Tinnitus and metformin

[boilingbogwo]

Hello, I have had tinnitus in the form of a hissing sound in both ears since January 2020. I thought I was coping with it OK, it had essentially become background noise but in the past 5 weeks it has gotten considerably louder which coincides with taking metform for diabetes at two tablets per day, prior to it getting louder I was on one tablet per day with no ill effects.

Has anyone got any experience of taking metformin and has it affected your tinnitus at all? My doctor wants to start me on a statin and then blood pressure medication, I am worried doing anything further will make the tinnitus worse.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Neil.

[Happyrosie]

Nobody has replied, boilingbogwo, so it looks like no one has had exactly your experience with this medication.I’m a complete amateur, but have a thought or two -

Maybe the medication would improve your general health and thus allow the T to settle?

I gather you are on the verge of diabetes and your cholesterol is high, so getting these things under control should help you. You may be able to get these under control without medication by really paying attention to your diet and exercise, and by reducing your anxiety. Such as breathing techniques.

[boilingbogwo in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks for the info.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hi Neil

I don't know that it shows evidence one way or the other, but there are a total of four reports of tinnitus reacting to the medication out of 2964 reactions recorded by the Yellow Card scheme. These are reports - the person noting the reaction believes the medication was responsible - rather than cases which have been fully investigated.

Best wishes

Pat

BTA Admin

[boilingbogwo in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

No smoke without fire perhaps. I am knocking the meds back to 500mg per day and will note any changes. Thanks for the info on this.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

We wouldn't advise making any changes to medications without first consulting your GP - on the other side of things, four is a tiny number of reports given the numbers of people on medications of this type. Absolutely your call, of course.

[boilingbogwo in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

You are right I have further checked and 4 cases is very low. I'm also getting insomnia though - is this being caused by the increased Tinnitus or something with the medication? I am not sure. The yellowcard scheme website is fascinating but probably a bit dangerous for me to read through.

[Happyrosie in reply to boilingbogwo]

I know you're in communication already with Pat at the BTA but I wonder if you've read the BTA website? There's so much helpful information on their (not dangerous!!!! written for you and me!!!) which might well help your knowledge.

[Don_Alejandro]

Hi Neil

I've been taking metformin for just over 3 years, but have only developed tinnitus this year.I take the slow release variety of metformin - sukkarto are the brand I'm usually given.

I originally took 3 metformin a day, but now that my HB level is low I just take the one, I am hoping to come off them altogether at my next review in January.

Although I'm plagued with all sorts of health problems and have concerns about the various medications I take, I found it fairly easy to lose weight and lower my HB level. My score was originally 77, I'm now 41. I'm lighter now than I have been since my early 40s - I'm now 65. It can be done.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think metformin has been the cause of my tinnitus, neither do I think it's made it worse. But one's general health is very important and in my limited experience of tinnitus it doe seem to be the case that it recedes a little when I'm more rested and relaxed, when I haven't been drinking alcohol or overdoing things. All of which is easier said than done of course.

Please let me know whether your tinnitus improves if you cut back to one tablet a day.

[boilingbogwo in reply to Don_Alejandro]

Thanks very much for sharing that info. I will give it a try for two weeks.

I’m just trying to accept the sounds there at the moment and not get too stressed about it. I habituated to it initially, I am hopeful I can do it again.