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Prednisone and Dexamethasone Injection Makes Tinnitus Worse?
Good evening,
I’ve had some mild tinnitus in my left ear for several years but it didn’t significantly impact my quality of life. Last month I incurred some loss of hearing at a loud sporting event with noise makers. It wasn’t terrible but I noticed I wasn’t hearing as well in my left ear. I made an appointment with an ENT, and they had me take 60 mg Prednisone for 7 days and then taper off for another 4 days. I also had an inner ear injection of dexamethasone. Over the course of taking the steroids and the shot, my hearing has not improved and in fact the tinnitus in my left ear is now completely unbearable. It is extremely loud to the point where it almost feels painful. It is all I can hear. I’m on day two of being off the oral Prednisone. I refused any additional injections. I am paralyzed with fear that this could now be permanent. Does anyone else have any experience with Prednisone and the Dexamethasone making things so significantly worse? Will it improve? Thank you for your insight.
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@kap333 Good morning! I've been thinking about you and your recovery. I hope you're doing better by now. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know!
@danadcm69 Hello, I’ve been dealing with my symptoms from a reaction to oral steroids and the injection for almost 6 months. At first it was intense head pressure and loud tinnitus (white noise and little flickering sounds). The head pressure went away after a few weeks, but then it turned into daily, intermittent episodes of swelling in my ears. To the point where my eustachian tubes would swell shut. That lasted several months and got so bad that I took extended leave from work and had several rounds of myringotomies where they put a hole in the ear drums to relieve the air pressure. Now the swelling is mostly gone but my eustachian tubes are still not functioning properly. There is lingering inflammation in the tissue so they are squeaky and crunchy and feel like velcro. I still have much louder tinnitus than my original baseline and hyperacusis in my left ear. I’m still hoping as my eustachian tubes heal maybe my tinnitus and sensitivity to sound will get better. I don’t think the steroids damaged the inner ear, I think I had a systemic reaction that cause my auditory nerve and the auditory part of my brain to become hypersensitive. And I had swelling that caused inflammation in my ears and sinuses. I’ve had an MRI with IAC and am planning on a CT Temporal Bone and a CTV to check for structural or vascular issues. So, I continue to protect my ears and wait to see if things continue to improve. I’m going to try an antihistamine nasal spray because I think seasonal allergies are making my ears more inflamed. Hopefully it helps!
@kap333 Good morning, I had no idea your symptoms were still so bad. I'm so sorry that you have been going through this for so long! I hope you have a strong support network of friends, family, etc. I hope you will keep posting updates. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to get better. I will pray for you daily that you will recover soon and have a more normal life again!
I got Bell’s palsy about eight years ago. I was given a heavy dose of Prednisone. After one week I noticed a ringing sound in my ears. It lasted for a year or so and then went away.
Last year I was given a heavy dose of the same steroid to clear my nose. Within a day the Tinnitus returned. It did not bother me that much. However to open the clogged nose, I got a nasal surgery a few months ago and got more steroids for 10 days. After the dose of steroids finished The doctor asked me to use a nasal spray with steroids. It has made the Tinnitus worse. I am going to stop the nasal spray. Hopefully it will reduce the intensity.
The surgery opened my clogged nose but my left ear gets clogged now plus I have Tinnitus.
You cannot win it all. Hopefully it will become better.
@malikjb I'm very sorry you have had to/are dealing with so much, but I am also very glad and grateful to hear of your experience. Hearing these shared experiences helps me feel validated since so few ENTs or otologists have seen tinnitus or any of my symptoms after taking steroids. I've seen a rheumatologist, neurologist, allergy/immunologist, I've emailed dozens of specialists, got a second opinion from Mass Gen, and none of them have seen or heard of these types of symptoms, however, my current neurotologist, who has been following my situation from early on, does believe the only explanation for the symptoms is that they were caused by some type of unidentified systemic reaction to the Prednisone impacting multiple systems in my head. Likely impacting fluid balance and pressure regulation along with rebound inflammation and/or edema which was severe enough and long-lasting enough to cause the tissues in the eustachian tubes to become very irritated and sensitive. There is definitely some type of central auditory impact because it's like my brain turned up the volume of my tinnitus and developed sensitivity to sound. And honestly, rebound inflammation from steroids has been well documented in the sinuses and skin. It just hasn't been studied in the ears because it is so rare. It is also well documented that high dose steroids can rarely lead to intercranial hypertension. I was not evaluated for that in a timely manner, not until months after I had tapered and the rheumatologist asked me if anyone had looked into it. So just because these symptoms are rare does not mean they aren't real. I hope we all recover with time. Take good care, and thank you for sharing! I know I would welcome updates if you want to share more along your journey.