amitriptyline

[Healthymetoday]

Has anyone found that a low dosage of amitriptyline helps with tinnitus? Also, is chronic facial and neck pain and tmj a potential cause of tinnitus? My dentist feels that a night guard would help alleviate my tinnitus.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Amitriptyline may help people who experience a great deal of anxiety or stress in relation to their tinnitus - it wouldn't necessarily address tinnitus directly but might help people to manage some of the difficulties which they have with it.

There is a medical advisory at the British National Formulary website - bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/amitr... - for advice on this medication. I would suggest to anyone reading it that they not automatically disregard it when they look at side effects for amitryptaline - tinnitus does come up in the 'frequency not known' category.

That doesn't guarantee that tinnitus is a likely side effect but instead states that some people have reported a change in their tinnitus following usage. This could mean that less than a hundred people over twenty years of recording statistics have suggested a reaction.

There are no medications which can be guaranteed to eradicate tinnitus or suppress it at this time - and in fairness to this medication, that wouldn't be why it would be prescribed. If anyone is any doubt about why a medication has been prescribed, resources like the BNF site can potentially shed some light on the conditions for which a medicine might be introduced.

Before I shut up for a change 😀, this is our guide to TMJ - tinnitus.org.uk/understandi...

[amelie123 in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

I’ve seen two ENT Consultants privately and both have recommended Amitriptyline. It is used these days to treat nerve pain and not as an antidepressant. It does not stop tinnitus but it does help with sleeping if you are struggling at night.

[Stubble in reply to amelie123]

I was prescribed it for a migraine variant but I couldn't get on with the side effects. Even at the lowest starting dose I felt a complete wreck. Once I tried to move up to the suggested maintenance dose I had to give up as it was making me feel seriously loopy. I can't even remember if it made any difference to my tinnitus tbh..

[Happyrosie]

wow Pat has said it all!

I’d just add that several people on this site have said amit. has helped them and others have said it doesn’t.

And TMJ is a potential cause of T and would be treated by a dentist. Probably a night guard is worth a punt to see if it does anything.

[perlcoder]

Pat's answer is comprehensive, I can add only personal anecdotal evidence with regard to ami. I was first prescribed it way back in the late 90s for post herpetic neuralgia. This was before the onset of my T. It worked well and made me sleep heavily. No side effects at that time - certainly no T.

T began some years afterwards and was relatively mild until 2017 when it intensified considerably. I asked my GP for ami to help me sleep through the night (I never have trouble falling asleep, but T was waking me), and she willingly prescribed it. This time it did not work and we agreed to discontinue - it certainly had not made my T any worse.

[RONf]

My excellent ENT Consultant said that a low dose of Amitriptyline can help treat nerve pain and is being increasingly recommended for a short time to help those who are coming into ENT for the first time distressed by T. It helps sleeping as T can be most troubling, even distressing, when you go to bed in the quiet of the night. I was prescribed Ami to help ease arthritis in my jaw which was causing ear pain -it had no impact on my T. Best wishes to all those reading this.

[Tinnituscrazy]

Hi I have started on 10mg Amitriptyline really for migraine. I haven’t noticed an improvement in tinnitus thus far but having less headaches. side effect is I feel a little dizzy. I’ll stick with it for the moment.

[Dukeomar]

Unfortunately my tinnitus started when I started take Amitriptyline that was two and a half years ago, stopped the Amitriptyline but had tinnitus constantly ever since, maybe coincidence I don’t know.

[Untold]

Hi, my doctor put me on amitriptyline last year. Personally, it was a pointless exercise, but she has persuaded me to go back on it recently.I started on 10mg a day for a week, followed by 20mg a day in the second week and so on until I was on 50mg a day in the fifth week.

The problem I have with amitriptyline (apart from having zero effect regarding nerve endings and having no effect as an antidepressant for me) is that they are supposed to be taken at night. I take Loprazolam at night so what's the point, I want something that gives some form of relief during the daylight hours.

I've read a fair bit about it and it appears to be recommended for Tinnitus widely but has done nothing for me either positive or negative. Also, is it a one size fits all for tinnitus, as I have somatosensory T. Is it supposed to have the same benefits for, i.e.

nerve endings / as an antidepressant if you have HLIT for example. Nobody seems to be able to answer this. Not a fan of big pharma.

As for the TMJ issue, this also is a minefield.

With the help of my GP, we were trying a process of elimination to try and determine any possible cause for my T.

I'd read up on TMJ and it's connection with Tinnitus, so my GP sent me to the leading Maxillofacial expert in the UK. This guy has 70 internationally peer reviewed published papers on TMJ and jaw issues.

Unfortunately I saw his no. 2. Initially she was pleasant enough but that didn't last.

I opened with, "I've got this terrible Tinnitus and I'm trying to work out if TMJ could be part of my problem in my process of elimination."

She let out a long sigh and said, "Nobody has ever had tinnitus as a result of a TMJ issue."

I was gobsmacked, I'd read tons of literature (NHS, John Hopkins, NIH etc.)

about the connection between TMJ and tinnitus and this woman flatly refused to believe there was any literature on the connection between the two.

I went for a jaw x-ray that showed no issues (which was why I was there, to tick a jaw issue off, as a possible cause.)

After returning from the x-ray the doctor said to me, "I've just spoken to Dr big cheese, 70 internationally peer reviewed papers and he agrees that nobody has ever had tinnitus as a result of a TMJ issue.

All I wanted was a little help but it was an annoying experience and as I left, I suggested that when she gets home that night, she should research the known connection between TMJ and tinnitus.

A few weeks later both the female doctor and the big cheese wrote to my GP. Their veiw and complete confidence had changed from, "Nobody had ever had tinnitus from a TMJ issue." to "We have no expertise in this field." It was pathetic. Still not sure if I'm going to let it go or pursue their incompetence further. Still angry about it.

Re - mouth guards.

Saw a dentist in my process of elimination. Was told that there was no real evidence of bruxism in my case. They said if I was grinding my teeth during sleep it's usually the wife who notices it first, and my wife said she'd never noticed me doing it.

The dentist mentioned a mouth guard incase I was clenching my jaw during sleep which can affect jaw and facial muscles. I didn't think this was an issue so instead of buying their £350 mouth guard, I bought one on-line for under £20. You just put it in really hot water then put it in your mouth, bite down and it forms to the shape of your teeth/jaw. Did a really good job, but didn't use it for long as bruxism/jaw clenching are not an issue or cause of my T, pretty sure of that, so my process of elimination continues.

Currently looking into the possibility that this is caused by a neck injury.

Will keep you guys informed

Love and silence to all.

[Blaurot]

Four years ago, I was prescribed a low dose of Amitriptyline for facial pain. While on Amitriptyline, I acquired Tinnitus and severe Paraesthesia. A few months after finishing Amitriptyline, I got severe Hyperacusis. I still have troubles to this day.

[Healthymetoday in reply to Blaurot]

That is why I am hesitant to continue with it. I am constantly reassured that it will help with tinnitus, but then I see postings that indicate that it can cause or worsen it.

[Doxiemom1]

yep It is