I stopped updating for two weeks due to a health issue — the flu led to sudden hearing loss, and I had to seek medical treatment and take medication.
At first, I experienced the typical symptoms of sudden hearing loss: a sharp drop in hearing, persistent tinnitus, loss of balance, and even extreme sensitivity to sound — noisy environments would trigger headaches. But later on, what became more apparent was the emergence of depressive emotions.
During this process, I’m grateful for my partner’s support, and also for my own self-awareness that helped me recognize my emotional state in time and pull myself out of the negative spiral. In this post, I want to share some of the new things I’ve learned and experienced over these two weeks, in hopes that they may help others.
The biggest insight I gained was learning to distinguish between “medication-induced depression” and depression caused by real-life problems.
Initially, the physical discomfort from hearing loss wasn’t too hard to bear. Rather, the sensitivity to sound severely affected my mental state — during lunchtime chats with colleagues, during subway commutes, or while interacting with friends and family, I could clearly feel both my reduced hearing and the overwhelming noise affecting my mind. While self-awareness helped me notice my discomfort and identify the reasons behind it, constantly having to “accept” this discomfort became a mentally exhausting task.
Gradually, I found myself sinking into depression: low mood, lack of motivation, and extreme fatigue. Although mindfulness and meditation helped me notice the problem, this time it was hard to bounce back with just self-awareness and self-coaching. I knew what I needed to do, but I just couldn’t get myself to act — I had entered a vicious cycle.
Later, I caught a brief emotional high in the middle of this low and began to take positive action. I realized that this depression didn’t come from mostly real-life issue, but rather from a mysterious sense of sadness. It wasn’t until I looked into the side effects of the medication that it all clicked —
Corticosteroids commonly used to treat sudden hearing loss (like Prednisone) can cause side effects or withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and severe fatigue. And my depression noticeably worsened right after the first treatment cycle ended.
So, when negative emotions leave you feeling helpless—
✔️ Even with coping strategies or therapy, you can’t seem to shake it
✔️ You feel emotionally down but can’t find a real-world reason why
It might be worth checking whether any medication you’re taking could be contributing to depression (such as corticosteroids, beta-blockers, etc.).
By keeping a timeline of your medication, comparing it with real-life stressors, and understanding which drugs might cause depression, you can better distinguish the source of your emotional state. Even if you can’t immediately stop the medication, at least cognitively understanding its effects can help reduce its psychological burden.
Gentle Reminder:
This article is meant for self-exploration and is not a diagnostic guideline. If you encounter challenges that feel too difficult to overcome alone, consider seeking support from a professional coach. Additionally, if these experiences are significantly impacting your well-being, consulting a doctor or therapist may be beneficial.
