Tinnitus and medication

[ToetappingPoet]

I was prescribed low dose of sertraline back in 2020 when there were no ENT appointments available and onset of tinnitus was making me hyper anxious. It didn't make the tinnitus go away, but it did make me less emotionally reactive and calmer and I took it for a year. I reduced it very gradually under medical supervision just as the lockdowns were ending and the vaccines were coming out.

Weirdly, the brain zap noises that you often get when coming off ssri- type drugs has stayed with me, believe it or not, specifically when I cut my eyes to the right or left. Then I hear 3 rapid succession zapp sounds rather like the static high pitch of my T but sharper.

Recently the t has worsened and I have been referred back to ENT but it's a long wait and I have struggled to cope. I've been triaged for Talking Therapy, but there's a long wait for that to start too. My GP suggested over the counter sleeping aids as I've had entire nights when I don't sleep at all. They do help a bit they don't help with the rising levels of anxiety which also make me wake up panicky in the middle of the night. Then the tinnitus surges and I have to faff arounf with devices and masking sounds on apps. So my GP has now prescribed mirtazapine at a low dose to act as a night time sedative. I haven't dared take it yet, because I've discovered it's an SSRI type drug and I'm afraid it will make the T or the brain zapps worse when I'm on it or when I try to come off it. My optician audiologist and GP are not the least bit interested in why I've been left with brain zapps after the sertraline course finished.

Has anyone taken mirtazapine or had a similar experience with an ssri prescribed for helping to cope with tinnitus? Did it help in any way with the sleeping? Thanks.

[Karlos99]

hi there. When I came of sertraline my brain zaps lasted nine months. I also had the beats when moving my head. Usually in 3s, 4s and 5s. I was put on mirtazapine and it worked for about just under a year for sleep then stopped suddenly. You can’t increase your dose to help for sleep either as it only works at lower doses. While it worked I was getting about six hours a night. Side effects were weight gain (constantly hungry) and restless legs. All the best

[happyrosie1]

search both drugs in the search box top left, filtering to “my communities “ on the right, to see what people have said in the past.

[Nonstopnoise]

I empathise with you.Have had Sertraline for anxiety & talking therapy which was useless.Then had months of 1:1 for PTSD,tinnitus is still here.Anxiety less so mostly.It is so difficult to explain what T does to your life

[ToetappingPoet in reply to Nonstopnoise]

It's only thru my audiologist sending me the link for this community that I've understood just how common it is too!

[Ssmf]

Hi, I’ve been taking Mirtizapine for a few years, now down to 15mg & has helped me with sleep, in fact I don’t know how I would have coped without it. Has not made my T any worse in fact if anything it has helped as I don’t feel the anxiety half as much & a full nights sleep helps wonders. Hoping at sometime this year to eventually go down to 7mg.

[cheapo]

From what I've read in the past, tinnitus can definitely be caused by depression, and vice versa. So if you haven't tried relaxation sounds through ear buds or headphones/whatever, there's no harm in giving it a go. It works for some peeps.

[ToetappingPoet in reply to cheapo]

I've got so many apps on my phone with meditation options and sound therapy. I'm doing yoga, taking exercise on days when I'm not so wiped my lack of sleep that I can't get off the sofa, trying B12 supplements, using headbands with Bluetooth speakers, a sound machine ... I'm really struggling to stay calm and nit despair. The headaches last for days. I think I might gave to try the mirtazapine. Such mixed results on here, from helps a lot to made things much worse. So hard to make rational decisions when exhausted too.

[cheapo]

Hi again TTP.

I'm guessing from your name that you write poetry. I only wrote some silly stuff when I was at school a million years ago. You might have seen my efforts that were discovered by archaeologists on a stone age cave wall. But I did enjoy reading poetry when I was younger.

Have you published anything on a online poetry website?

If you check out my profile on here you'll find a couple of links to relaxation sounds I made about 10 years ago

[ToetappingPoet]

That's very kind. Thank you.