Otomize ear spray causes tinnitus

[Dancerdream]

I originally had an occasional tickly type itch in my right ear but nothing so bad I ever saw a dr about it. Then after using ear plugs at night I started getting tinnitus which I could only really hear when completely quiet around me. I had it for a few months before seeing an ent dr. My ent dr gave me Otomize spray for this. I waited another few months (overall it had been almost a year since the tinnitus started) before using it as I was unsure about it but my tinnitus remained the same so I thought I’d give it a go. After three days of using it my tinnitus greatly worsened and is now very loud and noticeable even when not quiet around me. Apart from the risk of it damaging hair cells in the canal due to ototoxicty as it can get into middle ear via tiny perforations (often caused by infection or loud noises ) that ent drs can miss, it is contains a corticosteroid which is antiinflammatory and suppresses your immune system and immune response to any damage in ear from loud noises.

When exposed to loud noises or loud music we often can get a temporary ringing or tinnitus in our ears which is usually gone by the following day. This is because immune cells migrate to the ear canal to repair the damaged hair cells. The immune system heals via creating inflammation. The healing cells are inflammatory cells. If you’re dampening your immune response with corticosteroids then it’s not going to repair and you can end up with permanent ringing or damage.

This happened to me. Although I had a soft quiet tinnitus that was unnoticeable when active in the day time, when exposed to loud music occasionally I would still get that noticeable loud temporary ringing that would still be gone by the following day after being at a party let’s say and I’d be left with the quiet one. But since using Otomize I now have a loud constant ringing like the one that would normally be temporary because I was using the Otomize ear drops during a time where I had my friends birthday party and was exposed to loud music. So my immune response to repair the hair cells was inactive due to the spray.

It enrages me that Dr’s are so narrow minded about these things. It baffles me that most drs seem so uninterested in the actual science of the issues they deal with that they never seem to do their own research and like robots just go by what the outdated book tells them to do.

How someone who has studied science / medicine for years at university in the very least can’t work out how a corticosteroid could hinder hair cell repair after exposure to damaging noise is quite frankly appalling and worrisome. We leave our health in their hands and it seems often their favourite thing to do is tell you that nothing is wrong or can be done.

Anyway I just wanted to post this to stop anyone else making the mistake of using Otomize ear spray especially if they already have tinnitus. Not only because of the damage that can be caused by loud noise exposure whilst taking them but also because ENT drs can miss small perforations in ear drums and if that spray gets into your middle ear it will cause a lot of damage. It’s crazy to even spray any liquid into your ear in my opinion especially something that is toxic and chemical. I feel stupid to of listened to my dr. It’s a shame they are so tight on prescribing oral antibiotics for these issues because an oral antibiotic would definitely be safer for your ears if infection is suspected.

I know there is an issue with resistance to oral antibiotics so they don’t like to prescribe them in most cases but anything to do with your ears is extremely delicate and should be taken very seriously as you cannot get your hearing back.

[ks1966]

Thank you for sharing. Otomize also contains the antibiotic Gentamicin, which is highly ototoxic and can cause serious hearing, vestibular (balance), and dizziness issues.

[Mille23]

I agree with you.

I take immunosuppresive medication ( Imurel) due to an autoimmune disease. I believe this makes my constantly loud tinnitus alive , 24/7. I remember I had a short period without Imurel, and tinnitus went away. My joy of life went back, but only shortly.

[RONf]

This is a first rate post. Having habituated to T, I too was prescribed Otomize for a mild ear infection. This medication had a marked adverse effect on my T and as a consequence took weeks of discomfort & worry to eventually settled down to its pre-Otomize spray level. As a musician/dj I think my T was caused by excess sound damage - so I totally concur with Dancerdream excellent post.

[JPaul73]

Hi Dancerdream. I certainly empathize. This is remarkably similar to what happened to me. I had a mild ear infection roughly 5 years ago and after a few days the condition worsened so I decided to go to the A&E in London's Royal Free Hospital were I was prescribed Otomize. I did not have Tinnitus and had never experienced anything of the sort before in my life (I was 46 at the time). I used the spray only ONCE and after maybe an hour or so a terrific noise began which I quickly realized was Tinnitus. The noise was unbearable and after a surgical intervention that month the decibels came down, the condition was of course distressing but manageable. I have slowly adjusted over time but it has certainly had an impact. I've noticed the condition gets more acute when the weather is particularly cold.