Tinnitus from Peripheral Neuropathy / Levofloxacin

Hello,

My name is Maria Francesca, 40 years old.
I am new here but it is since I got tinnitus May 2020 that I have been reading Tinnitus Talk.

I am writing now because I recently found out most probably what really caused it and hope it can be useful to some of you with similar symptoms.

My tinnitus is not noise induced. I know for sure as I have never been exposed to accidental bursts, alarms or loud sounds, high volume headphones or similar.

My tinnitus range from hissing to "frying pan" sound. I wake up in the morning in the silence and the tinnitus build up during the day starting from hissing and ending as "frying pan" in the evening. If I am able to sleep enough, it resets to zero in early morning and then the cycle continues. I also can "feel it", with a itching/vibration inside my ear which often extends to the external auricle and sometimes nose and jaw. It also increases with movement, after shower, while travelling in car, bus, and other sources of vibration.

It started in May 2020 together with blockage of Eustachian Tube. This was thought to be a consequence of a bronchitis + upper respiratory inflammation I had end March 2020. It started as a very loud crazy high pitched cricket sound. All ENTs I consulted during following months told me to be patient, and that tinnitus would go away once the Eustachian Tube inflammation would be cured. The blockage was very hard with my ears hurting with all little pressure changes as 200 m altitude changes by car. I undergone Sinus/Turbinate Surgery in November 2020 to help healing the inflammation. Today the inflammation is mostly cured, I can make Valsalva maneuver again, but the tinnitus is still there. The ENT surgeon who made the follow up of the surgery, at the last appointment told it is really strange.

So I started to ask to neurologists what was happening. POTENTIALE-EVOCATE-AUDITIVE test evidenced pre-cochlear issue of minor importance (I had already a decrease of 30 dB at 8000 Hz in the audiograms from my 2019 health check up, now it is 35-40 dB), cranial MR is normal. The 4rth professional I consulted told, after looking at POTENTIALE-EVOCATE-AUDITIVE test, that from my clinical symptoms (as commented above, itching/vibration which extends to the external auricle and sometimes nose and jaw) I have probably a peripheral neuropathy in the 2nd or/and 3rd branch of trigeminal nerve, which cross the ear. I am still waiting for the POTENTIALE-EVOCATE of the nerve sensitive part (I will get on 18/03), but she anticipated that is possible that the test could not evidence the damage. Meanwhile she gave me Alpha Lipoic Acid and vitamin B complex to help healing. She told nerves heal themselves in a very long time.

Than I started to think to what could have caused such peripheral neuropathy. Along the tinnitus I have had also the most strange symptoms no doctor could explain, all starting after the bronchitis: anxiety, insomnia, short-breathing (never had them before, even in the most stressful situations), eye vitreous issues, dry eyes, impaired night vision, sensitivity to light, fatigue, muscle spasm and myoclonus, tingling in other parts of my body, difficulty in swallowing. I finally connected the dots and realized I have been most probably intoxicated by the Levofloxacin was given to me to cure the bronchitis. Fluoroquinolone associated disability is mostly unknown here in Spain, although the European Medicines Agency already alerted European countries in 2018. After I explained this and shown the references to several physicians, two of them agreed it could be the case, altough there is no test to demonstrate it. Now I am very angry as my bronquitis was not severe to require such strong antibiotic, and also to have realized what happened nearly one year after. Anyway I will try to do what people affected by this drug have suggested to heal, hoping is not too late.
Also I am trying to explain why tinnitus increases during the day, I have found in the following reference that brain cortical excitability increases with time awake and is rebalanced by subsequent sleep:

Human Cortical Excitability Increases with Time Awake

I will write down updates if it is of interest for some of you.

 

My tinnitus is never gone, but it is lowest right when I wake up. If I stay really really still, I can enjoy a few minutes of it being low. A soon as I roll over, stretch, open my eyes or hear a sound (even in the distance) the volume turns up to my usual that very second.

I was taking antibiotics at the onset of tinnitus also. I had 2 courses of Amoxicillin for a cough. Due to COVID-19 and the fact I had respiratory symptoms, the doctor would only do a phone consult and he just prescribed it after speaking with me for half a minute. When the cough didn't go away, he prescribed a second course over the phone. Turns out my cough must have been viral because the antibiotics didn't work. 5 days after I took the last antibiotic, tinnitus started. Who knows what caused it but the antibiotic is just one more thing on my list of many possible causes.

 

Can you please tell how are you feeling now and if you have had any improvements? Have you tried any treatments or drugs?

 

Hello,

I found Trileptal helps. I am currently taking 300 mg per day. 600 mg was better but secondary effects made me go back to 300 mg.

I tried Clonazepam 0.75 mg per day but it did not help and withdrawal made my tinnitus worse.

 

@Maria Francesca, interesting. I have the same hissing that gets worse as the day progresses. Did your neurologist prescribe the Trileptal? What side effects did you have?

 

Yes my neurologist prescribed it. At 600 mg and more it gives me genital burning (gone to the gynecologist and nothing wrong) which keeps me awake in the night.