by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote,
I started taking Citalopram (Celexa) in mid-April. I was on it for a week and got ringing in my ears. This was 7 days at 10 mg., and 2 days (days 8 and 9) at 20 mg. when the ringing became severely loud.
I got off the Citalopram right away, and found out that tinnitus is a common side effect. However, it has been 3 months now, and I still hear the ringing. I don’t know what to do. Some people say it will take up to 7 months for it to go away!
Citalopram (Celexa) is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). It causes tinnitus in perhaps 1% or more of the people taking it.
In hindsight, you should have stopped taking the Citalopram as soon as the ringing started. Taking the increased dose and getting worse tinnitus obviously wasn’t a smart move. However, that is all in the past. You want to know to deal with your tinnitus now.
You now know that your ears are particularly sensitive to Citalopram, so this drug is not a good one for you to take in the future, as you will likely get even louder tinnitus if you do.
Tinnitus is a strange “beast”. Sometimes getting off the offending drug is all that you need to do, and your tinnitus will go away on its own in a few days to a few weeks to a few months. Unfortunately, sometimes it never goes away—especially if you are anxious, worried, stressed or depressed over your tinnitus. You see, tinnitus has an emotional (psychological) component. (You can think of it as a psychosomatic condition.) As a result, worrying about your tinnitus makes it even louder and more intrusive.
Thus, one of the better ways to deal with tinnitus is to learn about it (we are anxious about the unknown), then choose to completely ignore your tinnitus by focusing your energies on the loves of your life. As you do this, your tinnitus will (hopefully) fade into the background. This will take some months (or even a couple of years depending on how strong the emotional bond is that you need to break). This is known as becoming habituated to your tinnitus.
If your tinnitus never goes away (it may or may not), when you become habituated to your tinnitus, it will not bother you even though it is still there. For example, I’ve had tinnitus for many decades now. It’s always “there”, but I don’t let it bother me—although my ears are ringing away rather loudly at the moment since I am thinking about tinnitus while I am writing this. However, my tinnitus will soon return to its usual level when I focus on other things. You, too, can have the same experience.
If you want to learn more about tinnitus and the things you can do to help bring it under your control, check out the book, When Your Ears Ring! Cope with Your Tinnitus—Here’s How.
I have exactly the same story as you with Cipramil. I took it one week and stopped. I am so upset as it has been 2 months now and the ringing has not stopped. I am a yoga and meditation teacher, Can you imagine how cursed I feel? To never hear silence! I was going through a depressed state and thought I would give cipramil a go and bam.. I got this tinnitus…I hope it goes away!! Please let me know if there is a cure!
Did your tinnitus ever go?
This has just happened to my husband and he is really distraught. I feel terrible as I had encouraged him to seek help for his depression.
I’ve had the ringing for three years now. It took a couple of months to habituate, and I thought that that was that. But a bit over a year after it had begun, the volume increased. A couple of months, and I habituated again. But beginning about six months ago it’s been increasing in volume arbitrarily and I’ve had no opportunity to acclimate. I’m exhausted. And it just keeps getting worse.
Hi Daniel:
Are you still taking the Citalopram, or has your tinnitus become worse and worse since you stopped taking it? It’s not clear in your post.
Cordially,
Neil
I stopped taking celebs about six months ago. now have ringing in myHEAD I cannot bare it much longer. I went on welbutrin and Zoloft then went off Zoloft and on trintelex and gabapintin now stopping Trent. Will this ringing ever stop I Heared going back on celexa.how woul that be ? I am a wreck!!!!!
Hi Barbara:
Personally, going from one ototoxic drug to another isn’t the best way to try to deal with your tinnitus.
Citalopram (Celexa), Bupropion (Wellbutrin), Sertraline (Zoloft), Vortioxetine (Trintelix), and Gabapentin (Neurontin) are all ototoxic. From a tinnitus standpoint alone, Bupropion is by far the worst. Sertraline and Gabapentin are about half as bad, Citalopram is about 1/4 as bad as Bupropion and Vortioxetine is the best with no reports that I have seen of this drug causing tinnitus.
Obsessing about your tinnitus is just making things worse. Far better to learn to ignore your tinnitus by focusing on the loves of your life. When you no longer worry about your tinnitus and basically ignore it, this gives your limbic system permission to let it fade into the background where you won’t even notice for hours on end. My book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” chapter 16 teaches you how you can do this. The rest of the book is packed with good information on successfully dealing with your tinnitus as well. You can get this book at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve had tinnitus for years…it never stops.I take Xanax at night and try to sleep.If I do sleep and wake up at 3:30 a.m. …..I’m like what now? It sucks big time.I hate it.
Just increased to 20mg have now got tinnitus and general weakness. did you stop immediately or wean your self off
Have noice induced tinnitus.
Celexa after 3 doses of 1/4, then up to 1/2 10mg amplify it, was hearing it outside. Quit and rerurned ro normal levels after 2 days
Tried also lexapro , that was the worst. Only 2.5mg after 4 hours apmlified my tinnirus to hell. Never took a 2nd pill. Amplification went away to normal AFTER 6 DAYS , and i had only taken 2.5mg lexapro. Any AD working on seroroninssri, trycyclic, etc ampyifies my tinnitus !!!
Hi,
I have exactly the same experience with Cipramil as the above 2 persons. My tinnitus did not go away and it has been 5 months now. Any cure did the 2 guys encountered?
Thank you for the input on this drug. I have tinnitus and just started half of 10mg notice an increase in tinnitus. Here is a site To try their products. Make sure you get on the site Arches tinnitus formula. I use the supplements and avoid certain foods and drugs. Stopped taking celexa because my ears were buzzing again. Arches site has some great info tinnitus. Hope it helps your site has helped me.
I’ve been on Citalopram for about the last 30 days. I had no problem until about the 25th day, when suddenly my left ear “blocked” and I became very dizzy. Since then my ear has cleared sometimes, only for the blocked feeling to recur soon afterwards, sometimes both ears. I also have considerably reduced hearing in my left ear, other than constant “ringing” for the last few days. I stopped taking the Citalopram yesterday and am just hoping these problems will go away. Two days ago, when my husband and I had our annual summer barbecue, I became very dizzy whilst just sitting in a chair in the garden chatting to our friends. I almost passed out and my husband had to help me into the house. I haven’t felt as bad as that since, but I’m seeing the doctor on Thursday. It’s awful to see that some of you have had the tinnitus for months and I wish you all better soon.
Hi Liz:
I have no information saying that Citalopram can cause hearing loss, although other SSRI drugs can, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Citalopram does too.
However, Citalopram certainly can cause tinnitus, dizziness and vertigo in some people Sounds like you are one of them. It seems the tinnitus can be permanent, unfortunately.
Regards
Neil
I’ve been on Citalopram 10mg for two weeks and have had vertigo. I’m now suspecting it’s the Citalopram after reading these comments. I haven’t taken any today and will see what happens. I feel awful and unable to do anything. I’m on Betahistines for the Vertigo. I’m glad I came across this website, I thought I was going crazy.
I’m 21 and after being on citalophram for 8 months, seem to be stuck with tinnitus now forever. I have switched my anti depressant to sertraline in the hope the tinnitus will go, but one month in and it still hasnt. I recommend everyone steers clear of citalophram.
I wish everyone who has commented well.
I have been on Citalopram for about 10 months. I have sudden gotten a hearing los, first from the left ear and later to the right. I went to the Dr. last week to let him know and ask if this is a side effect. He said he didn’t think so. I’m stoppinh immediately. I hope my hearing comes back. I am a nurse of 36 years and found this site.
Hi MJ:
What makes you think the Citalopram is the cause of your sudden hearing loss? I have not seen any information that indicates that Citalopram causes hearing loss, although it can cause tinnitus.
Having said that, a number of the SSRIs (the same class of drugs as Citalopram) can cause hearing loss, so it is very possible that Citalopram can do so too–although it is not mentioned in the literature yet–at least not that I have ever found.
Regards
Neil
What anti depresents don’t cause Tinitus?
Hi Jaydon:
As far as I know, all prescription anti-depressants can cause tinnitus. That is one reason I suggest trying the herbal St. John’s Wort. It is not ototoxic, is available without a prescription at many drug stores, health food stores or On-line.
A number of studies have shown that it works as well as, or better, than prescription drugs for mild to moderate cases of depression.
If you choose to get it, just be sure it says on the bottle “standardized” and then gives what it is standardized to. You want something that says, “standardized to 0.3% (or up to 0.7%) hypericin” which is the active ingredient. If it does not say standardized somewhere on the bottle, don’t get it as you don’t have a clue how much (if any) of the active ingredient you are getting.
Cordially,
Neil
I have a ten year old daughter who takes Citalopram.
She has been taking it about four months. about two weeks ago my wife and I had noticed are daughters hearing wasnt the way it was before the the Citalopram.
It is to the point to were we have to yell at her at times if she is in her bedroom, or at times in the same room. What is really weird about this it comes and goes. She has an Dr.Appt coming up in a couple of days. if anyone has information please let me know.
I went on citalopram for 2 weeks I am now going to stop it my head and ears have been terrible I could not stand it .was glad to read this on here made me feel a bit better.
Jackie
I had an adverse reaction to citalopram almost two years ago (one 10mg. dose). I still have tinnitus after all this time. I was not told much at all about this drug other than typical side effects. Thankfully my T is pretty much bearable unless having one of those days. I wish doctors new all of this information maybe I could have made a better informed decision before I took this drug. Thanks. I wish you all well.
The tinnitus from citalopram has not reduced after 1 year stopping the medicine. Acquired tinnitus from this medicine is not the kind of tinnitus that I used to have. It doesnt go away, loud, high pitch, anoying and coming from within the head. This was not made known by the doctor or the drug company. Is anyone taking class action against the drug company or the doctor?
Looking for any info on class action suit regarding tinnitus from citalopram.
Taken celexa for 2 yrs vertigo took me down at work and loss of hearing. It should be a class action suit…
Been taking celex for 20 years. 10 years ago i started having tinnitus now i have sudden unexplained hearing loss in left ear, now if i take the smallest dose of any ssri i have higher levels of tinnitus ear pain. now i cant take any meds for my anxity and panic attacks but benzos
Hi Matt:
Taking drugs in the long term is not the answer. You need to learn why you have the anxiety and panic attacks then find a counselor/therapist to help you properly deal with them. When you do that, you won’t need to be on drugs anymore.
You shouldn’t be taking psychotropic drugs such as SSRIs and Benzodiazepines for more than two weeks or so–not 20 years. That is just asking for trouble–and hasn’t fixed the problem in all these years.
You might also want check with one of Dr. Amen’s clinics. Their SPECT scans can show what parts of your brain are having trouble and they are the experts in designing a treatment specifically for your situation–not just a “one size fits all” treatment.
Cordially,
Neil
Would love to because she prescribed me 20 mg Celexa which I started on 5 Jan and stopped after 3 days due to the tinnitus,severe migraines and NOT SLEEPING since 5 January.In so tired and irritable.I already deal with PTSD and Insomnia and am more irritable since being prescribed 20 mg Celexa by Carol Coy at the CBOC in Watertown NY. I feel dizzy all the time, leg pains head feels like it’s going to explode
Unfortunately the doctors don’t familiar ize themselves with the side effects. They just enjoy writing prescriptions and afterwards you’re pretty much on your own.
I have been on citalopram for nearly 6 weeks. I noticed a ringing in my left ear after about 1 week – but I also had a cold at the time so wasn’t sure if it was the medicine or the cold.
I went to see my Dr yesterday to get another prescription. The Dr agreed that it was a symptom reported for citalopram and it was unusual as I was experiencing it in the left ear only. The Dr said it was generally common to experience tinitus in both ears but when in one ear it usually signified a problem e.g. a reaction to the drug or another problem.
I was reluctant to take citalopram and for 5 months I tried to treat my depression with lots of exercise and talking to a therapist. I eventually decided to take citalopram as the depression kept coming back – now I am anxious about stopping taking it or changing to another drug – because whilst the ringing is a worry – I dont want to slip back into my previous state of mind.
Hi Dave:
From what you have said and based on others’ experiences, it seems you have joined the ranks of people for whom Citalopram causes tinnitus.
Sometimes drugs cause tinnitus in one ear, sometimes in both for whatever reason.
You did well to try to treat your depression with exercise (a very good way) and with counseling (another effective way), but in your case these didn’t work.
There are more things to try. In addition to what you have tried, if I had depression, I’d check that my gut flora was up to snuff. Believe it or not, depression can be caused by a lack of good probiotics in your intestinal tract. Try supplementing with a good probiotic such as Lactobacillus acidophilus. You can get probiotics at any good health food store.
In addition, have you tried taking the herbal St. John’s Wort–also available to good health food stores. Numerous studies have shown that it is just as, or even more, effective than prescription drugs for cases of mild to moderate depression.
Just be sure you get a formulation that states, “standardized to 0.3-0.5% hypericin”. You want to be sure that you have an effective dose of the active ingredient which is hypericin. The way to know that is to only buy standardized formulations.
Regards
Neil
I s a d a light box for a a d depression for years. Been on anti reflux meds. Then a bad bout last year. I was out in 20 mg citalopram and was fine then had fall for no reason. And put on naproxen 500 still fine. 8 months later reduced to 10 mg citalopram for summer.
Now tinitus bad. But doc looked at history and I had all the early signs of menieres but the meds have just agrivaited it .
Now waiting for first NHS ent appointment
Im having the same problem…I was put on citalapram after my dad and brother past away.I was fine until my Dr. upped the dose to 20 mg.Thats when the ringing in my right ear started.I told my Dr. she blew it off.I quit taking the medicine on my own but the ringing wont go away.I havent had a good nights sleep in about a year now.its so frustrating. I dont believe in suing anyone but I would jump on a class action lawsuit against this pill in a heartbeat.
Checking back in on others comments. Unfortunately I’m not alone in my Tinnitus from citalopram. Mine is an all over head noise more on the right side but all over at the same time. Strange! I did find out from this site and others that I have had ear poisoning (ototoxicity) from the adverse reaction this drug caused. So I have a fullness sensation, tinnitus, some lightheadedness at times and twinges of pain now and then. Strange also! I to have thought about taking some kind of legal action against the drug company for not informing the doctors better about the dangers of this drug. I reported my reaction to the FDA back when it first happened so I am a statistic now. Would possibly be interested in the class action law suit especially if it would protect others from my problems. My strong faith and my family have helped me through the very long months and years now of healing from the reaction. Believe me you do not want to react to this drug. I had every kind of mental and emotional issue you can think of healing from this. I will never be the same as I was before physically but spiritually it has helped me to grow. Thanks for listening, not many have this happen so support is limited. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!
Is there a class action lawsuit? I’m so diatriaght over the constant ringing and this is so unfair! Thank you for helping
I’m interested in this too, reading back these comments a lot of them date back to 2011 / 12 and yet, still, in late 2018 (when I was prescribed) this drug is being given out by GPs without any tests to determine risk of tinnitus – there’s something badly wrong here folks.
Add me to the list. citalopram, then tinnitus. My doctor did not even mention that the meds could be associated with the tinnitus! I had to read about that myself.
I took Citalopram for 6 months last year after developing floaters in my eyesight. After a month, I told the doctor I had developed low level tinnitus which he said was a side affect of the drug. He literally told me “to keep taking the tablets”. I stopped taking the drug in July last year and had come to terms with having tinnitus. However, last week the level of noise increased significantly. I am trying to keep my emotions under control as I have two beautiful, young children and I want them to see a “happy” dad and not the “sad” one from last year. I have been referred to a specialist but I know there is no cure. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has helped with my eyes and I am hoping it will work for my ears too. The only problem, as we all know, is that there is no respite from tinnitus. Interesting about having a balanced gut though and will give it a try. I would only use anti-depressants again as a last resource.
I have had Tinnitus for many years and a hearing loss as well and have been able to cope with the Tinnitus quite well. I started taking CELEXA two days ago and th Tinnitus has become much more evident in such a short time as well as frequent bowel movements and I am stopping it immediately. The dosage was 20mg. Also experiencing a dry mouth.
Ok – I need to hear some happy recovery stories here. I developed mild tinnitus a year or so ago and managed to adapt fine. But i started Citalopram a couple of months ago and about a week ago, it suddenly got much worse. It us much louder, with more frequencies and almost white noise there too. I am a composer and music producer and over the last week, it has become difficult to work. IU’m going to see the doctor tomorrow, but I sincerely hope if I come off citalopram it can recede. Any happy endings ?
I would also like to know if anyone who stopped taking Citalopram noticed that their tinnitus went down or away. It won’t go away with me since I had it since I was a kid but since I started on anxiety medications I noticed it has got a lot worse. I was on Xanax at first and I don’t think there was a problem with that but then I switched to Sertraline. That’s when I noticed it a lot more. So I stopped taking that and switched to Citalpram. That didn’t solve it but it did stop my panic attacks. So do I want ringing or panic attacks? I’m thinking of going off Citalopram to see if it helps but from what I’ve been reading here it doesn’t seem like it does go away. Right now it’s driving me nuts. I used to not be able to hear it in the daytime but now it’s so loud I can hear it walking outside. I’m trying not to think about it but it’s just so bad right now. I just hope it doesn’t get to the point where I think about taking my own life.
I too have joined the ranks of Celexa users who have gotten tinitus from short use of Celexa use 6 months and counting, feel like dieing everyday and no sleep most of the nights, what a bunch of crap. What can be done I think it might be permanent, don’t feel like I can go on like this its more then Hellish I can’t discribe it any any other way… I hope we can sue them for this. I have never had tinitus then tool Clexsa and have it in the middle of my head Just like the rest of you do…
Lou
Thanks,
I found this site and others since I recently started getting a terrible tone in my head. I just started taking Celexa about a month ago. Not sure why it took so long for the symptoms, but I hope it goes away. I’m not taking anything else and i have never had this before; its logical its the SSRI.
I have a friend who took citalopram for about a week. She stopped taking it 6 weeks ago and now has tinitis and very shaky nerves, confusion, etc. She doesn’t know what to do to stop these symptoms. It might be worth it to try some “B” vitamins like B6 and a B-Multiple since these vitamins are good for the nerves. Anyway, I hope you all come to a good end regarding these symptoms.
I to got tinnitus from taking celexa in the second month, 20mg.. I am now taking Lipo-Flavonoid recomnended by a pharmacist..which I now see advertise on T.V .I,m now waiting to see a E.N.T doctor to see if their is any thing else they can do..??? Any ideas,cures etc please post and yes I,m no longer taking CELEXA – {crap..]
I took Celexa for 6 months and during my withdrawal when I weened myself off the drug, I started hearing a “metallic cricket” in my ear. That was 2 years ago and it still “chirps” every few minutes. Its not a constant noise, but it does bother me as its consistent and its been for so long now! It only happens in one ear. I hope it goes away at some point in my life.
It is reprehensible that this drug is out there. I too have very load ringing from citalopram. My doctor told me to be a “man” there are going to be side effects. Mine started after the first tablet. After her advice I waited and started again. It started again. She said I dont care if you take it or not. A doctor who doesnt know the effects of what she is prescribing. The doctors and the drug compamy owe us everything. 1% my ass!
Absolutely agree, I can’t believe there hasn’t been a class action on this and that this drug is still being handed out without GPs actually knowing it’s potential side effects.
What I wrote above is still true to this day,Also I talked to Forrest labs the makers of Celexa they told me they no longer make the drug and that it has cost them millions in law suts because they where maketing it for children ,so now they have it imported from a place in India. I dont know the name of the lab. So anyways I talked to the side effect nurse at Forrest labs and she said ” I can’t help you because we no longer make the product sorry” what the hell are you kidding me heres their website, if you need it won’t help though.http://www.frx.com/ just look under products and they still sell Celexa but they won’t help you. I also called a bunch of law firms who deal with drugs and you know what they told me, we only take cases which involve women who are pregnant and who have problems with their children after birth, the ones who have birth defects from drugs thats . I say there must be a better way to get this drug off the market it has changed my life day after day ringing high pitch nosie with no relief I want to kill myself because there is no silence. I also think we need to get each others emails or phone numbers to see if we can come up with ideas. Thank you Neil Bauman, Ph.D for letting us write on your website and letting us get the word out. Louie Larmay.
llarmay@my.wgu.edu
i been having fullness in both my ears and ringing along with pressure mostly on the sides of my head from celexa and i only take 10mg a day. i went to a ent and they looked in my ears and did hearing tests and said my hearing is fine which is a plus but i still have the fullness and sometimes vertigo and anxiety from the drug which i have been on for about two months. i am only 31 so hopefully this will go away once i stop the med.
I was a representative selling Esitalopram in Australia, I took Lexapro for severe depression and was grateful for the efficacy. Reduced the dose slowly from 10mg a day to 5mg for about 3 weeks then stopped. Severe tinnitus and brain zaps since 24/7 for a week now. Nightmare, even selling the drug it was never a well known side effect but it must be more than 1% if you do a real life analysis of those people who come of treatment. This will never be reflected in the report data as most people wont report it and lots of Drs wont put in an ADR. I plan on trying Hypericum (St Johns wort) to see if there is any benefit.
I too have tinnitis, and I am on citalopram. I have gone from 10 to 20 mg, but the tinnitis was there at the lower dose. It is so debilitating. I do wish “someone” could prove a link, find a cause and cure, or do better drug testing and monitoring.
I’ve been on 20mg citalopram for two weeks and yesterday this high pitched screaming started in my ears. Please god tell me it won’t be there forever…..
I know even at the lower does’s you still can get tinitus from Celexa. this is the worst thing. I hope by writing I can save someone the trouble to avoid this madication. It’s been one year for me now and still no let up 24/7. If you read anything read all the comments above and don’t take this one you will be sorry if you are senitive to meds… Don’t say I didn’t warn you first…Lou
It’s been a year now and I’ve still got it hopefully you’ll have better luck
Was wondering if anyones T stopped after not taking the celexa anymore? I just started a 10 day course and had ringing in the ears as a side effect. I stoppped the celexa and am hoping the T goes away. ENT said I should come back in 2-4 weeks if it is not gone.
Dr. Hale, Have you any statistics regarding recovery from your research.
hi , im on 20 mg of citralopram and have hissing loud wind like noises trasfic noises sounds like a aircrat and screaming , i had a bad blood infection and wa sill anxiety and kept hearing theses noises wa sso scared thought something wa scoming for me because i had the infection i wa shalucinating with the noises alaso , been reaing all these cooments really wondering if i should wean of these tabs
hi, i was on citalopram for 3 months and stopped abprutly, been off it a year now, and although withdrawal symptoms are becoming less, they are still there and terrible tinnitus in the left ear.
i took citalopram 20 mg, the following day had a panic attack from an afternoon nap, and woke with high pitch ringning constant. this company needs to be sued. 4 months, no let up……
I have been taking Citalopram for at least 3 years and was fine until the Dr then pescribed me Amitrypiline for restless legs at night. The first night I took it the Tinnitus started and even though I stopped the Amitrypiline soon after, as it was having no effect, I am now getting even less sleep with this high pitch damn noise in my head.This is 5 months later and still no let up.
I have been on Citalopram for 2 years with no problems of any kind. My tinnitus started a week after my last dose (10 mg). It has been a month now – and my tinnitus is getting worse. Any examples of people have tinnitus after they have stopped using citalopram? And what to do now? My doctor says that starting with 10 mg of citalopram could be the solution…..
Hi yes I was taking Citalopram for 9 months then just weaned myself off but since coming off I have a constant buzz/ringing in my head was fine all the time I was taking them! Not spoken to my doctor yet but sounds like if it’s tinnitus then it’s a permanent thing now and it’s started to really grate on me
Hi Jackie:
When you take Citalopram for a period of time, you have to taper off it slowly. If you quit cold turkey or taper off too fast, you have a good chance of getting tinnitus like it appears you did.
You have tinnitus now by your description most likely due to tapering off too fast.
It doesn’t have to be permanent, but it can be. You need to have the correct emotional outlook towards your tinnitus. If you focus on it and fret and fume over it, it will tend to get worse and become permanent. In contrast, if you think of your tinnitus as a totally unimportant background sound that is safe to ignore, then ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life, you can habituate to your tinnitus and it will fade into the background and not bother you even if you hear it. The good news is that you can go for several hours without being aware that you even have tinnitus.
You can help yourself deal with your tinnitus by using sound therapy–listen to pink noise, fractal music or water sounds at a level somewhat below the level you hear your tinnitus. This will reduce the contrast between quiet and your tinnitus and make it easier to stand while you habituate to your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I had been taking Citalopram for about 4 years and over this time my hearing had definetly got work. I have now come off of them which was difficult, but have seen an Audiologist and now have to have earing aids due to a negative inner ear. I suffered over the years of taking this med with severe vertigo and only know now that it was the side effect of this medication.
Hi Angie:
I’ve had numerous people tell me that they got tinnitus from taking Citalopram, but only 2 or 3 have reported to me about it causing hearing loss. Incidentally, hearing loss is not listed as a side effect in any of the numerous sources I have checked, apart from the FDA drug side effects database which lists hundreds of reports of people losing hearing from taking this drug. So taking Citalopram could be the culprit.
Regards
Neil
Mine is, everybody who takes the cursed crap-o-Pram even once has screeching of the ears. Never had it before and I sang for a career in the 1970-1990’s.
Hi to all you sufferers out there,
I took Citalapram 6 years ago and was fine with no side effects.
Took again since last October and have been great until now. Have been trying to wean myself off tablets but have become very ill, dizzy and yes you’ve guessed it tinitis. I already had it mildly for 12 years and I coped. Now its soooo bad I have constant headache, can’t sleep and am depressed again!!!!!! aaaah
I have noticed tinnitus after starting Lexapro about 6 months ago. I told my doc and he put me on celexa, about 2 months nows and the tinnitus continues. I did some google searches and found that celexa is causing the same problem with many others also. I went to my general practice doc and he firmly believes that it’s old age (I’m 46) and I’m possibly starting to get hearing loss. He said that only 1% get tinnitus from antidepressants and he also said that prozac is in the same family of drugs as the lexapro and celexa. I doubted him, cause this is all to coincidental. I’ve read many posts on different sites about lexapro and celexa specifically causing people to develope ringing in the ears. I’m getting a hearing test anyway by his request. then I’m having my pych. doc take me off the celex and probably back to prozac and hope this problem goes away one day.
Taking celexa for two weeks now. have a loud/pitch sound in my ear. I’m going to stop taking it immediately.
Took Citalopram 5yrs ago and didn’t realise my tinnitus min both ears resulted from taking this for 3months. Hearing test recently showed hearing loss. Took Citalopram this week and louder tinnitus and dizziness from the first dose of 20mg. It is incredibly loud now that it wakes me.I realised the connection from before and I stopped taking it after 5days. I know now that I am going to have to live with this noise probably forever now. Modern medicine just gives us other problems!
I always thought my tinnitus was due to my exposure to loud music (work/social) and steel construction (work) but looking back now I am thinking that the worsening in my tinnitus coincides with my taking citalopram.. It stops me sleeping and I empathise hugely with those who have posted here. I always assumed that it was self inflicted and would never go away but now I have a small amount of hope. I am going to get myself off the medication to see if it helps, as I think i prefered the anxiety to the full blown tinnitus.
I was prescribed Citalopram a couple of weeks ago. The doctor said that I’d been on them before so I didn’t read the leaflet, not that it would have done any good as it mentioned nothing about tinnitus. I was on 20mg a day but on day four I was getting very loud ringing in my ear so I stopped, a week later and it is still there despite taking 1000mg omega 3 and having a ticking clock next to me.
I love music and I have spent a lot of money over the last 2 years trying to build the perfect HIFI only for this to happen. I can’t believe this drug is allowed.
I feel like getting hold of the person who owns the drug company and taking his or her hearing away from them. I know this will not help me but I’m so angry that this has happened. It is nearly Christmas and I look forward to this time of year, instead I awake only to be disappointed and upset that my hearing is not back to normal and may never be. This drug should be band and the drug company shut down.
I have developed an extremely loud case of tinnitus after stopping Citalopram 7 months ago. I never had Tinnitus before in my life until now. Accompanied with the T, has been very stiff and painful neck aches.
anyone else get neck pains asking with tinnitus?
Following the loss of my husband, I took one 20mg Citalopram and had a severe adverse reaction. Like having an electric shock from head to toe, it came in waves with very bad ringing in my ears, heart pounding, very hot and couldn’t move, this lasted approx 4 hours. After which I immediately threw them away. One year later I have been left with ringing in my ears, aching arms and legs, pins and needles, very hot at night. I’ve had bloods and nerve/muscle tests which were all normal. I’m now awaiting a brain scan. I am convinced this is all down to the one dose of Citaolpram and not just anxieties following the loss of my husband. Has anyone else experienced similar?
Same here after just 5 day’s on the rubbish now had t for over a year
I’ve known about this thread for a while now since I googled “citalopram tinnitus” a few months ago.
Very few sources of information on Citalopram mention tinnitus as a possible side effect. But guys if it did, it would be under very rare side effects and you would have probably decided to take it anyway.
It should be wider publicised though, as whatever way you look at it, having tinnitus from age 23 potentially until the day i die is a very grim outlook.
Especially since the drug is prescribed for people who are already down on life!!
I started taking citalopram at 20mg a night and I took it for 3-4 months before the day I woke up with tinnitus… Before this happened though, or in fact by the point this happened, I was no longer depressed, helped maybe by the drug and/or environmental factors or whatever.
I was only still taking it because it is recommended you stay on them for at least 6 months apparently, just so they know that if your in that 0.1% of people whose ears it damages, you’ll have tinnitus by then! 😀 kidding but seriously,
I should add as well that I also take 30mg amitriptyline every night as a sleeping aid, ive been on them for so long now that not taking them just results in bad/ broken sleep. So I was taking amitrip with the citalopram. I see someone else wrote they didn’t have problems till they took amitriptyline, maybe im in that bracket.
For the first few days of tinnitus I had to be sure it was permanent, as ive had tinnitus loads of times, either by it just randomly happening and fading away like it does to everyone, or temporary BAD tinnitus after nights at raves and festivals for the last 7 years of my life. After about day 4 I was pretty sure it was permanent, and it was obviously citalopram since that was the only new thing I was taking.
I then found this thread, and since then the tinnitus has stayed exactly the same.
The same annoying two tones, their pitches constantly alternating like a switch, and a third steady tone that mostly gets ignored over the other 2, which help for it to NEVER go unnoticed in a quiet environment, like right now in my room. At work/ out in general, with ambience it is not yet loud enough to notice or bother me.
I will continue to frequently visit this forum as years go by…
I don’t like to be negative but i’ve come to terms with the fact that this is probably going to get progressively worse and possibly lead to future hearing loss.
Because logic tells me that whatevers damaged, is only slightly damaged, by something unnatural. And humans experience hearing problems/loss as we get older anyway. So if its already slightly damaged, something tells me its very unlikely to repair itself and will get worse. I’m 23, at 60 ill probably be deaf or have VERY loud tinnitus. I don’t know which is worse….
Oh well, at least I won’t be able to hear the Mrs moanin… n all that… hehe
I should add aswell. As soon as I realised it was Citalopram that caused my tinnitus, I wanted to come off them.
But Its common sense that such a strong anti depressant would give me withdrawal symptoms of some sort if I just went cold turkey. So I just kept narrowing my dose until I was taking 1 a day for a couple weeks, than half a pill etc and when I ran out of the packet I just stopped taking them and was fine.
But tinnitus still loud n ringing! 🙂
Rachael, If you read my posts from above I to have suffered from a severe adverse reaction. I know the problems you speak of for I have had many of them too. It has been over three years now since my initial reaction but I still have mild tinitus and will still have muscle aches and twinges of pain. Some fullness still in my ears. I just had a relapse of some of my symptoms in the last two weeks caused by catching my kid’s cold and spraying a xylitol based natural saline spray in my nose a few times. It charged up my nervous system again and caused me to feel like I was loosing my mind again. It’s healing slowly but surely. Not quick enough for me though. I know my reaction was from the pill because I was healthy otherwise before I took it three years ago. I think most Docs do not have the slightest clue about the power of these drugs. I had to find out what happened to me searching the internet. I would like to keep in touch if you would like as there are no support websites for this particular problem. It’s a lonely club to be in. Any questions you have let me know I would be happy to discuss them on this board if you like. I will keep checking this board to check for your posts. Thanks and keep fighting you will make it! Jill
I’ve had tinnitus for 11 years now and have taken Citalopram for the past 3 years. I quit taking the Citalopram about a week ago and my tinnitus is much worse and I notice that when I turn my head the noise intensifies with louder spurts of hissing. I was going to go back on the Citalopram to try to reduce the noise but after reading thease comments I think I’ll wait to talk to my doctor or see a specialist.
Hi George:
You should taper SLOWLY off Citalopram, since quitting cold turkey caused your tinnitus to get much worse.
When your tinnitus gets louder when you turn your head hard to the left or right, that indicates that your neck is “out”. If your neck or shoulders are “tight” you should look for a good chiropractor to correct this. Then you’ll notice you can turn your head without much or any difference in the volume of your tinnitus.
Regards
Neil
Reading these posts are really scaring me. I was taking 20mg of citalopram for about 7 months, then decided to try to go off of them (gradually). It didn’t take me long before I realized I needed to go back on. I started out w/ 10 mg and then went to 15. About 3 months later, the ringing started. I just decided to google search it because my Dr. didn’t see any connection between this & the citalopram. Now I’m not sure if I want to go off it & risk it getting worse. I don’t like the idea that this is irreversible!
I knew I couldn’t be the only one. Now I’m afraid to try another antidepressant. Unfortunately, since the death of my father and sister I’ve been very depressed, and I have become very distrusting of the drug manufacturers.
I am reading this and I am almost having a nervous breakdown. I took the Citalopram for 6 days (on a dosage of 5mg only) when I noticed the ringing in my head. Stopped it immediately.. been 3 weeks now with no improvement. High pitch white noise, both ears (or more like in my head) when I am in quiet surroundings with no backround audio distraction or when I focus on it. Enough to drive me crazy anyways. Went to the ear-doc, gave me cortizon tablets (thats how they treat acute tinnitus in Europe) but no improvement. Going to try acupuncture tomorrow. No more chemical stuff. I truly hope this goes away in time otherwise I dont know if I will be able to cope with it. Any succesfull recovery – stories would ease my mind a lot! If so please share your experience here!
mario-how did the acupuncture work? I have the same symptom you described. I would love to hear how it worked for you.
Lauren
Just wondering if you yourself tried acupuncture? It’s something I am considering, will try anything
Hi Lauren:
No, I’ve never tried acupuncture. Acupuncture isn’t all that effective against the common kind of tinnitus due to noise damage or hearing loss unless it is of recent origin.
However, if you have certain types of somatosensory tinnitus where touching your neck or face sets off your tinnitus, then acupuncture can be very effective.
Here is a sidebar taken from the latest edition of my tinnitus book.
_____________________________
Touch-Sensitive Nerves in Your Head and Neck May Cause Tinnitus
New research reveals that for some people with hearing loss, the tinnitus associated with hearing loss stems from over-active sensory nerves in the face and neck. After hearing loss occurs, for some reason, touch-sensing nerves in the face and neck step up their activity in the brain. The result is that some neurons in the cochlear nucleus become hyperactive. This increased activity has been linked to tinnitus.
For these people, treatment for their tinnitus may be as simple as acupuncture targeted at the nerves in the head and neck. Acupuncture seems to be mostly effective in acute and recent tinnitus as well as in somatic tinnitus. “There are many anecdotal reports of improvements in tinnitus as a result of acupuncture. Acupuncture can certainly reduce the stress and anxiety linked to tinnitus.”
These findings may also reveal why many people with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) also suffer from tinnitus.
______________________________
I’ve not heard any reports of acupuncture making tinnitus worse, so if you want to try acupuncture, it may be worth a try, especially if you have somatic tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi neil, how do i know if i have somatic tinnitus? My head is very sensitive in certain spots, amd my neck is tense too. I got timnitus after 5 mg of celexa for a week. Coupd acupuncture help if the timnitus is a result of the celexa? Thanks
Hi all, yet another Citalopram story. I took it for 4 weeks, then noticed my right ear had a ringing, did some googling and discovered ssri and tinnitus connection. Immediately came off it (I know – not good), but the tinnitus continues. Have been to an ENT- he could not find any issues and after a hearing test advised my hearing on both ears was above average. So in my case its not hearing loss but rather a constant ringing and the sound in that ear is distorted (e.g. phone calls are a different tone to good ear). What really angers me is that the psychiatrist did not warn me of this possible side affect. I went back to him after discovering this issue and he immediately tried to get me on another AD that works on the Circadian cycles – I declined – god knows – maybe ill never sleep again. These “doctors” and drug companies don’t have a clue what damage these drugs are capable of doing to individuals. I have found plenty of physical exercise kills the depression temporarily, St Johns Wort did not help me – not even placebo effect. Good luck everyone
I took escitalopram (just one 10mg pill – Lexapro) and had a severe adverse reaction….I think it almost killed me with a high fever. I had high pitch ringing in my ears for 3 years from that….now it is no longer constant but occasional. I still have a lot of horrible symptoms from that reaction but have improved as well. Thanks for this post, makes sense.
I started to take Celexa in December 2012, I was prescribed 20mg and when I took the first tablet I had a very bad experience about 12 hours later. I had a complete panic attack, my head was buzzing like an electric current was passing through it and I almost passed out. I went my doctor who informed me that I might be a bit sensitive to it and advised easing onto the drug, 5mg to start with. I did this and eventually got up to the 20mg without any problems, it really was helping my stress. I decided in late Feb I would cycle down from it and about a week into that, I started to have tinnitus. At first I did not even notice it, other then when i was going to bed, it felt like that head buzzing you get when you are over tired. Then a week or so later I started to suspect tinnitus and did some research and connected it to the Celexa withdrawel. I was tempted to cycle back up to see if that eliminated the tinnitus but from what I had read online, decided that was not a good idea. I am off completely now for over a month and the head buzzing is there constantly. Now that I read these posts, I realize I have done this to myself and it causes me a lot of stress and some degree of panic. The irony is that the drug I was taking for stress has caused me to have tinnitus which is now triggering more stress than was there before I started the drug. I have read that Xanax may help, although I have read elsewhere that it too can cause tinnitus. So I am trying to deal with the buzzing as best I can without any medications. I had help out some hope that the tinnitus was temporary, but from what I am reading here, that does not seem to be the case. I wish all you others out there the best….
I took Citalopram for one month and got the buzzing almost immediately. After 3 weeks I started weaning myself down from 10 mg to 5 mg and then two days ago stopped taking it. The buzzing is horrible and actually got louder in the past two days. My doctor said she never heard of this side effect and in fact told me that this SSRI was well tolerated because I was hesitant to start with AD anyway. It is quite upsetting to think that this will never go away. If anyone comes on something that helps please share.
Hello, sound therapy is an option that is proven to treat timnitus. Look up sound therapy clinica in your area, they train your brain not to hear the timnitus.
Hi
I revisited this website 2 years after my last visit. The ringing is still going on. It is confirmed to be permanent. This chemical is proven to mess up the brain permanently. It created a permanent feedback loop in the brain. The brain is made up of trillions of transmitters and receptors. How it works is more complex than medical science can understand. I do not know how the medicine cause this feedback loop. To understand a feedback loop is easy. Bring a microphone and put it in front of the speaker and you will hear a constant high pitch noise. This side effect is stated in the medicine leaftlet in small print. Doctors and pharmacutical co will downplay the side effect, if they admit at all. This is the greatest shame i know in modern medical history.
Unfortunately you have to live with this noise.This is a life misventure that we have to share with others to avoid. Regard it as a constant music in your head. Imagine it along with other musics if you can. Treat it like you are hearing the noise of crickets and birds from outside the windows when you lie on the bed to sleep. I know, the suffering is hard. Do not focus on it and life moves on.
I’m glad I came across this website, I have been taking citalopram for the last 3 years and have had ringing in the head on and off since I started taking the drug. The ringing had become permanently bad since my dose was upped to 40mg again earlier in the year. I mentioned the ringing to my doctor, who said it was probably stress related rather than due to the meds. It’s nice to know I’m not alone with this problem.
Hi Julie:
Many drugs have a magic threshold above which they cause ototoxic side effects or existing side effects become worse. This is you situation when you upped the dose to 40 mg. Cutting the dose in half would probably also reduce your tinnitus back to its old level.
Most doctors don’t have a clue about the ototoxic side effects of the drugs they prescribe. Your doctor just displayed his ignorance when he attributed your tinnitus to anything other than the drug he prescribed. I hear from many people who have ignorant doctors that refuse to admit their prescriptions make their patient’s lives worse, not better because of ototoxic side effects.
Regards
Neil
I got tinnitus from taking zoloft. Right after my psychiatrist increased the dose. My ENT ran all sorts of tests to make sure there was nothing physically wrong with me and there wasn’t so I tried to do without antidepressants for a couple of months but became suicidal. So now I take Celexa. It hasn’t gotten worse but I’ve done my research and it seems any antidepressant can cause them. You get used to it after awhile. But until you do, try playing a movie on the tv in your bedroom quietly and set the sleep timer. It helped me but I dont need to anymore.
I was prescribed 20mg Citalopram three years ago, and after approx. three days had unbearably loud ringing in my ears. I continued the medication, believing this was a side-effect that, like the others, would disappear when I finished the course of medication. It hasn’t – although it is at a lower level. I had a hearing test and my general hearing was fine. I have resigned myself to the fact that it is unlikely to go away, and am normally able to ‘channel it out’ during the day with activity, although still very much aware of it at night-time. Like others, feel very angry that I was not made aware at the time there could be a permanent side-effect.
I also have been taking citalopram for many months and now
Have tinnitus. Mine sounds like wind blowing.
I would also join a class action suit.
November 11,2013
I was on citalopram for 18 months and now have two tones of tinnitus. As I weened off, the tinnitus, blocked Eustachian tubes, hearing loss, and ear pressure/pain began to creep in. I’ve been off Celexa for eight months now and the tinnitus has not let up even slightly. I would be willing to join a class action suit over this tremendously disabling side effect.
Hello, I have cracklin in my ears after the celexa which i suspect is an issue with my eustachian tubes. Did that get better for you? Is yours crackling? And advice would be much appreciated… thanks.
Hi Neil, I have taken in the last two weeks 4 citalopram tablets at 5mg, ….yes half of a tablet over 4 consecutive days. I wanted to build up to daily 10mg dose but didn’t get a chance to. I think by day 3 I had ringing in my ears and by day 4 it was loud enough for me to be very concerned and fearful such that I decided to stop the medication. It has been about ten days now and I have constant ringing in my ears. It’s not really noticeable when I’m out and about or at work but at home in bed or when the tv is off it is ever present.
I am very upset on reading all comments above. I have not found anywhere that this is temporary, but you did mention in your narrative that sometimes it can go away. Why do you say that it can sometimes go away and it is usual that it can take a few months when the drug should have long left your system by then. If anyone else has news that their tinnitus has gone away please do update your comments. Thanks
Hi Paul:
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that can undo the damage that Citalopram causes. So better never to take it in the first place.
I have received more than 25 reports from people that their tinnitus began after taking Citalopram and that it has never gone away. So that sounds like permanent tinnitus–100%, temporary tinnitus–0%, and that is not good news. So why do I say it can go away–maybe not completely–but fade into the background much of the time?
Tinnitus is inextricably tied to your emotional system. The people that typically have a bad time dealing with their tinnitus tend to be anxious and worry about their tinnitus. (That’s probably why they were put on Citalopram in the first place.) When you worry about your tinnitus, you tend to lock your tinnitus in so it won’t go away. However, if you learn how to deal with your tinnitus so that you can habituate to it, then it no longer bothers you and tends to fade away with time.
Time alone is not the answer. I can’t say, “Your tinnitus will go away in 2 months (or whatever).” It is what you DO during this time that makes the difference. Use it to learn about tinnitus and how to effectively deal with it.
In your case, you are indeed fortunate in that you don’t notice your tinnitus when you are busy, and only “hear” it when it is quiet. The good news is that if you can ignore it much of the time (like you are doing), you can learn to do the same during the quiet times too. Yes, it may be there, but it won’t bother you, and indeed, large chunks of time will go by without your even being aware you have tinnitus.
That is why I tell people to treat their tinnitus the same as they treat the noise their fridge makes–it is so unimportant to you that you totally ignore it and aren’t even aware whether your fridge is on or not unless you specifically listen for it. Do the same with your tinnitus.
Regards
Neil
Doing my best to ignore it like Neil says. But I have got to say that this is a pretty outrageous thing to happen to someone so easily/casually, with no real warning, especially considering it may be forever. It was like a light-switch – it woke me up at 3am, and I literally got up in the dark & went walking around the house & garage, looking behind the fridges etc, trying to find out what was humming so loudly.
Very frustrating to think how the Citalopram prescription was really just an afterthought to my blood pressure med. Didn’t really “need” it in the first place, was just tossed in there by my dr. when I mentioned me getting divorced & being a bit stressed out as a reason for the high BP.
That would have passed, but this industrial a/c unit that runs 24/7 on my right shoulder apparently never will. Can’t believe how loud it is. It’s as if an IED went off or something. But no, nothing catastrophic… just a little pill that I really didn’t need to buy in the first place.
Modern medical apparatus never ceases to amaze
Add me to the list of ringing ears. I’ve been on about 20 mgs of celexa for a long time (years). Recently came off of it – probably too quickly. The ringing in my ears is much worse. There is the lower level continuous ringing that has been present for a long time, but was fairly easy to ignore. Now I’m experiencing additional noise that seems like momentary bursts of increased volume ringing. Also feel that block, congested feeling in ears. I thought it was allergy related, after reading these comments, I’m worried that it may be more sinister.
Hello, I have th congested feeling in my ears but also crackling. Did u have crackling? Im trying to get more info on this. Did ur congestion feeling ever go away? Thanks
I’ve always had tinnitus at a low level and didn’t realise no-one else did until I was 12 or so.
Years later on as a young man I found that if I drank too much alcohol the tinnitus got worse. Thankfully this wore off with the alcohol.
Years on again and I was prescribed Citalopram for work-related depression for about six months in 2012. It worked for that, but gave me the same volume of Tinnitus as the old alcohol triggered state.
Like everyone else’s, I’m sorry to say it hasn’t faded back to the ‘normal’ level in the 18 months since I last took the Citalopram.
I tend to have a radio playing at low level when I need to sleep, but I’m a lot more used to it than most listers here.
I started developing a severe case of persistent tinnitus about 1 month of taking citalopram. My dr said that tinnitus was not a listed side effect of the drug but I told him that my research online showed that it was an infrequent, sometimes permanent side effect. He recommended I slowly stop taking the citalopram and go 2 weeks without the drug. I noticed within a couple of days that the rining went down significantly after I was off of the drug. I also stopped consuming alcohol and caffeine as a test during about a 3 day period.
Right now I am about 1 week off of the drug and I still hear the ringing in total silence but under normal conditions it does not bother. I feel much better about it now..I think it may have been something I have always had but never noticed it until the citalopram made it worse.
Hopefully this can help ease some of your concerns about the ringing being permanent and unbearable. Its better for me and its only been a week off the drug.
I FEEL SO DEVASTATED AND CHEATED.I CRIED WHEN I FOUND OUT WHAT THIS MEDICINE HAS DONE TO ME. THE DIZZINESS, THE SICK FEELING ,BUT MOST OF ALL THE RINGING OF THE EARS.IT IS LOUD AND THERE ALL THE TIME.
I am appalled! I’ve been taken this medication for years. Hopefully the loud high pitch ringing in my ears will stop when I will get off this medication slowly. I also know there are a lot of things one person can do to diminish the “noise”. This is a work in progress for me. I know for instance when I am stressed, tired or if my neck muscles are stiff, this increases the ringing. Also, I’ve been listening to conferences and there might be other causes like poor diet and lack of exercise. There is specialized music that “re train” the ears, that can help but there are no cure for the moment. I think one has to be in tuned with their body and observe what makes it better or worst.
I have had non-stop ringing in my ears for almost three years and yesterday my new doctor says this medicine will make it better. After reading all these testimonials I am afraid to take that second dose.
Amazed to be reading all these testimonials. I too recently took citalopram for 4 months. Not only have I also developed tinnitus but my anxiety got so much worse on that drug. Recently changed drugs and whilst my mood has improved dramatically, I now don’t just get the permanent whine but also the sound like a cricket. Reading the posts here, it seems like I better just get used to having this.
Thanks citalopram.
Reading this thread has made me feel terrible . I’ve suffered anxiety and panic for 2 months so the Dr told me to take anti depressants, she gave me Citalopram and didn’t give me any warnings about side effects. I was very worried about taking the drug so I did lots of research on the net.
I decided that I would ease into it slowly so for 1 week I only took 2.5 mg ( quarter of a pill ) and increase it slowly until I reached the goal of 20mgs. The first week was fine but as I upped the doesage to 5mg ( half a pill ) I suffered insomnia, I carried on taking 5mg for another 3 days still with no sleep. On the 4th day I noticed a buzzing in my head , sounded like it was from the right ear . I then typed into Google ‘citalopram and tinnitus’, to my horror all these bad stories came up .
I imeadiaty stopped taking the drug but after 4 days without it the buzzing is still hear.
It’s terrible , can hear it constantly all the time , sounds like calling a fax machine , high and low pitched tones . It’s worse when I’m walking the dog in the quiet 🙁
I so hope it goes cause I’m a dj and love my music . I don’t need it to interfere with my job or get worse with exposure to loud nightclub music ..
I think I will look into making a lawsuit against the Dr or the drug company !!!
They should of told me about this horrible side effect ….
I’ve taken Citalopram for many years, jumping around taking many different SSRI’s over the years, due to the meds stopped working for me, or I just had grown a tolerance for them. The tinnitus is a huge problem and I was never warned about this horrible side effect either.
This is my fourth run of taking citalopram, never had a problem with tinnitus before but now I’m getting this rushing sound and faint whine. Hope it goes away, quite worried reading all these comments.
I started taking Citalopram six weeks and started noticing ringing in my ears about a month ago, particularly noticeable at night. I can’t believe I found this thread. This is terrible! I have to admit, I am feeling very frightened about it now and am going to start weaning off of the drug right away, but it sounds like there is serious risk the tinnitus might be here to stay. I am going to contact an attorney. So many people with this problem that seemingly doesn’t go away after quitting Celexa, that’s unacceptable. My doctor giving it to me literally said it’s “completely safe, no side effects whatsoever”.
Follow up to my last post from January !
I still have tinnitus at the same level 🙁
Thanks citolapram ….
If anybody files a law suit against the drug manufacturers or thier doctors let me know cause this has ruined my life
Roblawes@hotmail.com
I’m from Argentina and I have the same problem, starting taking citalopram 10 mg and after 2 weeks I’ve got the tinnitus, I will ask my doctor to stop taking this drug, I prefer my old ansiety to this tinnitus
I’m surprised only 6 people (not including myself) complained about this in 2015. I was on Celexa 20mg for 8-9 months. I weaned off it over a 2 month period. Ringing in both ears was one of the reasons I stopped taking it. Still dealing with the ringing after months of being off the medication.
Hi Brian:
You should know that less than 1% of the serious side effects are ever reported to the FDA according to a former FDA commissioner. And since tinnitus and hearing loss are relegated to the non-serious side effect class, you can expect that far fewer than 1% (perhaps 1% of the 1% are ever reported. Thus, every person that complains represents hundreds or thousands of people that do not complain and report their experiences.
I’ve heard from more people about the ototoxic side effects of Citalopram than almost any drug. It’s right up there in the top 5 drugs that cause these side effects according to the number of reports I receive on each drug in my Ototoxic Drugs Exposed book.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the reply Neil. I appreciate it. I rarely take medication because I’m always nervous of side effects, but I’ll admit that about a year ago I had no choice buy to try something. Oh well. Hopefully with time it will get to be more tolerable.
Hi all!
In febuary I started taking citalopram. After one 1 week, I recognized, that it caused a tinnitus. I really was desperate and stopped taking citalopram and hoped that it would go away.
It was the most terrible time of my life.
After 2 months I’ve waited in vain.
No doctors could help me so I tryed to therapy it on my own.
It really sounds crazy but when I’ve tryed MDMA (was my first time) on a party, a few days later my tinnitus was almost gone. I couldn’t explain, but I found similar cases and researches.
Now 4 months are over and I’m happy and I’l never take citalopram or similar pills again.
Hi Maggy:
Tinnitus is a relatively common side effect of taking Citalopram. I’ve never heard of MDMA causing the tinnitus to go away, although it seemed to work in your case.
I do not condone taking MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy, and technically known as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) because it is an amphetamine and is an illegal drug. MDMA acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences according to https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/mdma-ecstasy-abuse/what-mdma .
MDMA is not without side effects and some of them are worse than having tinnitus. It can produce a whole host of side effects—some that mess up your mind and emotions and others that otherwise affect your health.
For example, MDMA can cause anxiety, restlessness, irritability, sadness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, sleep disturbances, lack of appetite, thirst, reduced interest in and pleasure from sex and significant reductions in your mental abilities. In addition, MDMA can cause nausea, chills, sweating, involuntary jaw clenching and teeth grinding, muscle cramping, blurred vision, marked rise in body temperature, dehydration, high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney failure, heart arrhythmia, faintness, panic attacks, loss of consciousness and seizures according to https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/mdma-ecstasy-abuse/what-are-effects-mdma .
You are much better off to use other (legal) ways to get your tinnitus under control without messing up both your mind and your body.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi maggie, I would love to get in touch with you about your experience taking mdma… it is amazing that your tinnitus went away. If you can, please respond to my comment id love to hear from you
Greetings from Mexico, took Citalopram for 1.5 years. After trying a couple of times to get off of it cold turkey, I developed Tinnitus on my right ear, accompanied with hearing loss (medically confirmed with an audiometry).
Hearing loss has been better and my Tinnitus is not something that interferes with my every day life, but as a hobby guitar player, you can imagine what having a sensitive ear feels like. Earplugs for concerts, playing, etc.
I was shocked when I found this site, specially since it’s what’s making more sense to me on what triggered my Tinnitus.
Ha, this is so ironic, I started on Citalopram to reduce my depression and now I’m depressed over the side effects of using it. I can say that since two weeks ago after coping with the withdrawals symptoms (particularly dizziness), I’m off.
I truly hope that everyone going through this stuff can find a way to deal with. Let’s hope that in the near future, with all the medical advancements, we can find a way to improve our condition. Big blessings to everyone.
Would you direct me to the research concluding that only one percent of those taking Citalopram develop tinnitus?
Hi Daniel:
The figure of around 1% was taken from the initial studies done by the drug company when they were seeking approval to market Citalopram.
Since the drug companies were not specifically looking for tinnitus, they just reported it if someone in the study brought it up. Thus, the 1% figure is the bare minimum–what I call the tip of the iceberg. The true figure may be many times higher (and I believe it is based on all the anecdotal reports I receive from people that take Citalopram and get tinnitus as a result.
In fact, I receive more anecdotal reports on Citalopram than almost any other drug.
Cordially,
Neil
I am from the U.S. I took citalopram 20 mg for 2 days in early November and my tinnitus that was very mild became much worse. It has still not improved and I am very depressed. I was wondering if anyone who had this reaction has improved over several years. Looking for a little hope. Praying for all of us.
Hi Theresa:
I’ve heard from more people regarding ototoxic side effects such as tinnitus from taking Citalopram than for almost any other drug. It is certainly up there in the top ten drugs that people report to me. Unfortunately, numbers of people that get tinnitus from taking Citalopram find it is permanent–at least for the first few months to a year.
There is nothing to say that your tinnitus won’t slowly improve with time, but in order for that to happen, you need to do two things. First, you need to become emotionally neutral towards to your tinnitus. If you worry that it will affect the quality of your life in the future, your limbic system will cause this to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. So you have to understand that tinnitus is NOT a threat to your wellbeing. This will defuse your limbic systems response to your tinnitus.
Second, you need to, as much as is possible, completely and totally ignore your tinnitus. You do this by focusing on the loves of your life, not on your tinnitus.
When you do this, over time, and this will takes some months, your tinnitus will slowly fade into the background and not bother you as much. This is called becoming habituated to your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your kind response Neil please let me know if you hear of something that helps to improve this tinnitus I have some days where noise is quieter and I look forward to those days and try to decrease my anxiety on bad days by distracting myself with errands or activities. I also am trying some vitamins (vitamin E ,Mg, zinc and acetyl l carnotite.) I am including you and everyone here in my prayers. Kind Regards, Theresa
Just adding my experience to this, I’ve taken Citalopram/Celapram on and off over the last 15 years, usually 20mg/day dosage, most recently for a 5 year period up until mid 2015. I’d never experienced chronic tinnitus during this time. After slowly weaning off of it and going without from June 2015, about 5 months later I was struggling with depression again and agreed with my doctor to go back on it at 10mg/day in November.
About a week into the latest dosage I started getting slight tinnitus in the right ear all the time. I spoke to my doctor and he suggested I was just adjusting to being back on it, and with more time it would pass. I’ve been on 10mg/day for 3 months now and the tinnitus has gotten much louder, and spread to the left ear (though not as loud as the right). I’ve been considering weaning off it again but reading the above testimonies I’m reluctant to do this if the tinnitus is going to remain anyway.
It’s pretty shocking that a drug with evidence this common of causing permanent hearing damage is still widely recommended by doctors, doctors do not warn of this side effect and there’s not even documented evidence that for many the damage is long lasting or potentially permanent. I will definitely look into reporting my experience to the FDA, although I’m not sure they’d take my report as I live in Australia.
Please someone tell me that there’s hope of recovery from this? I have been on Citalopram 20mg for almost 2 years, and only recently noticed the constant hiss. I had been using Zolpidem (Ambien) 6.25mg for sleep and bumped to the full dose of 12.5mg about 3 months ago, now have constant hiss day and night. Cutting back on Citalopram seems to help.
Hi Dave:
Citalopram causes tinnitus in many people. I think I’ve heard from more people getting tinnitus after taking Citalopram than any other drug–at least it is tied for the top spot.
I’d get off the Citalopram if you can. Have your doctor prescribe a different drug that does not cause your tinnitus to flare up. Since you can reduce your dose and consequently reduce your tinnitus, you are blessed. I hear from so many people that stop taking Citalopram and months or years later, their tinnitus is still screaming away.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman –
I’m Jeff, 35, and have been on Lexapro for more than 10 years, without ever having had any particular tinnitus problems. Then I recently switched health insurance and my primary doctor. The new insurance didn’t want to pay for the Lexapro, only Celexa (cheaper), so I began taking that a couple months ago. About a week ago, I woke up suddenly with very loud ringing in my ears. It’s been there on a lesser level ever since and is driving me crazy. I thought it was TMJ related, or perhaps related to my neck, because turning my head, etc., does seem to affect it. However, after reading this, I’m wondering if it was the switch to Celexa. The timing is right. But since Lexapro and Celexa are so similar, would that make any sense? Does Lexapro not have the same tinnitus potential that Celexa does? Thank you in advance!
Hi Jeff:
Escitalopram (Lexapro) and Citalopram (Celexa), although both are SSRI drugs, and Escitalopram was derived from Citalopram, they are not the same. Yes, they are similar, but the chemical differences may be just enough that one gives you tinnitus and the other doesn’t. In fact, many people find that to be true.
For example, although “officially” both drugs cause tinnitus about the same percentage of the time, in actual fact, the number of people that get tinnitus from taking Citalopram is MANY, MANY times the number of people that get tinnitus from taking Escitalopram. In my experience–based on anecdotal reports of people getting tinnitus from taking these drugs–17 TIMES as many people report tinnitus from Citalopram than from Escitalopram.
Therefore, you need to go to your doctor and INSIST that he prescribe Escitalopram for you instead of Citalopram so that you can bring your tinnitus under control. Have him spell it out for your insurance company and they should let you switch back.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, i have mild tinnitus from about a month ago, it is hard to tell which it is from, i was taking 5 mg of celexa for 3/4 days and it starter. However i was also dealing with tmj that had started and i had just gotten crepitus which i could hear in my ear the exact same day i started the celexa. I was extremely panicked when i first saw this thread . I guess ill just tell my symptoms and see if this fits the bill… My ears are “full” i am able to flex some muscle in my ears and the right one mostly “clicks” i also have white noise that doesnt disrupt my day but in complete silence i can hear it. What do you think?
Hi Lauren:
I think that it is likely that your “white noise” tinnitus may be from the Celexa.
I think the feeling of fullness in your ear and the clicking are more likely associated with your TMJ. If your TMJ is out, it could be putting pressure on your Eustachian tube causing the feeling of fullness. The clicks can be several things–your TM joint clicking, your tiny muscles in your middle ear going into spasms and sounding like clicking, or junk trapped in your Eustachian tube clicking or crackling as air sneaks though it to your middle ear.
Cordially,
Neil
HI Neil,
Thank you for your response. It sounds like the tubes opening and closing is not caused by the celexa. My question is is there anything I can do about the mid tinnitus? I have been anxious about it and have been “listening” for it at night. Also, it is inconsistent…sometimes i hear it in one ear, and the next day i won’t hear it in that ear. If it were due to celexa would it just be one tone constantly? It seems like a coincidence that I got the white noise sound and the full feeling/clicking within a few days of each other. I am of course hoping its all due to my jaw because than I can make it go away. I am not sure what to do. I worry about it getting worse, and am wondering if loud music at a concert would make it worse? I am of course off the celexa now, I only took if for one week, 6 days at 5 mg and 2 days at 10.
I was prescribed 50mg Sertraline in January this year for anxiety. Approx 8 weeks later noticed ringing in my left ear. Went to doctor who told me to reduce dose gradually as I had told tinnitus was a side effect. He then started me on 10mg of Citalopram. He referred to the ENT for check up. Had hearing test done which was clear so now waiting to see Consultant. All this does not help my anxiety. Just back from doctors and he has now reduced Citalopram as I told him again that this drug also causes ringing in the ears. Starting to feel frustrated/depressed as you can never get away from the noise.
Hi Lin:
Unfortunately, numbers of the drugs they prescribe for anxiety actually make anxiety worse, not to mention their other side effects such as tinnitus. A much better approach in my opinion is to find a counselor that helps people deal with their anxiety without using drugs, and/or use natural herbals.
You would do well to read my article “Safer Alternatives to Anti-Anxiety Drugs at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/safer-alternatives-to-anti-anxiety-drugs/ and my article “Safer Alternatives to Tranquilizers and Antidepressants” at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/safer-alternatives-to-tranquilizers-and-antidepressants/.
You also need to learn how to effectively deal with your tinnitus instead of letting it get you down. The 7th edition of my book, “Take Control of your Tinnitus–Here’s How” can help you do this. Since you live in the UK, you may want to got the eBook version as postage to the UK is ridiculously high. You can get either the printed version or the eBook version at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/.
Cordially,
Neil
I have Alpha-1 and am trying to get on the lung transplant list. Because of my physical limitations,depression is terrible. I started taking Citalopram 20mg on July13 2016 10mg first week 20mg day 8. I stopped on July30. Because of sever ringing and hissing in both my ears. Actually thru my whole head. It’s unbearable. My depression is only more so now. There were no warnings on my prescription facts. I would never have started this medication if this was listed as a possible side effect, because I was taking Paxil a year ago,and had slight ringing. I immediately stopped. It lasted about 2 weeks. And was gone completely.
I’m praying this will go away before I loose my sanity…
Hi Charles:
I’m sorry to hear of your troubles. Citalopram is very ototoxic–I’ve heard from more people that damage their ears from taking it that from almost any other drug. It is not a drug to be taken lightly if you value your ears.
You need to get your depression under control using safer means. Unfortunately, doctors only think drugs and this only makes the situation worse in numbers of people.
Cordially,
Neil
I was on Citalopram for 2yrs and had no noticeable side effects – no tinnitus. I’ve never had tinnitus other than in my younger days for a few hours after going to a nightclub!
3 months ago I thought I was ready to come off. Having discussed with my GP, I did this slowly over 3 weeks. At the end – tinnitus and the strange “brain zap” another has spoken about.
I can only describe this as a pulse that races inside from the top of the head to the neck, maybe down one arm, maybe both or maybe down the spine as well.
I also got extremely and undeservedly irritable when I came off, so I went back on slowly building the dose back up. As soon as I started taking it again, the symptoms went.
Due to other problems, my GP has switched me to another SSRI as taking low-dose Aspirin with citalopram is not recommended.
Again, gradually reduced dose and now tinnitus and brain zaps are back. Also very irritable/angry for the first few days after stopping.
The tinnitus is mild and only really noticeable when sitting quietly. The brain zaps are intermittent but constant. Not debilitating but very aggravating.
This is not looking good. What has this drug done to me?
I have suffered depression a couple of times before and then prescribed Prozac. I was only on that for 6 or 9 months and after felt great with no residual effects.
Hi Adam:
I thought your comment deserved a more complete reply than I usually give to comments so I have written a complete article about getting off Citalopram safely. You can read this article, “Tapering Off Citalopram Safely Without Side Effects” here.
Cordially,
Neil
People have asked here if anyone has improved from the tinnitus after getting off Citalopram. I took Citalopram six or seven years ago. I also complained of ringing ears. After getting off, my ringing ears dimmed but never totally went away. I came to the unwise conclusion that maybe the ringing was from something else such as old age. But just a few weeks ago, my doctor prescribed citalopram again. Just a low dose. 10 mg. But now my ringing ears have gotten so loud I can’t hardly sleep. I am getting off the drug immediately and pray the ringing improves again soon. Sometimes I feel like I am going insane!
My name is Theresa and I posted a comment in January 2016. (After taking Citalopram 20 mg for 2 days in a row in November 2015, I developed very bad tinnitus) I wanted to post an update to give others hope. My tinnitus is continuing to slowly improve & even on bad days I have learned to cope with it much better. There is an app called white noise TMSOFT that can be very helpful since you can mix noises & even download your own sounds. Mostly though I wanted to give others hope that your tinnitus can improve even if it takes a while. Thank you Dr Bauman for your support at a time in my life when I really needed it. I will continue to pray for everyone on this forum.
Note to Lori
The same thing happened to me. Doctors told me tinnitus was not from medication & then it was prescribed again. You are not alone. I found some good masking noises on TMS white noise & mixed some of my own. My volume has decreased & I have quiet days. You may do better than me also. I am praying for you. I know what you are going through. Hang in there, it should get better with time. Kind regards, Theresa
I am one of those people who developed it as I was weaning OFF Celexa. Head shakes, dizziness and ringing. VERY loud ringing. I prayed for it to go away but here i am 5 years later and it is still very loud, still makes me feel like I’m going to go insane and makes me so depressed. Somebody please get a lawsuit going. This is torture.
Note to Mrs Smith
You are not alone. I found the sound of running water from my sink masks the noise the most. You can record your own noises on TMS White Noise app and create mixes. I mix running water noise with calming quiet music and use on bad days. I will be praying for you also.
Several years ago, I was taking Fluoxetine to treat social anxiety and OCD. While I was taking that medication, I was getting ringing in the ears for side affect and it got louder so I stopped it right away.
Now I have been taking Citalopram at 20 mg. I still have ringing in the ears but it’s really mild and most of the time I don’t even notice it’s there. Though Citalopram doesn’t seem to help much coping with my anxiety. I am just afraid to try higher dosage or other medication. I don’t want my ringing in the ears to worsen and come back as I couldn’t tolerate in the past.
Also, I have mild to moderate hearing loss. Any advice you could provide?
Hi Senthil:
Both Fluoxetine and Citalopram cause tinnitus in numbers of people. In fact, I get more reports of tinnitus from people taking Citalopram than for almost any other drug. So it would be good to get off this drug too if you can especially since it isn’t doing anything for your anxiety anyway.
Incidentally, both of these drugs cause hearing loss in numbers of people too. Another reason to get off these drugs.
My first question to you is why are you so anxious? If it were me, I’d go to a therapist/counselor who could help me deal with my social anxiety rather than just be drugged (which ultimately doesn’t do anything to help you get rid of your social anxiety).
You need to work through why you are anxious when around people, then deal with it. Then you’ll be free of it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your advice. I have been taking this medication more to control OCD under my primary care physician.
I have seen therapist/counselors in the past to cope with social anxiety and it helped. Right now, I am just dealing with OCD that seems to take over my daily/routine life. I never had this before and one of my counselor mentioned this might have resulted from anxiety over the years.
I can consider seeing another therapist and get more advice how to move forward.
Regards,
Senthil
Dr. Bauman
Hello, and thank you for creating a forum for those having issues such as mine; it helps to know that I am not alone. Started taking Celexa 10 mg/day 6 weeks ago and gradually worked up to 40 at which point I noticed pulsing tinnitus in my right ear. After reading about a connection between Celexa and tinnitus here 2 days after it began, I have dropped the dosage to 20 mg over 4 days with no improvement (it seems to be worse at times). I don’t know if I should immediately discontinue the drug or continue weaning for a longer period. My doctor has been on vacation and I am still waiting to hear back (no pun intended). I am dubious of her opinion anyway as the medical community does not seem too receptive to this problem. I understand this may be a permanent condition, but I would like to prevent it worsening. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated as I am extremely distraught over this recent development. Again thank you for what you do.
Hi Bryan:
I’ve heard from numbers of people that get tinnitus from even a 10 mg dose. And it seems to be more common, the higher the dose. You’ve worked down to 20 mg, but you are still above the tinnitus threshold which is somewhere below 10 mg.
So many people that contact me have permanent tinnitus as a result of taking Celexa. In fact, I think I have received more reports of tinnitus from people taking Citalopram than for any other drug.
What can you do now? First, I’d suggest you get off the Citalopram and decide never to take it again so it can’t cause you further problems. Second, you might want to try Arches tinnitus formula. This is a Ginkgo biloba based supplement that has the highest concentration of the active ingredients from Ginkgo that are known to help many people with tinnitus. I’d try it for 3 months and see what happens. There are no guarantees, but it does help numerous people with tinnitus from taking drugs. Third, and this is very important, learn to effectively deal with your tinnitus. Basically, you need to learn that it is NOT an threat to your well-being, then totally ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life. The more you think about and get upset over your tinnitus, the worse it becomes.
I explain this all in much more detail in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” and specifically chapter 16. You can get this book at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
So here I am…. Just to raise awareness, Dr prescribed citalopram 20mg to help IBS and impact on daily life. After 11 days my ears started ringing…. Started in the right ear which sounded like water rushing through a pipe, then the left and then high pitched squeel. Constant.. Every minute of every day. No warning of this side effect from Dr and to be honest this is so much worse than the problem the pills were prescribed for. Tapered down to 10mg and now been off them for 8 days. Ringing is just as bad as when it started. Not great. Luckily I found this forum and now think this is directly related to the drug. Will keep updated as hope it subsides but no sign of it yet. Did anyone actually recover from drug induced tinitus? How long… Days? Weeks? Years? Be helpful to reach out to others. My hearing has always been great but now it sounds like I have an old dial up connection in my head and I don’t really like it. Thanks!
I was prescribed 10mg of Citalopram for 27 days, and then prescribed 20mg. I’ve been on 20mg for 7 days now. I was already experiencing tinnitus near the time when I started taking the 10mg dosage. I want to get off of it, would going cold turkey be safe? My doctor doesn’t seem to know anything and has been getting frustrated with my concerns . After finding out I have Tinnitus I want to get off the anti depressants in hope that it goes away some day.
I’m 20 years old and was put on Citalopram after having severe anxiety/panic attacks. I was prescribed 5mg for 5 days and then moved up to 20mg and have been taking it for a month now. I noticed my ears ringing near the start of me taking citalopram, but I thought it was my anxiety for the longest time. It wasn’t until I started researching it myself that I made the link between citalopram and tinnitus. I’m extremely depressed because I now have to live with this for the rest of my life, I’m in my second year of university and it’s so debilitating that I’m considering dropping out 🙁 please someone tell me there tinnitus went away, I can’t deal with this for the rest of my life….
Hi Ann:
As I told Brigitta, you don’t really want to quit Citalopram cold turkey. This is especially true if you have built up a dependence on it. Rather than quitting cold turkey, it would be better to taper off it, even if done rather rapidly.
For example, you could take the 20 mg pill and break it in quarters and take 3/4 for a week or so. If no side effects crop up, then take 1/2 for a week or so and again if no side effects crop up, the next week take 1/4 for a week and then stop.
If side effects begin to show up, slow down the taper–-say wait two weeks before dropping to the next level.
That would get you off it in 1 month, or longer if needed. You could always stop cold turkey and hold out–-but that is not the best idea because sometimes bad things occur and become permanent–so better to have some degree of taper.
Now, to address your tinnitus. First, you don’t know that you will have tinnitus for the rest of your life. You need a positive attitude or your negative attitudes towards your tinnitus may become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you think of yourself as a victim and your tinnitus as as threat to your well-being, and thus worry about it, your tinnitus may indeed become a permanent thing and get worse too the more your obsess over it.
However, if you think of yourself in control and that your tinnitus is NOT a threat to your well-being in any way, and is a totally unimportant and meaningless sound, then you can turn your attention to the loves of your life and totally ignore your tinnitus. When you do that, you’ll almost certainly find that your tinnitus begins to fade into the background and no longer bothers you–and hours or days may go by without your even being aware you have tinnitus. This is what you want to happen–but it is up to you to make happen.
I’ve had tinnitus for 3 TIMES as long as you’ve been alive, and its no big deal. I don’t let it bother me. You can do the same if you put your mind to it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I’ve been taking Citalopram since 2008,since then I have hand a constant noise in my head and a chronic migraine type headache that only gets slightly better when I lay down, but never yes away the tinnitus is at the stage where you can’t ignored it all my doc said is that you have to put up with it because it is a side effect of the citalopram so it is known to some doc’s but not all . I am now going to see another doc this week to see what he thinks about it as this headache is getting too much
Hi Cla-re:
Ask your doctor to try a different class of drug and see whether that helps.
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus actualy started as I was weaning off Citalopram. It started as vertigo and then the rining started. After a seeing a few specialists and an MIR, they discovered I had a vascular loop around my vestibulocochlear nerve. The symptoms lessoned after I went back on Citalopram, but are still present. That was two years ago, but recently I ran out of it and skipped two doses on the 2nd day my dizzyness came back and the ringing increased.
I have been on citalopram just over a year I’m on 40mg and have had tinnitus for about a month. I have been on fluoxentine for years before that with no side effects. I know the tinnitus isn’t my ears has had then syringed last week. After reading this need to get off.
Yeah, Citalopram is ridiculous drug. I took 20mg once a day for 3 DAYS only, and tinnitus started on the 1st day, with general feeling of being unwell. The day I stopped taking it I couldnt eat anything, even water was hard to swallow, day after that I became super dizzy and that’s my life now basically, tinnitus and dizziness when moving head around. Or rather lightheadedness, its the same feeling as 1st day of flu, or high temperature, except the flu never comes…
Anyway, it’s been 11 days off citalopram, tinnitus is still here, so is dizziness, at least apetite is fine…
I started taking Citalopram last June. Well 2 months in and sure enough the tinnitus started. Came first in the left ear then to the right, then both. Now only in the right with “pitch” changes. Hoping for a cure at some point. Currently trying different formulas to help ease the ringing and my mood. Quality CBD oil and different supplements. ENT was a waste visiting many times.
Hi Tom:
Few doctors have a clue how to effectively help people with tinnitus. Have you tried taking Arches Tinnitus formula? You may find it helps you more than other supplements. And don’t focus on your tinnitus, but on the loves of your life and let your tinnitus fade into the background.
Cordially,
Neil
Do not take Escitalopram. I took 5mg of Escitalopram for 5 days and suddenly had extremely loud tinnitus. It was a loud screaming from the centre of my head. I immediately stopped taking Escitalopram. Sadly 7 days later the tinnitus has not stopped. My Psychiatrist when I spoke to him was totally unaware of this side effect. I have been drinking loads of water/laxatives to wash out the poison from my system but with no effect to date. Now affecting my sleep. I just wish I had never heard of or taken Escitalopram. I just hope I have not through Escitalopram not now got screaming tinnius for life!
Hai ken..
Does your tinnitus improved?
Greetings..
I was prescribed Citalopram for anxiety and depression about a year and a half ago. After a week, I developed tinnitus and told my doctor. He told me TO KEEP TAKING IT and it would go away. It got louder. After a month, he agreed to switch me to Duloxetine, which it turned out gave me a rash. Again, he told me to KEEP TAKING IT… and it almost killed me. I worked with three pharmacists to learn how to wean off the drug. I’m down to 2.88mg from 30mg after a year and a half. Stopping cold can cause permanent psychosis and I have overwhelming suicidal thoughts if I lower my dose too quickly (which I have never had independent of weaning off the drug). I cannot believe my doctor practices medicine, but he’s the doctor I was assigned and, while I’m fighting to get a new doctor, there aren’t many in my city who take my insurance (or who will take on more Obamacare clients). The ringing has never stopped. It ebbs sometimes and there’s a finger flicking thing I can do at the base of my skull that will turn it off for 15-30 mins, but it’s always there, glowing. I didn’t realize that Wellbutrin is also a problem for tinnitus. Bummer. I take that too. And I have no idea how to wean off something like that. I really do feel like this county was taken for a ride with medication – especially since we get generics from ever-changing and poorly managed factories overseas. I don’t want to take medicine unless it’s made under strict conditions… yet, here I am. Another idiot who believed her doctor when he said, “This will help.” What I REALLY needed was a counselor. And a good doctor.
Hi Hannah:
Doctors sure don’t know much about drugs and ototoxicity so you have to do your own due dilligence. And listen to your body, not your doctor when he tells you to keep taking a drug that is damaging your body in some way. Remember, you are in charge–not your doctor.
As for switching to Duloxetine from Citalopram, Duloxetine actually has even more reports of tinnitus than Citalopram.
Bupropion (Wellbutrin) has about 1.7 times more reports of tinnitus than Citalopram so it would be a good drug to get off of if you can. Bupropion has a half-life of 33 to 37 hours so it should be relatively easy to taper off this drug. Personally, I’d do the same 10% taper on the descending balance per month that you use for Citalopram and take more than a year before you “jump off”.
Cordially,
Neil
hai Neil..
Ive used citolapram for 9 days 2 mg a day.
At the 9 day ive got ringing in both ears.
Ive stopped immediatly.
Ive got it now for 8 weeks.
The last 2 weeks it seems to get less noticable and less loud..
Sometimes its gone for a little time.
Can you please tell me that there are cases that the tinnitus totally dissapear after stopping citolapram?
Hi Marina:
Good things are happening if your tinnitus is less loud and disappears for a bit. This shows that in time your tinnitus may go away completely, or get so faint it doesn’t bother you.
The people that contact me are the ones where their tinnitus doesn’t go away–that’s why they contact me. Those that are successful never say a word–at least not to me so far–so my view of the subject is very skewed.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello , i took 2 months ago citolapram for 9 days ..7 days 2mg and 2 days 4 mg ..22 mg in 9 days all together..
I have now tinittus for.8 weeks,in my ear in my head, i am very sad about it.
Is there anyone here where the tinittus is gone away ? I took 22 mg ..i am desperate..
I took Citalopram for 3 weeks i have now tinittus loud sound in my ears and my head .I’ve stopped taking it
It’s been 3 days since i stopped taking
Citalopram and the noise and sound still here. I feel terrible taking this medication is the biggest mistake
I took Citalopram for 6 days, 10 mgs.
Noticed the tinnitus on day 2 or 3, sounded like a distant fan running. On day 6 it had developed into a high pitched ringing. I googled ‘citalopram tinnitus’, found this thread and quit cold turkey. Ringing persists now, 3 weeks later, mainly in my left ear.
If anything changes I’ll post another comment.
Thanks for creating and maintaining this site, Dr Bauman. You seem like one of the only voices highlighting the connection between SSRIs and tinnitus.
I’ve been on Citalopram for about 10 years now. I was originally put on it because I would get lightheaded and woozy so the doctors said it may be stress. Recently I started getting tinnitus and I have had it for about a month now. Should I try to ween myself off the citopram? I’m also taking a statin, would that cause it? Thanks
Hi Steve:
Both Citalopram and the various statin drugs can cause tinnitus. Did you recently begin taking the statin drug? If so, and if the tinnitus began soon afterwards, I’d blame it on the statin. Otherwise it could be the Citalopram–or the combination of the two.
If the Citalopram isn’t really necessary, it sure wouldn’t be a bad idea to taper off it. The fewer drugs you take the fewer chances you have of them damaging your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
I want to say, thank you for a nice site. I got the disease tinnitus, by the medicine Citalopram, but not only that,I got hyperacusis too. Hyperacusis gave me a lot of louder tinnitus sounds and it made a nightmare of my life. I live isolated and got lost of my friends and my problem does not exist in the care. They taught me wrong way to handle it.They thought I would handle the sounds, but tinnitus got worse from the different sounds around me. I have mention this to the care, but this problem is not existed. When this problem does not exist, where the tinnitus get worse of hyperacusis. And it did not get better of that I took Bamyl. That has acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin). I hope the research mention the hyperacusis, where the hyperacusis give more sounds to the the tinnitus. I come from Sweden and my name is Tommy Andersson. Thank you for your side and to all of them who have written and talked about the medicine Citalopram. My Swedish doctor thought it could not could give me the bad effects and I referred to your site. Many thanks!
Hi Tommy:
Citalopram is listed as causing tinnitus in many people. It is also listed as causing hyperacusis in some people. It looks like you got both of these side effects from taking it.
When you have both hyperacusis and tinnitus, you can get reactive tinnitus where your hyperacusis makes your tinnitus louder as the sounds around you increase.
Probably taking the Bamyl (Aspirin) didn’t cause your tinnitus to get worse unless you were taking high doses of it such as 5 or more adult Bamyl a day.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi i’ve taken ONE dose of citalopram 10mg and i have tinnitus for a week now and it bothers me so badly i want to kill myself , is it going away and how long does it take usually ? how good are my chances?
Hi Alexandre:
I’ve heard from a number of people that have had the same experience as you–just taking one 10 mg pill of Citalopram caused them what appears to be permanent tinnitus.
Remember, I just hear from the people that get side effects–not the ones that don’t, so I hear about the worst cases.
It seems that the tinnitus persists so you need to learn how to successfully deal with your tinnitus and not let it drive you “buggy”. You CAN learn to do this–but it won’t happen as long as you obsess over your tinnitus and think of it as a threat to your well-being.
Cordially,
Neil
I have persistent tinnitus from use of sertraline. But it seems to go away if I go back on the drug. I’d rather not! Question then becomes — would any ototoxic SSRI now “mask” the tinnitus? I could then swap out sertraline with one that is less ototoxic.
Hi James:
I’ve never heard of this before. So what you are saying is you take the drug and get tinnitus, then stop it and the tinnitus stays the same. Then you go back on the Sertraline and your tinnitus goes away. How long does your tinnitus stay away when you do this–permanently? or ?
It seems to me that you should just stay off SSRIs now and use alternative means to do whatever it is taking the SSRIs is supposed to do for you. Or maybe I’m missing something.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi
please help me. I am on Citalopram for four years. I can hear horrible noise. I am blind and all my life depends on my hearing.
Hi Maryam:
If the Citalopram is causing your tinnitus, then it would be a good idea to get off it. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that your tinnitus will go away when you get off it, but at least you won’t continue making it worse.
You need to work with your doctor on this.
Cordially,
Neil
It is heart breaking to see so many people harmed by the drug. I visited this website and posted my comment 10 years ago when I was first affected by the drug. 10 years have passed and the ringing is still going on even though I have not been taking any antidepressant since then. I tried Chinese medicine, acupuncture etc but nothing works. The good news is that I learned to live with it and I have been living a normal life. I believe the problem doesn’t cause by the ears but is in the brain. I can hear well but only high pitch is overshadowed by the constant ringing. I believe the drug tried to rewire the brain but caused short circuit loop in the hearing part of the brain causing constant feedback. I believe all the other SSRI works pretty much the same way. Anyway, my encouragement to those who are still hearing the hissing, learn to live it and you will be fine. Just imagine that you are living in a forest with the hissing sound of insects around you.
Hi Dr Neil,
I’ve been on Citalopram 20mg for 8 1/2 months. My mood had stabilised and I would like to come off, especially since I have musical ear syndrome, possibly caused by it (I was on a few drugs at the time).
What tapering process would you recommend? I’m hoping to get my GP to prescribe the drops instead of pills. But not sure if this will be possible. How do I come off safely?
Many thanks,
Eve
Hi Eve:
Hi Eve:
How fast you can taper off a drug depends on how much your body depends on this drug. I certainly don’t advocate quitting “cold turkey” as that can cause nasty withdrawal side effects to appear.
If you have not built up much dependence on Citalopram, than you might be able to do a relatively quick taper.
For example, you could take the 20 mg pill and break it in quarters and take 3/4 for a week or so. If no side effects crop up, then take 1/2 for a week or so and again if no side effects crop up, the next week take 1/4 for a week and then stop.
If side effects begin to show up, slow down the taper–-say wait two weeks before dropping to the next level.
That would get you off it in 1 month, or longer if needed.
However a “safe taper” that should preclude any adverse withdrawal effects from appearing would be the 10% taper per month.
Thus you would take 20 – 2 = 18 mg the first month, then 18 – 1.8 = 16.2 the next month and 16 – 1.6 = 14.4 mg the next month and so on.
This would get you off the drug in a year or so, depending when you “jump off”.
Of course, you may be able to go faster than this–make them 1, 2, or 3 week intervals instead of a full month if your body is ok with a faster taper. Everyone is different.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much. I really appreciate this advice.
Just to add a little bit of positivity here:
I was prescribed 5mg of Escitalopram, to go up to 10mg/day after 10 days. I felt so much better after two or three days, that I decided to remain at 5mg. After about a week I noticed a few side effects, but nothing major: slightly decreased libido, slight emotional numbness, a little more tinnitus than normal (I’ve had a small amount of tinnitus but it rarely bothers me). A few days after that I felt pressure in my ears and the tinnitus was terrible. I couldn’t sleep for days and only managed to sleep with loud static on the stereo and sleeping tablets. Utter hell. My GP was adamant that it wasn’t the escitalopram. I went to an ENT and he said that my hearing is above average, and that I had no damage to my ears. I read around on the net and discovered that escitalopram is ototoxic, and decided to quit it immediately after taking 5 mg for about 3 weeks. I dealt with a few side effects for a few days – crying, insomnia, dizzyness & tinnitus (of which was the worst). My therapist was surprised that I’d gotten tinnitus. She recounted she’d only ever had in her patients a couple of times before, and she’s been practising a good while. Another aside: once she prescribed me some Histamine sleeping tablets and I reacted so badly to a quarter of a tablet that I was in a fug for the whole of the following day. My body seems to react very strongly to these things.
And here’s the positive bit: About 4 or 5 days after stopping taking the escitalopram my tinnitus started to subside. I can still hear it now, but it has certainly improved. I’ve been able to sleep without static noise and without sleeping tablets for about 3 days now.
I still feel fairly calm, libido is still slightly depressed. I’m confident that all of these side-effects will disappear over the coming weeks.
I can still hear the tinnitus and it is mildly annoying, but I am confident it will abate further, and with any luck it will also abate for you too!
It’s like being in hell and don’t know why you were sent there.
Same issue here: GP refuses to accept my tinnitus started when they gave me Citalopram. The poisoning didn’t even take much time… just 3 days of minimum starter dosage (10mg) and BOOM, tinnitus manifested. They wouldn’t even help me or do anything about it and just left me hanging. I’m stuck in a high pitch hell.
Dear Dr. Neil and anyone who may be suffering from tinnitus from Citalopram. Citalopram worsened my tinnitus and hyperacusis and I figured out a way to get better with yoga and the help of Julian Cowan Hill.
I promised myself if I got better (which seemed like a long shot at the time), I would share my information and help others. I originally got tinnitus and hyperacusis playing in a way too loud rock band (Yes, I WAS wearing earplugs, but it was still too loud). I had mild tinnitus/hyperacusis for seven years and then it got worse in 2020 when I was mixing an album. After that, I literally took one half pill (one five MG dose) of Citalopram which made everything MUCH WORSE immediately. My T doubled in volume. The pain in my right ear was unbearable. Going outside was excruciatingly painful. I already couldn’t listen to music anymore by this time (after 5-10 minutes, my hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus were too much to handle). I couldn’t talk on the phone. I couldn’t play my trumpet. I was in tremendous pain, and most every day sounds made it worse. In addition, almost no one would believe me, or that Citalopram, a “harmless antidepressant with such a low dose” could cause me this kind of trouble when I KNOW IT DID.
In 2020, I suffered an emotional trauma from the pandemic. I saw a psychiatrist who prescribed me Citalopram. I had reservations about this because I had read on Dr. Neil’s site about the evils of ototoxic drugs when I was trying to learn more about tinnitus. However, doctor gaslit me with the old “Who are you gonna believe, them or an MD?” B.S. and I unfortunately fell for it in a moment of vulnerability (I was confused and kind of lost).
I suffered for eight miserable months. I also got TMJ (unrelated, and I also cured that and can explain in another post).
After the aforementioned eight miserable months of suffering, I set up a Skype appointment with Julian Cowan Hill. Julian had cured his tinnitus and hyperacusis and it had given me hope. I found him on YouTube. I was still a bit skeptical though, but figured I had nothing to lose by trying. Julian recommended I try craniosacral therapy, which I did, and it helped a bit. However, the true game-changer for me was the yoga. I got the idea watching one of Julian’s videos on Vimeo about reactive tinnitus. I used Peggy Cappy’s DVD Yoga For the Rest of Us. I also did head-rubbing exercises that Julian teaches you how to do on his Quieten App.
Upon my first Yoga session with Peggy Cappy’s DVD, I felt immediate improvement, however, I had a ways to go. I did it almost every day for one year. This is a long term project, but my improvement was consistently noticeable. After about a week or two, going outside wasn’t a problem anymore, and I could play my trumpet. After a month, I could watch TV again and listen to music for about 20-30 minutes a day. After two months, I could do everything but it was a mere annoyance. After about three, I could listen to music and watch TV as long as I wanted, and could talk on the phone again.
Eventually, my hyperacusis vanished and my T became mild. I kind of burned out on the Yoga after a year; tinnitus is still there but it’s mild now; I often don’t think about it. I am going to get back to the yoga though, because I’ve gotten rid of about 2/3 of the tinnitus, and I think I can get rest of the rest over time.
Basically, tinnitus is your nervous system on HIGH-ALERT mode. You were exposed to something that upset your nervous system: loud noise, a drug, etc. But thankfully, the brain can be changed. Tinnitus and hyperacusis are your brain sending ringing and/or pain signals to protect you. But if you can re-wire the neural pathways, you can get better.
Some may not believe that one 5 mg dose of Citalopram could make me that much worse. Or they may not believe the Yoga helped. But I know it did for me, and now every musical note I hear is a blessing, and I’ve never loved TV more. I cannot guarantee Yoga will help you, as each case is different, but it won’t hurt to try. I definitely BIG TIME recommend Julian Cowan Hill. He’s a genius, in my opinion. He has helped literally hundreds of people suffering with T and H and I am proudly one of them. As I said, I no longer have hyperacusis and my tinnitus does not affect my life anymore.
I hope this helps someone.
All the best,
Josh
Hi Josh:
That’s a great testimonial to the power of your mind in getting rid of both tinnitus and hyperacusis. Thanks for writing it and posting it here. I have said for years that both of these conditions are psychosomatic–meaning they have a physical component and a psychological component. Of the two, the psychological component is the more important component.
Unfortunately, too many practitioners focus too much on the physical component (sound therapy, etc) and not enough on the psychological component.
What happens is that the nerves become chronically hyperstimulated and this results in tinnitus and hyperacusis. Thus the cure is to do things to get them to calm down. The way to do this is to be in a safe environment and feel calm and relaxed. When you do this, you will find your tinnitus and hyperacusis fading away.
The problem is that most people focus on their tinnitus and this scares them and they do not feel safe–so they continue to focus on it. As a result, their limbic systems keep their tinnitus at the forefront of their thoughts because one of its jobs is to bring threats to your attention. Thus, you never get better.
So learning how to calm yourself down and relax is critical. There are many ways to do this–depending on your belief system and lifestyle. Yoga is one way but certainly not the only way, nor even the best way as it has some harmful spiritual connotations.
You are not the only person to get severe tinnitus from the very first dose. I’ve heard from a number of others in the same boat.
I’m glad you’ve found techniques that work for you. Julian Hill is a good man at what he does. Another source is Jim Folk, the head honcho at the anxiety centre (https://www.anxietycentre.com). Both of these men are basically on the same page in regards how to best treat tinnitus, and I agree with them.
You might be surprised at all the kinds of ear problems that you can have besides tinnitus and hyperacusis due to underlying anxiety that results in hyperstimulation of your nerves. You can read Jim’s eye-opening article on this at https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-disorders/symptoms/auditory-symptoms/
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
Sorry for taking so long to respond; I’ve been very busy with my music.
Thank you so much for that informative and thoughtful reply.
You are correct; as is probably fairly obvious from my initial post, I do have anxiety, however, I have found that I can control it quite well with meditation. Unfortunately, meditation didn’t help with tinnitus for me, but it does make me relax. The trick is doing it every day.
The psychiatrist I saw gave me Citalopram actually not for anxiety but for OCD. I have OCD, but believe it or not, my case is mild.
I like the link you posted there. I do think I suffered from that in some form. When my hyperacusis was at its worst, I experienced sound distortion. However, as I continued with the yoga, it went away pretty quickly.
I am sorry to hear the Yoga may have bad symptoms for some. I have not had the experience you described with it, but Julian also recommends Tai Chi. Perhaps anyone uncomfortable with yoga would find Tai Chi to be a better and safer option?
I don’t know if you are aware, but there are many groups on Facebook about the evils of antidepressants and raising awareness of this elephant in the room. Many people come on those forums sharing their horror stories with drugs like Citalopram and Sertaline. As you know, the symptoms go far beyond tinnitus. All kinds of crazy physical and mental symptoms. These drugs truly are good for nothing. There are experts on there who help people taper off these drugs. They would benefit from your advice and help too, I’m sure. I have been posting in there about how to improve tinnitus, however tapering is not my area of expertise, so I can’t really help anyone with that.
Lastly but very importantly, I want to thank you, Dr. Neil, for raising awareness of these terrible drugs. I consider myself lucky I only took 5 mg of Citalopram and I have your advice to thank for helping me connect the dots that quickly. I could have gotten in much worse if not for your advice. It really made a positive difference in my life. Thank you for taking the time to speak truth to power and for your exhaustive and in-depth research. You are DEFINITELY helping people and I am one of the many, I’m sure. I truly can’t thank you enough.
All the best,
Josh
Hi Josh:
I don’t frequent Facebook and stay away from such sites as they typically relate all their horror stories, but don’t give the people reading them any hope. They wrongly assume that nothing can be done to help them. I’m glad you are doing something positive in this regard.
If people want my help and expertise, they can come to this website and post their questions here and I’ll help them.
I appreciate your kind words. I try to help those that come to me, and I continue to spread the word through this website of the evils of many drugs that are pushed today. The next edition of my book “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed” will have much to say about this.
Cordially,
Neil
Yes, you are absolutely correct. People should come to you. I guess after going through this, I had a tendency to want to shout it from the rooftops, but not everyone is ready to hear the truth.
After I took the Ciatlopram and my T got worse, I called the psychiatrist. It was tough to do because my T and H were so severe at that time I coul barely stand it. She said, “Why do you think it was the Citalopram that made your T worse?” or something to that degree. Hmm, well that would be because it started getting worse almost immediately after I took it. Not too hard to figure that one out. So that was the last time I spoke with her (good riddance!).
But, it gets crazier. A family member encouraged me to see another psychiatrist (on Skype). I talked to the psychiatrist and he promised me he would not offer me any drugs; he would simply offer me life advice. I was willing to take some advice so I agreed.
Before the session begun, I said to him, “Now as you promised, no drugs. Just advice.” He said, “Yes sir, absolutely.” I then told him some of my problems, and opened up to him. About 10-15 minutes in, he said, and I’m not kidding at all, “You know, I really think you would benefit from Valium. I’ll write you a prescription today.”
I was aghast and appalled that this man so blatantly betrayed my trust and broke his promise. Not only did I stop seeing him, I basically don’t ever want to talk to a psychiatrist again.
It’s so obvious that this individual is getting huge kickbacks and it is only about the money, not helping people. So I would advise anyone who finds themself in that situation or something similar: don’t take the bait! It will only cause more problems. Don’t let them use you! Coming from a guy who made that mistake once.
All the best,
Josh
Unfortunately I’m one of the unlucky ones who is stuck with seemingly permanent tinnitus from Celexa. Dr. Neil- I’m here to ask.. are there ANY safe antidepressants?? ??? Do they all carry the risk of making my ‘tinnitus worse?
Hi Ashley:
You are correct. All anti-depressants can cause tinnitus–some moreso than others. If you want an anti-depressant with a very low risk of causing tinnitus, you might want to try the herbal St. John’s Wort.
St. John’s Wort has far fewer side effects than prescription drugs. Over 40 studies (so far) have reported it to be just as effective for mild to moderate depression as the drugs doctors typically prescribe.
You can get St. John’s Wort at almost any drug store or health food store or on the Internet. Just be sure that the packaging explicitly states that the active ingredient—hypericin—is standardized to a given level typically 0.3%. This is very important. Some formulations don’t mention this at all. As a result, you don’t know whether you are even getting any of the active ingredient or not.
Be careful when mixing herbals and drugs. St. John’s Wort can speed up the breakdown of many drugs (including antidepressants and birth control pills) and thereby reduce these drugs’ effectiveness. Since St. John’s Wort can interfere with some medications, work closely with your doctor if you are taking any other medications and want to take St. John’s Wort.
Cordially,
Neil
I also got tinnitus. I was taking citalopram. This ringing is very depressing and I’m glad I found this website. Thank you guys for any help you can give. I now always need sound so I don’t dwell on the ringing. I even purchased a tinnitus pillow so I can wear earpods when I try to sleep. It’s been about 5 months that I’ve had the 24/7 ringing. Having noise around does help but knowing there is no cure is scary. I keep focusing on the blessings I do have and try to stay positive. I know, easier said than done.
Hi Monica:
You are doing well–focusing on your blessings and trying to stay positive. This will pay off in the end.
The one thing you still need to do is to quit thinking of tinnitus as a threat to your well-being (no cure is scary). Rather, think of your tinnitus as a totally unimportant, useless sound that you can safely ignore–then ignore it and instead focus on the loves of you life.
It takes time, but I’ll bet when you look back on this from 3 years in the future, you won’t be bothered by your tinnitus–if you even hear it at all. If you are like me, you’ll find that hours go by without even being aware you have tinnitus–and when you do hear it, it won’t bother you any more than the noise your fridge makes bothers you. It will just be “there” and in a few minutes or so, you’ll again forget all about it.
Cordially,
Neil