Tinnitus Onset Out of Nowhere

Hi all,

I've been experiencing constant tinnitus for the past week after it came out of nowhere! I'm 21 years old and otherwise in good health so I'm surprised to experience tinnitus for so long (the uncertainty is little scary). I haven't been to a concert for at least 2 months and I don't feel sick or have any pain in my ear.

I suspect TMJ may be the culprit as a dentist I visited last summer said I was grinding my teeth quite a bit and my jaws do feel a bit sore.

I visited an ENT today and was prescribed amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin ear drops.

There was blood/wax in my ear that was left over from a rough syringing session after I went to go see a nurse last Friday. The ENT doctor was able to get out the residue today and told me to take the prescriptions although he made no mention if this was to prevent an ear infection or treat a current one. I have no problem taking the amoxicillin but I'm hesitant starting the ciprofloxacin ear drops.

After scourging this forum it seems that the drops are ototoxic and can exacerbate the tinnitus that was already existing, especially since I'm not displaying any symptoms of an ear infection (E.g. liquid discharge, pain, etc).

Would it be sufficient if I just took the amoxicillin for now to prevent any infections and not start with the drops just yet?

My plan is to start the drops IF I start getting symptoms of an ear infection. What do you guys think?

 

I doubt they are giving you amoxicillin to prevent anything. That's not really a good practice from my understanding. Doctors usually let things try to resolve naturally first. There are also studies that show some antibiotics are ototoxic but that's a personal decision you will have to make. There will come a point where you can't avoid them in life (my 2 cents).

If you are having TMJ issues I would check in with a dentist and look at TMJ exercises or TMJ appliances. There is no downside to these treatments outside of the cost and would help with your jaw pain at a minimum.

 

Any updates jerryji?