Tinnitus spike from Citalopram?

[SPARK3L]

I first experienced tinnitus last year and I also suffer from anxiety/depression. I managed to accept it after a while (although it did worsen my anxiety at the time). I've just started to take Citalopram and today my tinnitus has spiked significantly out of the blue - is there a connection here with anti depressants?

[rabbits65]

Yes there is a connection in my opinion , I believe in what I’ve read on this site that people have been made worse with their T . taking certain drugs .

[Rustreloaded]

IMO yes, there's a direct link between SSRIs and Citalopram in particular and tinnitus - my tinnitus first started three days after increasing the Citalopram dose, as directed, after the first 14 days of taking it. That was nearly 4 years ago and I haven't had any improvement in the T since. Personally I can't see why GPs are routinely handing out this drug without doing a test to see if there's any of the risk factors for tinnitus and using something else if there is.

[Ana20]

Hi! After my 16-Year experience with T, I don’t think there is a connection.In my case, I think there is a strong influence of weather changes.

Good health!

[Happyrosie]

Let’s try and tease apart the two issues here if we can. The C is for your anxiety I assume, and from my understanding these SSRI’s take several weeks to have an effect. As with anything you put into your body, whether it’s a medication or food or drink, it will have an effect on you (good or bad).So if it makes your T worse might well be a side effect, along with any other side effects, and it’s pretty well up to you and your doctor between you to decide whether the good of the C is balanced with the bad of the T.

As far as the T is concerned, there are many ways in which you can help your reaction to this nasty issue and I’d urge you to look at the British Tinnitus Association website for help. Many people find sound therapy helpful as you can see if you read posts here. The website has just this week added a new section on relaxation without using sound. Go to the website, put “relaxation” into their search box and choose the second section down.

[romford5]

Good Morning

Been through the same issues myself you will find people will say it does and others have the opposite view personally in my case I was on citalopram for Depression and anxiety but to help with my Tinnitus my GP put me on Amitriptyline to help mainly to help with my anxiety which was making my Tinnitus spike I don't believe personally that various pills cause spikes in Tinnitus anxiety does Tinnitus is what it is unpredictable there will days when you won't notice it then bang it hits you hard which just makes your anxiety worse so you are stuck in this circle its up to you to break the circle I did notice that you only developed Tinnitus recently its always bad at the start a shock to the system but it does calm down you will eventually hibernate the noise and push it into the background but Tinnitus being what it is it will spike as well but there will be a lot more good day's then bad.

Marcus.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

We would always advise contacting your prescribing GP to discuss any changes which concern you, although I recognize that for many people speaking with a doctor is currently very challenging in the pressurized NHS environment of the current time.

Many anti-depressants take multiple weeks to show positive results after changes in medication are put in place. Essentially I'm echoing what Rosie says in her post, although I would add that anti-depressant medication is a treatment for that condition, and not for tinnitus.

If our mood and ability to cope with mental health challenges improves, frequently tinnitus should improve. If improvements in mood are not noticed after a month or so, that might be the point at which follow-up with a GP is needed.

Medication alone might not fix depression or anxiety - what it might do is provide a calmer headspace which allows someone to carry out normal tasks, enjoy activities or do things which give respite or distraction from tinnitus. The more that this is possible, the better the likelihood that someone can find fewer spaces in the day to be bothered by tinnitus.

In true, stuck-in-the-groove style, I'll also suggest that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and talking about problems with an independent counsellor can really help people with mild-to-moderate anxiety and low mood.

Best wishes 👍

Pat

[AldoArgentina]

Hi SPARK3L!! Perhaps these things might help you: 1. You must keep your blood pressure low as you can and is important to control whether you snore. 2. Take Magnesium L. Threonate (Only this Magnesium!!!) six hours before bed. Look for information, this magnesium is really good for brains. 3. Do you know Mimicking fasting diet of Walter Longo? In Argentina there aren't doctors to guide us with this diet, perhaps you can find one. 4. Look for white noise that fits for you. Otin Lucas on youtobe has many and very different white noise masking sounds, which can help you. Yo must found one that, putting it at an adequate volume, clearly makes your T almost disappear. 5.And finally homeopathy might help you too. I’m getting “chininum sulphuricum” and “cuprum” Two things that chinese Homeopath use for T. I’m doing all of these at the same time and my T is going down little by little. I wish you much luck!!

[Antinni1971]

Hi SPARK3L, I had exactly the same experience! I suffer from an High pitch T since january. I went on SSRI on March and things seemed to go Better. Two weeks ago it started a constant Spike in my head 24/24. I'm on escitalopram, maximum dose and I think this Is the cause. I'm starting tapering from 20 drops/day to 15 and look how It goes! Sorry for my English and take care!

[SPARK3L in reply to Antinni1971]

Hi Antinni,

It's not easy! sorry to hear you've had a spike also. I spoke to a doctor a few days ago and I've stopped Citalopram, as the side effects weren't getting better. I'm just trying to get used to the T , it's constant and high pitched. Also, as mentioned on here, it's not always the medication that causes it, it's more the anxiety (I suffer quite badly from anxiety)which makes it more noticeable.

[Antinni1971 in reply to SPARK3L]

So, are you tapering citalopram? How long have you bene taking It? To Say the Truth, I was really anxious and depressed at the beginning but not now, despite of the worsening of my simptom. I was on the maximum dose of escitalopram almost since the beginning and my opinion it's that isn't safe... It can trigger an unbalance in our NCS.

[SPARK3L in reply to Antinni1971]

Ok perhaps my dose was too high? I was only taking it for about 8 days and the sudden spike happened at around day 4. I was taking 20mg. I've completely stopped taking it. The doctor said to wait a week and then potentially try something else, as I'm still struggling with anxiety/depression/nausea etc. I've taken Sertraline in the past, but again I didn't pursue it long enough because of side effects.

[Antinni1971 in reply to SPARK3L]

You must read which Is the maximum dose for depression. The dosage at the beginning must climb gradually. In differenti way, you'll experience some problems...