Toronto Tinnitus?

Hey Everyone -

Here's my story so far (38 year old male w/ no prior health issues)

- Dec 20th woke up with left ear fullness/ ear congestion (no cold or any other symptoms) as a result of the fullness it seemed like hearing was diminished
- Dec 29th went to family dr. he looked in ears, used tuning fork etc... couldn't figure it out . Suggested I take over the counter decongestant nasal spray and see if that helped.
- Dec 30th returned to family dr., as fullness seemed to worsen. He was concerned that I could have sudden sudden sensorineural hearing loss and sent me to the ER. ER doctor unable to identify the issue and prescribed prednisone (50mg 7 days) and scheduled an appointment with the hospital ENT the following day
- Dec 31st visit to ENT ran a series of audio tests - hearing was very slightly off in the left ear but not a cause for concern. They performed a nasal endoscopy everything appeared fine. Did one last test, Electronystagmography (ENG) to rule out an acoustic neuroma. They told me told stop the prednisone since SSHL was ruled out
- Dec 31st evening fullness subsided
- Jan 1st fullness returned. I decided to start taking prednisone again since it seemed that was the reason why I the fullness had subsided.
- Jan 2nd fullness was gone (continuing the prednisone)
- Jan 5th returned to family dr. Was told not to take the prednisone any longer (only had one pill remaining at that point). She concluded perhaps it was TMJ related since SSHL and acoustic neuroma had been ruled out. ENT was 100% certain no MRI was needed.
Within a few days of stopping the prednisone a very very high pitch but moderately subtle noise began (tinnitus?) in both ears, more so on the left side, and has continued mostly non-stop since early January.
Jan 24th - Returned to the family dr. to add the noise to my list of symptoms. She suggested it's tinnitus and that perhaps I could go for another hearing test this time at a hearing clinic (since a non-emergency visit to the ENT could take 9 months) to compare the prior results to new results and see if there is any noticeable hearing issues.
Today, I still have the high pitch noise BUT it seems like the fullness feeling is now returning. I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow on a 3 week out of country business trip and am deciding if I need to postpone to deal with this ear situation (It's moderately distracting and I'm truthfully having trouble concentrating on anything beyond my ear since I'm now into this for a month or so with no true diagnosis).

Thoughts? Similar experiences?

 

Have you taken any medication of any sort in the last three months?

 

Late August and early September was taking Claritin and Nasonex for seasonal allergies. I take propecia (daily for the last 4 years). Beyond that, nothing else (aside from the 6 days of prednisone after the fullness started late December/ early Jan).

 

I am really suspicious with all drugs now. Prophecies has been linked with tinnitus. Mine started shortly after some ED medication, although I cannot link it directly to that, but seems coincidental. I still live in hope it will fade away, and in fairness it is not particularly loud, but still annoying!

 

sounds like ETD could be part of the problem, my ears felt full for months before my ETs finally cleared