Ringing in my ears

[alvertta]

I just had a half hour nap after lunch. Woke up with ringing in my ears. Been going on for an hour now. Is this prednisone related? GCA since October 2018. Started at 60. Currently on 14.

[SnazzyD]

Ringing ears can be due to a number of causes. Any other symptoms? Both sides? Have you got a cold at all?

[alvertta in reply to SnazzyD]

I had a cold a week ago. Both sides. No other symptoms other than I am tired.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It could be pred - but it could be GCA or a whole load of other things. I would be seeking immediate medical advice for such sudden onset tinnitus.

[alvertta in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks. I have a doctor appt Friday. Is that too far away?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to alvertta]

I don't know, I don't have a crystal ball. If it were to be due to the GCA then yes - GCA doesn't only cause visual symptoms.

[alvertta in reply to PMRpro]

I just reduced yesterday 15 to 14.

[alvertta in reply to PMRpro]

Ok. Off I go. Thanks.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to alvertta]

Better to go once too often that miss the important symptom. All the best.

[alvertta in reply to PMRpro]

All good. Emerg doc says keep an eye on it. See family doc Friday. Thanks.

[Blearyeyed]

Has your Tinnitus reduced yet?

It is common for me , I had it before GCA as part of other conditions and it also gets worse with colds or headaches.

It was good to have it checked early to make sure there was no ongoing swelling or infection in your ear to cause it.

As they said , keep an eye on it , but also try to distract yourself from listening to it as it can get and feel worse to hear if you concentrate on it.

Don't sleep on your side , try and sleep on your back with both head , neck and shoulders cushioned as this helps if the ear is making minor changes in fluids in the bones after a cold

If you start having dizziness , headache on the same side , the sound of it gets very loud or changes ( pulse , popping etc.) call and go back as it can lead to temporary loss of hearing in the ear.

If it doesn't go or is constant in a few weeks without other symptoms still go back to have it checked again. You may benefit from antibiotics or other treatment to get it under control.

[alvertta in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thank you for the tips. Still going this morning.

[Mikb]

I have had tinnitus since I started prednisone in May 2017

[Skysey]

Dear Alvertta.

It is difficult to know what might be causing the ringing in your ears. Have you recently had your Pred dose reduced? It might be worth letting your rheumatologist know.

I have some vibration in the back of my head and not sure if it is due to the steroids or the GCA.

[alvertta in reply to Skysey]

I just went from 15 to 14. Seeing family doc on Friday.

[luv2read]

I've had ringing in my ears for the last 2 weeks! Well, it started as humming and now it's more of a ring. It is driving me crazy. I am wondering why all of a sudden? I have had no cold symptoms at all. I am down to 5 mg of pred, but have been at that dosage since beginning of January, so I can't think it would be that. I have an appt with the rheumatologist first week of March and will definitely bring it up. I hate that something that starts as an annoyance, could mean something entirely different when you have GCA.

[alvertta in reply to luv2read]

Yup. Annoying.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to luv2read]

When you reduce the dose of pred to slightly below the level required to fully manage the inflammation it can take some time to build up far enough to be noticeable - typically a month or more, which is why we keep banging on about not reducing too often or you lose track of what happened where. And an increase in disease activity for whatever reason can happen at any time.

[Hidden]

Great keep finding more things. I thought my tinnitus was just that.

Mine is very doable as it sounds like crickets with a few frogs thrown in. I have had it for years now. I see my doc on Friday and my eye doc tomorrow I will ask them about it.

Does yours have a nice sound?

[alvertta in reply to Hidden]

Low buzz. Hoping it goes away.

[Mikb]

My tinnitus sounds like number 2

soundrelief.com/tinnitus/so...

[alvertta in reply to Mikb]

Thanks!

[Loco99]

My tinnitus started around about the same time as my PMR and was thoroughly investigated and put down to hearing loss, I’m still not sure about that but have learned to live with it.

Sometimes it goes away completely for a brief amount of time which is wonderful but it always comes back again.

As PMR is a type of vasculitis and involves blood vessels I’m pretty sure it is related to tinnitus but the doctors don’t agree with me.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Loco99]

There is research linking GCA and 8th cranial nerve damage leading to ear signs and symptoms.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/314...

This is new stuff - but it has been talked about in the literature for 15-20 years at least.