Antidepressant Medication caused my tinnitus

[BlackpooLWelsh]

I started taking Sertraline about 3 weeks ago and developed tinnitus after taking them for 9 days, I then carried on taking them for another 5 days but the tremors were to hard to deal with. My doctor then put me on mirtzapine, I woke up this morning with screaming tinnitus which has calmed down but is a lot louder than it was yesterday. I am now scared to carry on taking the medication as I was hoping after stopping the sertraline the tinnitus would go away. Has anyone else had similar experiences and what was the outcome? Thanks for reading M

[perlcoder]

I can offer a somewhat dissimilar experience. I appreciate that such a contribution may not help, but the, perhaps the more information we all have the better.

I have had T for almost 22 years. For the first 15 it was intermittent (day on / day off). It was intrusive when on, but I got by well enough. Five years ago it intensified considerably, and for that and other reasons I was prescribed Sertraline, building up to (I think), 200 mg per day, then down from it to zero a couple of years ago. So, obviously, I began from a position of relatively severe T, not from silence.

I believe that the Sertraline was helpful to me when I was taking it, but I don't think (who can be certain about such things?), that it made my own severe T any better or worse. My very personal belief is that for most of us the relationship between drugs (there are definite exceptions such as some used in the treatment of cancer), and the onset or intensification of T is coincidental. I may be wrong.

Lastly, deep sympathy for waking with screaming T. I have been there - often still am.

[BlackpooLWelsh in reply to perlcoder]

Thanks I was waking up with panic attacks and that why I was given the medication, which has now brought on tinnitus, I will get through it

[Happyrosie]

Hello BlackpoolWelsh - I cannot offer a similar experience but I do have very loud T and have had it since my teens. I have never taken anything for it - but we all react to medication in different ways and our experience of T differs too.

Can I suggest that you go to the British Tinnitus Association website and find their excellent module called "Take on Tinnitus". Go through it and you may find information there that could be helpful - certainly it won't hurt!

[BlackpooLWelsh in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks for information and I will have a look

[DR650SE]

HiI have been on Mirtazapine 7.5mg for 3 weeks

My doctor prescribed it because of chronic insomnia

After 3 weeks my sleep quality has declined on the mirtazapine

It was great initially

The noise is definitely more intrusive

I am going to taper off Mirtazapine because of the noise and the fact that the sleep is twilight only with multiple awakenings in a night

Perhaps check out my recent posts

Tinnitus Silver bullet

When I come of the Mirtazapine I am struggling with what to take next as I need sleep

Before the Mirtazapine I was a chronic insomniac Could go for days and nights being totally alert but like an exhausted zombie

I am really keen to know what your next step will be as we are both in the same position in terms of prescribed medication aggravating our circumstances

I thought agomelatine ,CBD oil or 5HTP

Jury is out on this

Peter

[msspinner in reply to DR650SE]

Peter, I've just been prescribed Citalopram because of chronic insomnia. It's only been two days so far but the T has not got worse.

[DR650SE in reply to msspinner]

Thanks for letting me knowI wonder if it is addictive and whether or not it can be taken on an on going basis ?

This forum is really good for sharing info

Thanks

Peter

[msspinner in reply to DR650SE]

I've never found SSRI medication (of which Citalopram is one) to be addictive. This could in part be because you don't associate improvements with the tablet.

My doctor said it could take up to two weeks for any benefits to take effect but honestly after two days I feel the quality of sleep has improved. Perhaps just the comfort of being looked after is making the difference.

By the way, on your post about insomnia, you mentioned drinking tea. As that contains caffeine, it is best to avoid 8 hours before bedtime.

[DR650SE in reply to msspinner]

would it be possible to keep in touch please as I am really keen to hear how you go I thought it was initially a sleeping tablet but I see now that it is an antidepressant

Therefore my questions about addiction are not applicable

Thanks again for chatting to me

[msspinner in reply to DR650SE]

Yes, of course it's okay to keep in touch. Take care and hope you get a good night's sleep soon 😊

[DR650SE in reply to msspinner]

thanks will do

[Black-cat666 in reply to DR650SE]

Have the the cb oil didnt work for me mayb some of thisr gummiesx

[Snappy001]

I spoke to an audiologist a few years ago and her explanation to waking up with T as it is in my case was that in human development early humans were at their most vulnerable to attack when they were sleeping and on awakening their brain would kick in with all of its senses, sight, hearing etc to search for predators. When the hearing part of the brain is not receiving the correct information it goes into turbo mode searching for the high frequency signals (as in my case of noise induced hearing loss ) and that causes the T that I hear. As the day progresses my T mostly eases off and on some occasions totally disappears.

[purenostalgia]

Hi BlackpoolL Welsh

I take medication for a heart complaint including Baby Aspirin but I do not take anything to help control my Tinnitus which in March was unbearable.

I find hearing aids has helped.

In the early days of my Tinnitus about 20 years ago when it was very low, I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic, I started using Canderel instead of sugar, my Tinnitus went through the roof and I suffered headaches. after 2 weeks I stopped using it and things returned to normal.

Apparently there are questions about the main ingredient Aspartame.

Take care

Mike

[Marlayna]

Hello. I’ve had T for 45 years and have been on and off many meds during that time. First, let me calm you by saying no drug I have ever taken has caused the tea to spike permanently. It more or less is what it is. Secondly, I would advise you to pay attention to ototoxic drugs. I have learned what they are, at least the worst offenders, and I make sure I do not let doctors prescribe them for me. I do have to argue because they do tell me it’s going to be OK and I always put my foot down and just say no thanks. Sometimes I’ve had to make the decision to take them anyway if the condition warranted it, but I limit the exposure. Tylenol is one of them, but during major surgeries and severe neck pain, I will take it if I have to. But never long-term and only if I must. As for depression, I found Zoloft very helpful and it gave me no issues back in the day. With T, you will have to be the most informed and in charge of which drugs you choose to take. It can be a battle but you will win. Hang in there!

[Rustreloaded]

Had a similar situation, 2018 prescribed Citalopram because I was overwhelmed at work (I've now found that was caused by something that couldn't be "fixed" by medication), I was given a starter dose for 14 days and after that I was to double the dose. Day 3 after doubling the dose I woke up with T, it has been my constant companion ever since even though I stopped taking the Citalopram shortly afterwards. When I next consulted my GP her response was that Citalopram doesn't cause T, before consulting her copy of MIMS when I insisted that it did then uttering a two letter word which destroyed any remnant of faith I had in her or in the pharmaceutical industry .... "OH". What I learned from that is do your own research before taking anything your GP prescribes. Hope your T either subsides or that you find a way to manage it that doesn't impact on your life too greatly but I'd get straight back to your doctor before taking any more ototoxic medication.

[BlackpooLWelsh in reply to Rustreloaded]

Thanks. I am hoping it does as well as still have night time anxiety and now made worse by tinnitus. One food thing to come out if it is that I started regular exercise and totally cut out alcohol. So hopefully can turn a negative into a positive

[Rustreloaded in reply to BlackpooLWelsh]

Always look for the silver lining, there are few situations where one does not exist and it often more than compensates for the black cloud it accompanies.

[NF2K in reply to Rustreloaded]

Rustreloaded , has your tinnitus changed much over time? I think mine also started from taking escitalopram (citalopram derivative) in 2017, which I gave up after a few weeks. My tinnitus peaked around the 2-year mark and has slowly gotten less intrusive since then up to today. For me I found cutting out caffeine and improving/straightening-up my sitting posture have helped reduce it the most

[Rustreloaded in reply to NF2K]

Haven't noticed any decline in it although it's definitely worse if I'm stressed or tired. In the early days I would get the occasional wooshing noise with some loss of balance and then back to the usual high pitched whine - I don't get that wooshing noise so often now, that's the only difference really. There seem to be so many of us that developed T after taking SSRIs and yet GPs still seem to be handing them out blithely, in my case, without even knowing it can cause T. Let's hope at some point there's a call for people to join a class action.

[NF2K in reply to Rustreloaded]

Thanks for the reply. (Sorry I'm quite late.) I've never had whooshing or balance issues personally as far as I can recall, just high pitched whines of various frequencies, and later (about a year or so into my tinnitus) a low hum. It's usually been one or other, and often neither more recently :)It's a tricky topic I think because the medications in question probably help more people than they harm, and tinnitus is listed as a possible side effect so I feel like the manufacturer's have probably covered their backs? Also it could be tricky to prove it was indeed the medication that was the cause and not something else. Obviously I'm not wanting to take their side or anything.

If there is some kind of monetary redress in the future I hope (at least some of) it will go towards research on a cure

[Laura1325]

Dear Blackpool, I’m so sorry for your struggle. Here my experience about T and antidepressants, I was diagnosed a mayor depression 3years ago and started to take prozac. My T has started just with my depression because all my body was overwhelmed with tension, I remember many nights with all my muscles shaking it was a nightmare but then with the time my body started to react to the medication and I felt much better! The T was still there but I was happier and dealing with it was much easier because the important thing to me was to come back to a “normal and functional life”. Now I’m not taking Prozac anymore and of course the T is still part of my life. Many cases of T are related to a strong stress, my advice here is just allow yourself a bit of time and see. take care.