Hey all

I’ve been struggling with tinnitus since mid march, so about 2 months. It started after loud music exposure at an event.

Fast forward all the misery, the extreme depression, the crying, I was put on 2 weeks of prednisone and as the weeks went by I either habituated or the ringing really got quieter. It felt a lot quieter and I didn’t hear it as often though still there. Just more in the background.

Last week I had my audiology apt finally and surprisingly I have no hearing loss, my hearing is normal on both ears.

My audiologist explained I still hear the ringing because since I had an emotional response and anxiety to it when it was being caused by the loud noise exposure BEFORE prednisone, my brain now thinks it still needs to hear the sound because I had a response to it, so it’s kind of looking for it or creating it.

She recommended resound relief (which I hadn’t looked much into since I felt better) and also CBT which I have scheduled next week and I’ll need to call out of work for.

I also asked if I should avoid certain medications and she said definitely pain killers cause tinnitus (like Tylenol) and I asked about vasodilators like cialis and viagra because I take cialis and never had an issue with it.

Unfortunately she said definitely those cause tinnitus and hearing loss 😣 she said I have to pick which is more important for me basically. But not taking vasodilators means not having a sex life anymore.

I took cialis again and didn’t feel any negative effects or spike in my tinnitus at all. But cialis in general just doesn’t work as well for me anymore.

Fast forward…

Now, I’m back because… I went out to a bar where there was music, not too loud, and once the music got turned up I went home. The ringing got really loud again the rest of that night and the next day.

Eventually it kind of quieted back down somewhat.

Yesterday I tried a new vasodilator, verdenafil (levitra generic). It worked I guess better than cialis which is great, but the ringing intensified a lot unfortunately 😞

So much so that I had a hard time sleeping and it was still very loud this morning.

I don’t know if it’s because I was looking for it and anxious that it would get worse, or it really fucked me up for life now, or if it’ll go back down after a few days… or what. But I’m sad and I’m bummed.

My tinnitus had gotten to the point where I could live with it. The hyperacusis was better, it just was easier to live with overall and I could sleep well etc.

But now I think I lost all of that. And idk what to do. Never have sex again? Live this way forever? Will it get progressively worse with each dose?

I’m just venting but also seeking comfort and advice I guess. Thanks all