Severe tinnitus attack that woke me up and slightly blurry eyes

[Mstiles]

It’s 3:00 a.m. here in California and I’ve been woken up by extremely loud tinnitus. Seems worse in the right ear but it’s hard to tell.

My Opthomologist has been treating me for dry eyes with eye drops but that hasn’t really cleared the somewhat fuzzy vision. I’ve also recently had left side shoulder and neck pain that ibuprofen cream or tablets haven’t seemed to help much. Wondering if it could be PMR flaring up even this pain is only on the left side.

I’ve had these middle of the night tinnitus flare ups a few times before but never this loud.

I’m currently on 9 mg. of prednisone. Haven’t ever below gotten below this.

Could this be GCA?

Very intense family problems have gotten worse recently.

Thank you for your help.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Would say it's definitely aflare a personal issues have deteriorated recently- but whether PMR or GCA it's difficult to say. Maybe treat as a flare anyway... extra 5mg for week or so, and then take it from there. Or does extra Pred exacerbate tinnitus?

[Mstiles in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you Dorset Lady for your very helpful reply. I’ve had tinnitus along with the hearing loss for a long time. It has always varied in intensity but definitely gotten worse as the hearing worsened. Hearing aides have not improved it. I don’t think the pred has caused it to be worse, I’ve been on it since 2018 and can’t remember all the ups and downs.

I f it doesn’t improve I think I will try the 5 mg increase for a week.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Mstiles]

Worth a try -if it’s only a week and doesn’t work -then you may have some sort of answer..

My MIL had tinnitus- and she used to say how unpleasant it was.. 🌸

[KCRoyals in reply to Mstiles]

Have had tinny for over 40 years and have somehow managed to cope with it even though sometimes you feel like jumping under a bus, It is NEVER going to be curable,. That from the horses mouth. Been on pred for 18 years and never known it increase Tinnitus. Maybe it has but never noticed it. As DL said increase to 5mg for a couple of weeks.

[Mstiles in reply to KCRoyals]

Thanks KC. Wow your are a long timer for sure.

[KCRoyals in reply to Mstiles]

Yup, was told it would last about 2 years. Nice up in N Calif, used to stay in SF and go up to Eureka and Oregon. Happy days backpacking around States and Mexico.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

If it is existing tinnitus that worsened, it may be worth seeking advice at least. There is not a lot to be done about it but it can be the sign of other things, including GCA. When a PMR flare starts it can often be one sided - until the other side catches up!

[Mstiles in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks Pro.

[Blondiblue]

This is just to say that my PMR was only ever on one side, so it does happen.

[sidra1968 in reply to Blondiblue]

Me too, pretty much.

[oscarina]

not being an alarmist here, but a sudden increase in tinnitus can be indicative of a developing vascular issue that should be addressed in the not too distant future by your internist or otolaryngologist. May require a cranial MRI, noninvasive, and if any vascular issue is seen then more thorough exam by a neuro/vascular specialist can be done. That later testing is more complex and has some other concerns attached to the procedures. But first rule out the possible tinnitus causes with a sit down with your doctor. Then you may want a white noise machine and lots of Teleman trumpet concertos playing for distraction.

[Mstiles in reply to oscarina]

Thank you. By chance I’m seeing an otolaryngologist today about an echoing ear problem so I will definitely mention the tinnitus.

It has calmed down the last 2 nights when it was so loud it woke me up at 2-3 a.m.

[whitefishbay]

Belated reply. Once I woke up early because I could hear screaming. I woke up with a start and when I looked at my husband he was fast asleep. It was tinnitus. It was horrible but then after a couple of minutes it went away. It was SO LOUD. You have my sympathy. I am half deaf but not tinnitus. As I understand it, it is better if you are busy in the day but you have to figure out a way to live with it (another thing to learn to live with). Thinking of you. xx

[Mstiles in reply to whitefishbay]

Thank you. I’ve pretty much adapted during the day but night is when it sometimes becomes a problem. I’d never heard it as loud as this episode!

[whitefishbay]

Would a white noise machine help at night?