Tinnitus After Steroid Cream in Ear

[kerry151]

Hello all, new to this site, but learning a lot from all of the posts. I have been experiencing tinnitus in one ear for three months now and the ringing is very loud and high-pitched. I had dermatitis in my ear and stupidly jammed hydrocortisone cream into my ear canal. It was stuck in there for several days then the ringing began. I went to the doctor and she flushed the cream out. I am so distressed that I may have permanently damaged my ear. The ringing is not getting any quieter. The audiologist said that I have no hearing loss. Any help would be most appreciated. I am originally from the UK, but am living in the States. It is so hard to stay positive right now. I feel very alone with very little hope. Thanks.

[Philip6]

Hello, I noticed that no one has replied so thought I would. I don’t think hydrocortisone cream would cause tinnitus. It’s used a lot for various skin conditions. I’ve used it but not in my ears. Here’s a thread asking the same question that might help tinnitustalk.com/threads/hy...

another thing I found online.

Not a Direct Cause:

It's important to note that the hydrocortisone cream itself is not directly known to cause tinnitus, but rather the underlying ear condition or complications that arise from its treatment. So it could be down to the dermatitis.

[kerry151 in reply to Philip6]

Thank you, Philip, for the reply and helpful info. The thing is, the cream was deep inside my ear canal for several days before the ringing began. I just fear that I have caused permanent damage.

[Philip6 in reply to kerry151]

Hydrocortisone is a treatment for ear conditions, steroid ear drops may have been a better choice, but there’s no evidence that the cream causes tinnitus. But to be honest what’s done is done now, there’s no point blaming yourself. Tinnitus can start out of the blue for no apparent reason. Hopefully yours will improve in time, it’s still early days. But I know how hard it is. I’ve had tinnitus for over 20 years. Mine has got worse over the years and is now very severe. It’s no fun at all.