Tinnitus and prednisone

[Ozark]

Just a quick question, has anyone experienced either an increase or the onset of tinnitus while taking prednisone? In my case I've had tinnitus at a very low level in my right ear since I was in my twenties from listening to too much loud rock music. But now I've noted a considerable increase in the loudness of my tinnitus which I'm speculating "may" be caused by the 10 mg dose of prednisone that I'm taking. So if anyone else has experienced tinnitus while taking prednisone I'm curious to know about your experience.

[Yellowbluebell]

I havnt personally had tinnitus but I believe there are some forum members who have this. Everyone is probably fast asleep now but you will no doubt get answers later on today. YBB

[Ozark in reply to Yellowbluebell]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I live in the Eastern Time zone of the United States so I wasn't really expecting an immediate response given the time zone differential between here and the UK.

[Yellowbluebell in reply to Ozark]

I am the "nocturnal" moderator on the forum, so often just like to let you know we got the message but all the normal people in the UK are asleep!! I will watch out in the morning to make sure you get replies. YBB

[Ozark in reply to Yellowbluebell]

Thank you.

[piglette]

I get tinnitus with pred off and on.

[Ozark in reply to piglette]

Interesting. Thank you for the reply.

[Hidden in reply to Ozark]

Until people wake up you may be interested in looking at this tinnitus website just to get a broader feeling of people's experiences. From what I can see generally pred can both cure and possibly cause tinnitus. My apologies if you have seen it before.

tinnitustalk.com/

[Yellowbluebell in reply to Hidden]

Thanks poops. Thought everyone would be asleep. I am sure bee has both so she should reply in the morning as well.

[piglette in reply to Ozark]

I was reading in the papers today that they may have a pill that will cure tinnitus. I don’t know how long it will take to be available, probably years, but you never know.

[lesley2015]

Hi Ozark

Yes I have tinnitus, been on preds for 4 years now, started low grade in one ear, now increased to severe in both. I have been given hearing aids which does help reduce it but they in themselves cause me problems, seeming to make my head feel over sensitive to noise, especially back ground noise, chewing all sorts of things ....it has reduced the tinnitus in the day, but with the extra noise and the tinnitus, feels like my head will explode sometimes. At night, I have a white noise machine on to help me fall to sleep, but as with many on this forum, (as in tonight!) sleep eludes me, insomnia is my constant companion!

The medics say my tinnitus is not connected to preds .... however, I have a lovely tinnitus specialist lady who sees me and she says many people with conditions like PMR/GCA/Fibro have these 'addons' and she sees lots of tinnitus sufferers with similar conditions .... so is it the condition or medication? or hearing loss/damage? ...... my own personal opinion and not based on anything scientific is that for me, it has been the steroids ..... but unfortunately having got down to 2mg (back up again now and reducing again), it did not improve so think I am stuck with it.

I hope yours settles soon. best wishes.

[Poppy06]

Hi Ozark I have tinnitus which has got worse over the last 10 years since being steroid dependant. I’ve been on 12.5 mg pred during this time. I would say you know your body better than anyone so go with your instinct. Best Wishes

[polymy]

I have had tinnitus due to Menieres Disease for many years. I would agree that the tinnitus has got louder while on Pred. Before that it was pretty constant and I barely noticed. Have found it more intrusive of late.

[Hidden]

Yes i have aquired low level tinnitus since starting 15mg Pred 10 days ago i was'nt overly concerned as i had hoped it would reduce as i reduced dose, but since reading these posts, i'm now more worried it may be permanent?

[palewolf]

Hi, yes I have had tinnitus on and off for many years, but I have noticed it is much worse since taking Pred. Now it is continuous whereas before it was intermittent, only in my left ear though.

[Pongo13]

I suffered at my higher dose of pred 20-30, but it has gone back to "normal" for me on lower dose.

[SnazzyD]

I had tinnitus quite badly with a Pred but started on 60mg instantly. Mainly my right ear where my GCA was worst, but that could be coincidence as it is the ear that got damaged by my continually screaming baby years ago. It got worse when I over did it and still get it now at 2mg.

[Hellyowl]

I have low level tinnitus in the side I had my GCA and flares. I have one sided GCA. As I also had 48 hours deafness from gigs in my youth and as I am aging I am not surprised. I think the GCA has made it worse. As it is only one sided I have never blamed the pred. But maybe??? I havnt gotten round to a hearing test yet

[PiersC]

I had not thought of this one as being yet another joyous result of PMR. I have had tinnitus for years (small arms and naval gunfire + no ear protection - smart I know!!) - and yes, now you raise the point I think the tinnitus has got a bit worse - it even wakes me up in the night which is a fun side effect. At least I might have a reason for that now - thanks and all the best from downunder!!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Are you sure it hadn't increased with the PMR before you went on pred? I had tinnitus with PMR and it took some time on pred before it went. It can be a symptom of impaired blood flow to the ears - and found in GCA, a paper is in publication about that.

The conundrum is pred does have tinnitus as a listed side effect - but is used to treat some forms of tinnitus!

[Ozark in reply to PMRpro]

As I said above I had low-level tinnitus since I was in my twenties. However, since I raised my prednisone dose to 11 mg from around 7.5 mg about 2 months ago I've noticed an increase in the volume of my tinnitus. I'm just hoping this is not permanent and that once I begin to taper the tinnitus volume will reduce accordingly.

[Roltuba]

Sorry you've got tinnitus. I've had it for over 20 years, long before I got PMR. My experience of dealing with it suggests that it gets worse when I'm tired and/or stressed. Sadly PMR tends to bring both, so I wouldn't blame it on pred.

[Ozark in reply to Roltuba]

I agree with you, in my case I am tired much of the time because I suffer from insomnia as well. And like you I find that when my sleep is insufficient the volume of my tinnitus also increases. I've had sleep problems for years and it is only recently when I increased my dose of prednisone that I noticed an increase in the volume of my tinnitus over and above what I have normally experienced. I think might be related to that but I cannot be sure. In any event, it is just another affliction of old age and I'm going to have to learn to live with.

[AliDeJ]

Yes, at higher doses of 40 to 25 mg I had tinnitus and was very concerned. My eyesight was similarly disturbed and also my sense of taste and temperature recognition of hot and cold food/drinks was distorted. Thankfully this passed as the preds were reduced. I was especially concerned because of the GCA pain in my head at the same time as the tinnitus but I saw hearing and eye specialists at the hospital who reassured me. It's a scary thing and I hope you have relief soon.

[SheffieldJane]

I do get the odd whistling sound or whooshing in my ears since Pred. It doesn’t bother me too much, it is low on my particular list of miseries. However, it may be worse for you because you have it already due to the rock and roll days. I would run it past your GP.

[Ozark in reply to SheffieldJane]

I will do that. I'll be seeing my internal medicine doctor in the latter part of August.

[Ciar]

I’ve always had tinnitus. It got worse in my 20s from too loud music, and it’s been getting worse again since I got PMR. I doubt it’s the prednisone for me, but really, I don’t know why.

[GerriMc]

Yes, I think I have. I’ve had tinnitus for years, as a sound recordist, I spent years using headphones so I’m blaming that. Since getting PMR, it has definitely gotten worse. So it’s probably the Pred. I started on 20 mgs just over two years ago. Down to 4 now but tinnitus not getting any better.

[PMRsince2014]

Yes my experience too after going on pred. I recall answering an NHS survey on this a couple of years ago so looks like the medics are aware of a possible link. Hopefully will ease we we get off the pred. (However I'm now year 5 but you never know!) Best of luck

[PMRnewbie2017]

I had intermittent tinnitus for probably 18 months prior to diagnosis with PMR and GCA. It has disappeared since being on Pred.

[CT-5012]

I don’t remember NOT having tinnitus, hearing probably damaged as a baby during the war (thanks Adolf) my farther used to tell me to think of something nice or sing it away. 😂 It definitely got worse when I started on pred but has improved as I’ve reduced. All good wishes that yours will go away.

[Grants148]

Hi Ozark ,l have a constant pulsing in my right ear,it sometimes misses beats which also affects my pulse,l find it quite scary when that happens and my GP said it is the PMR pinching a blood vessel in my neck !l have had this problem on whatever dose of pred l have been on ,l am down to 4mg now but felt better on 5mg.,my GP wants me to lower the dose even more but l will not be able to ,whatever l do l shall still have the tinnitus ! I hope that yours will diminish as you lower your dose of pred .

[GOOD_GRIEF]

Yep, I have tinnitus, too. Don't know where it came from.

What I can tell you is that for me it's an early warning that my dose is too low, often when I am late or missed my dose. Once the pred kicks in, it goes away.

They always did call me odd....

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to GOOD_GRIEF]

Sounds like it is due to vasculitis then - and it is known to be part of GCA.

[GOOD_GRIEF in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, which is why I'm reducing as s l o w l y as a tortoise.

I'm far more afraid of the vasculitis than I am of the pred.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to GOOD_GRIEF]

Me too!!!!

[HelenDaisy]

I blame my tinnitus on the speakers at a Who concert in my early 30s! BUT it is worse after starting Pred. My rhuemy said it wasn't a side effect. I disagree. (Sorry for the underline, it's my crazy PC!)

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to HelenDaisy]

If it isn't a recognised side effect of pred - how come it appears in all the lists of side effects?

[Ozark]

Ah yes, some of us carry the auditory scars from the rock concerts of our youth. We didn't know any better at the time. And I also disagree with your rhuemy, too. Thank you for the reply.