Taking Viagra (Sildenafil) Followed by Tinnitus Onset — Depressed & Miss Silence

About a month ago, I became extremely dizzy and had to lie down. As I was lying there, a high pitched screeching noise slowly became audible in my left ear. About 8 hours prior I had taken the maximum dose of 100 mg Sildenafil (Viagra), for two nights in a row. I had used Sildenafil in lower doses once a week for about a year and never had a problem.

That afternoon, I went to the emergency room. I told them about the Sildenafil but they told me the ringing was just because there was fluid in my ear and prescribed me a standard 6-day tapered pack of Methylprednisolone and an antibiotic. The PA said if it were from the medication it would be bilateral and not unilateral. (Wrong). I also did some research prior and read immediate action with corticosteroids was the best treatment, so I thought the Methylprednisolone pack was the same thing.

Fast forward about a week and a half later, the ringing got so bad I was having suicidal thoughts. I couldn't watch TV, listen to the radio, or converse with people because it was so hard to hear over the screeching. I had a family member refer me to an ENT who luckily saw me right away. After a hearing test that showed a 20 dB difference between my left and right ears at 3 kHz, the ENT told me that I needed a 2- week course of high dose Prednisone (65x 10 mg tablets over 2 weeks) and that standard Methylprednisolone packs are not nearly sufficient in dose to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Had I known that the low dose methylprednisolone was not the same thing, I would have gone to the ENT right away, so I'm kicking myself for that and I'm also annoyed that the PA didn't tell me I needed to see an ENT right away and dismissed what I said about the medication. The ENT said that I should have come right away, but that a week and a half was still soon enough that the hearing loss and tinnitus should resolve completely with the steroid treatment. He mentioned that usually when Viagra causes hearing loss it's profound and that my hearing was still considered to be within normal range so in that aspect I'm lucky. He also had me get an MRI to rule out other possible causes.

I just finished the two week course of Prednisone and returned to the ENT for another hearing test. The tinnitus seems to have changed in pitch from a high-pitched screeching to a lower-pitched ringing, and I'm now almost able to drown it out with music or TV. I'm not sure if it has gotten quieter or if I've just adjusted to it, but during the hearing test it's so hard to hear the tones over the loud ringing. If the ringing weren't there I'm sure I could hear so much better, even in my other unaffected ear. The test showed zero improvement in hearing.

The ENT then explained the risks of intratympanic steroid injections and told me there's a good change they won't make any difference, but he's done hundreds of them and he has seen cases where they did work even after the oral steroids failed. I would regret it if I didn't do everything I could to try to stop the tinnitus, so I just had my first of 3 intratympanic injections. It was very uncomfortable, but not as painful as I thought it would be and the whole ordeal was over pretty quickly. He said applying the numbing agent would be the worse part, but personally, I found the actual injection to be the worst part. The room starts spinning for about 30 seconds afterwards.

Overall, I'm just really unhappy that now I now have to live with this ailment. I already have to live with schizoaffective disorder and take antipsychotics and 6 different medications. Not to mention now I don't have cure for my antipsychotic-induced ED so I'll probably never have another girlfriend and be alone the rest of my life. I'm only 32. I miss what silence sounded like. It's super depressing knowing I'll never know what that sounds like again. I'm trying to be hopeful that the steroid injections will work, but everything I've read says that ototoxic damage from PDE5 inhibitors is permanent. I'm trying to be happy that I still have my hearing with no hyperacusis that the tinnitus is only really loud when it's quiet. I've read other posts where people have it so much worse so I'm trying to be positive that I can still work and take care of myself.

If anyone has any advice or success stories of PDE5 inhibitor induced tinnitus resolving, please let me know. Please share any and all thoughts.

 

Don't give up hope. At the moment scientists are working round the clock to find a cure. Be glad you have no hyperacusis and be grateful that you can still work and take care of yourself. I have accepted the fact that I have good days and bad days, good nights and bad nights. It is what it is... It's called life. It's not easy but it can be done...

Accept and be patient. Acceptance for your current situation and patience for your tinnitus free future are key.

 

I'm sorry you are in such a crappy situation. I can say it's hopeful that it lowered in volume and/or tone, because that means it may continue to do so until it's no longer a problem!

I wonder whether it was that Viagra that did this, or those other medication you're taking, or maybe an interaction of them together? No one can say for sure, but I think it's worth it to evaluate again what substances you're taking and maybe prevent any worsening in the future.

Hope all the best for you!

 

I've been taking the other medications for about 2 years now. None of them are ototoxic to my knowledge (Haldol, Zyprexa, Trazodone, Hydroxyzine, Levothyroxine, Vyvanse). It was almost definitely the Viagra that caused the issue. I haven't taken it since and will never take it again. I had never taken an amount even close to that. Normally I'd take 40 mg once a week. It's not a coincidence that as soon as I took such a high dose the tinnitus started.

It's been 17 hours since my first intratympanic injection and I don't notice any difference in my tinnitus. Unfortunately, I have a feeling of ear fullness now but I think that's because there's still fluid in my ear from the injection and a temporary hole in my eardrum from the needle. I can't find any information that states the amount of time before I should see the full effect on the tinnitus reduction from the first injection. Anyone have any additional knowledge to share on intratympanic injections?

 

@RadioKid722, to be honest, I personally don't have any experience from medication, neither have I taken any, but I've read a lot of stories on here about some of them (for example, Trazodone). They are serious stuff, so my advice is to talk about it with the doctor who prescribed them.

That fullness sounds like it's from the injection, as the ear nerves all around are very very sensitive and the sensation takes some time to go away. Let's just hope you'll benefit more from the injections!