What's the Best/Safest Anti-Inflammatory, Least Likely to Make Tinnitus Worse?

My tinnitus (quiet-ish high pitched constant tone, with occasional louder fleeting tones) is related to Eustachian Tube Dysfunction stemming from allergies and TMJD. Tinnitus, ear pain/pressure, headaches, hearing dips, nausea and dizziness... I'll save it for the Introduce Yourself forum.

Basically TMJ specialist prescribed a high dose of Prednisone (60 mg for 5 days, slow taper over 2 weeks) along with Cyclobenzaprine and didn't offer any alternatives despite my asking. I bit the bullet and have been taking the muscle relaxant, but ENT and PCP agreed I shouldn't start the Prednisone because I've been on 2 courses of steroids already in the past month, and because it'll make me more tense/anxious than I already am, which won't help the teeth clenching. Not to mention potential ototoxicity. However, I really do want to get this inflammation under control, and the only alternative that was suggested to me is Naproxen (Aleve).

What are my options? Possibilities I've considered but that I've seen multiple worrying posts about:

• Turmeric
• Omega 3
• Bromelain
• Vitamin D3
• Other supplements
• Prednisone
• Other corticosteroids
• Ibuprofen
• Naproxen
• Other NSAIDs

Tinnitus Talk has anecdotes of everything from Turmeric to Prednisone to Ibuprofen permanently spiking/causing tinnitus. I guess I'm just here to get everyone's opinion on the safest possible (i.e. least ototoxic) option to reduce inflammation. Right now I'm using ice (works) and Omega 3 (if it works, it'll be in a matter of months, right?), and reducing inflammatory foods. I have the Prednisone and Naproxen sitting right in front of me but can't bring myself to take them out of fear of making everything worse, for good. Help a girl out, please?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies. And to all who read this I wish you the very best in managing/reducing/ignoring/embracing your tinnitus and whatever else ails you.

 

• Acupuncture
• TMJ massage
• TCM
• Heat therapy
• Infrared therapy

 

Turmeric makes tinnitus worse? How so?

 

If you're sensitive to salicylates, Turmeric might not agree with you.

 

I can understand the Cyclobenzaprine but Prednisolone for Eustachian tube dysfunction seems heavy. It's a serious drug. Aspirin is not; Aspirin is only ototoxic at high doses.

 

A friend of mine, a doctor, said anti-inflammatories work on a trial and error basis. People react differently to these drugs, so it's hard to anticipate which anti-inflammatory will work best for you.

 

Please do not take the Naproxen! It has made my life (hopefully temporarily) hell after only being on it for 5 days in mid January. I would avoid any other similar drugs like other NSAIDs or Aspirin. Sometimes you have to take a gamble but I just wanted to share my experience because I wish someone had warned me. I thought it was only ototoxic at super high doses taken for a very long time.

 

Thanks for everyone's recommendations! I'm just checking back now after a little while away from this forum.

That's basically how I saw it too. Had I taken the Prednisone course recommended by the TMJ specialist, it actually would have been the THIRD course they put me on in one month (!) and the strongest/longest course at that, which is why I hesitated. No denying I have issues with inflammation, but the steroid side effects were part of what was making me so tense to begin with.

Neurotologist recently assured me that steroids aren't ototoxic unless you're taking a very, very extended course. Not saying he was misleading me, but there are plenty of accounts on here to the contrary. For that matter there are plenty of accounts of Aspirin at low doses being an issue as well. The next orofacial specialist ended up putting me on 2400 mg Ibuprofen daily for a week and I went with it cause I absolutely had to do something about my TMJ. It messed up my stomach pretty badly but no associated tinnitus spike at least. That same specialist then tried to sell me on $4000 Invisalign, which I couldn't afford anyway, and which I know to be a much surer trigger than cure of somatic tinnitus.

I've always been trusting of experts, and ready to get any recommended treatment over with. Jaw issues and ear issues have changed all that forever. I haven't been back to Ms. Invisalign but TMJ hasn't cured itself so I'm seeing a chiropractor on Friday, the only one around here that treats TMJ. I'm well aware chiropractors have been known to make all of this worse too, but in my area there are no physical therapists or dentists treating TMJ who aren't (VERY) poorly reviewed. I'm scared to make things worse but suffering too much not to address it somehow.

Sorry about the long-winded tangent, but coming back to this post just reminded me how much things have developed and simultaneously gone nowhere at all in the past month or so. Feels like I'm on a fucked up merry-go-round lol.

 

Hi there @uncomfy,

Just wondering how the chiropractor has been working for you, and/or whether you've found anything else that helps? I too struggle with TMJD (which has worsened with tinnitus & hyperacusis onset) & am at the point of really needing to take some action on it.

 

Ibuprofen, especially in high doses, has been identified as a cause for tinnitus. It may have triggered mine. At orthopedic doctor's orders, I was taking 1600 mg/day for nearly a month.

 

Hi Nick! Can Cyclobenzaprine cause tinnitus? What do you understand about it? I was taking it for my headaches that started from my withdrawal of Accutane, and my tinnitus started the next day. Hmm.

 

It's a centrally acting muscle relaxer that is sometimes recommended for tinnitus. There are a couple of studies. It's reasonably safe. It can interact if you are on other tricyclic antidepressants.