop happens with it half the time.

 

This just happened to me last night. I was fine and went into the bathroom washed my face and all the sudden I noticed in my left ear, a really high-pitched ring that I haven’t had before. I didn’t experience any hearing loss ahead of it. I’ve had sudden brief unilateral tapering tinnitus before, but this lasted like 25 minutes before I finally took some Klonopin and went to sleep. I normally would not have done that, but I was so flipping anxious of what was going on.

I woke up about an hour and 15 minutes after the original onset and it was gone. It remains gone today. I’ve just never had it last that long Usually resolves within 15 seconds or so. Maybe the worst was two minutes. I get them mostly in my left ear. And then occasionally in my right. The frequency varies. I go through periods where I might get one every other day for a week and then not get one for months. I have spoken with my ENT and Otologist bout them and they both basically said that people with and without tinnitus get them and not to worry about them. My 11-year-old gets them too. They seem transient and not related to hearing loss. Lots of theories that range from muscle spasms in the ear and muscular issues in the jaw or neck, both of which I have. There was actually a ridiculously small study that did dry needling on people with frequent SBUTTs. Symptoms resolved in all subjects and the conclusion was that these events seem to be related to trauma to the region of the lateral pterygoid muscle. But again, it was a tiny study.

I’m supposed to go to a wedding this weekend and I have a hotel booked I’m seriously thinking about canceling it. I’m worried it’s going to come back and I’m not going be able to manage it without having my usual noise maskers around.

 

This has happened to me 2-3 times since I got my tinnitus. It’s common for it to happen and go away after a few seconds as you say. But yes, 2-3 times it has stayed for hours up to a day. But it has gone back to normal every time, so while it is distressing, I try not to worry about it and tell myself it will go away as it has done past times, it can just take a longer time. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

@Forever hopeful, @Nemoriri

I had something like this happened to me in the early hours this morning. Up until now, I thought I had loud tinnitus. But a tone came into my left ear that was very loud, making my current tinnitus seem mild. It sounded like the dial tone of the old landline phones. I laid there frozen, paralyzed for about 30 seconds, waiting for the sound of dissipate, which it eventually did. Honestly I was a bit terrified; what if the sound didn’t go away? Just don’t need to deal with a new worry right now.

Mark

 

@Nemoriri, thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. When transient episodes have happened for you, is it a new sound or just that your regular tinnitus spiking? For me this was a completely new noise. Kind of a high-pitched version of a dial tone of an old phone to use @Mark62's description.

@Mark62, I totally get it. That’s what I think. When these events happen I’m paralyzed until it stops. It happened over the summer and I stopped talking with a friend mid sentence and started shaking my head back-and-forth. She asked what’s wrong with you? And I say to myself, oh my God what if it doesn’t go away? I don’t think I can deal with this. I was lying there last night and I was thinking oh my God I have to work tomorrow. I have a wedding on Saturday and we’re supposed to stay overnight at the wedding venue. How am I going to do all this?

How long did yours last this morning? What really rattled my cage was that it lasted for at least 25 to 30 minutes before I fell asleep, which of course was as a result a lot of sleep aids. Although I did wake up an hour and 15 minutes after it started and it was completely gone.

 

This happens to me from time to time. The new tone will come in, quite intrusively, and hang around for a few hours, then disappear. On one occasion, I could hear that tone throughout the rest of the day if I covered my ears and went looking for it, but it went away within that day. Conveniently, I find these things happen at night so I get to just sleep it off.

Anyway, it looks like a lot of us have had a similar experience, and it's nice to see that for the most part these are indeed just extended episodes of fleeting tinnitus.

 

My loud, transient sound only lasted 30 seconds. Knowing me, I would have been pretty upset if it lasted 25-30 minutes as yours did. You sound to be tough, or at least acclimated to the transients.

Good luck with the wedding today. I attended a wedding about a month ago, and I couldn’t believe how loud it was. Even with earplugs in, I had to leave. I was a bit embarrassed but I had to protect my ears. Hopefully your wedding venue won’t be as loud.

Mark

 

Thanks.

Wedding went well. Dancing was in a separate room from dining so that cut down on the noise, but I wore my earplugs. It was fine. However, down at the after party, I didn’t have my earplugs in but it wasn’t too too loud. 7o dB based on my phone meter. I noticed that my tinnitus was becoming reactive. That’s a whole new thing for me now. It reacts to moderate noise. So we left and went back to the hotel room.

 

@Forever hopeful, I wouldn’t think that 70dBA is too loud for a short period of time. I’m glad you had a good time.

Mark

 

Just remember not to let the anxiety dictate how you feel. Or to at least be aware it’s more likely the anxiety dictating it than your ears. You might be focusing too much on things that were always there. Also don’t worry about the longer episodes.
As you’ve read nearly everyone had them go away always. So no point stressing unless something else happened. They’re always a new tone. I’ve read some people have them for a few days (at reduced volume) but that tone never comes back when it’s gone.