by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked,
If an ototoxic drug is the cause of tinnitus, how long would it take to resolve once you stop taking the drug? I know that’s a difficult question to answer since every one is different but I’m wondering if you have some sort of idea based on your experience.
This is an excellent question, but like you said, there is no easy answer. This is because so much depends on the specific drug and on your emotional makeup, among other factors.
For example, you could expect tinnitus from taking a lot of Aspirin to go away within a day or two after you quit taking the Aspirin. However, with some drugs, such as the Aminoglycoside antibiotics (e.g. Neomycin, Gentamicin, Tobramycin, etc.), you may find the resulting tinnitus is permanent and will never go away—although you can learn how to habituate to your tinnitus so it won’t bother you.
Most drugs fall somewhere between these two extremes. As a rule of thumb, I say give it a couple of weeks after you stop taking a drug before you worry whether your tinnitus might be permanent or not.
Note this well. Whether your tinnitus persists and bothers you depends a lot on your emotional makeup. If tinnitus is no big deal to you, your tinnitus will likely disappear or fade into the background fairly quickly.
However, if your tinnitus elicits a strong negative emotional reaction from you, and you subsequently form a strong negative emotional bond with it, your tinnitus can take on a life of its own and become a self-perpetuating condition. In such cases, the thing that triggers your tinnitus in the first place (a drug) may have nothing to do with whether your tinnitus persists or not.
Thus, the trick is to remain emotionally neutral towards your tinnitus and ignore it. Treat it like a totally meaningless sound, such as fridge noise—something you actively have to listen for before you can even hear it because it is so meaningless to you. If you can treat your tinnitus the same way to treat “fridge noise”, you should not have much of a problem with your tinnitus.
Ignore it like the fridge? The fridge isn’t screaming inside my head.
Hi Warren:
We’re talking about the principle of the thing–not the volume. You need to learn to ignore your tinnitus just the same way you learned to ignore (and now ignore) the noise your fridge makes. (I didn’t say it would be easy.)
Cordially,
Neil
I lost my job (15 years as a high speed voice transcriptionist for Thomson Reuters) and subsequently my health insurance due to lexapro in 2016. I could not sleep and just got irritable at work… felt tired and frustrated with ALL SOUNDS. Soon facing homelessness if I cannot find work where I can handle the noise and stress. I cannot make friends with this noise and I have tried. Your suggestions are for a more subtle form of tinnitus and not the ringing bell kind.
Hi MB:
If you cannot get control over your tinnitus by yourself with the things you have tried, then you need professional help. Don’t try to do it alone.
Cordially,
Neil
I have tiinitus in my right ear got it 2 days after I got J& j vaccine on steroids now doesn’t seem to be helping
I have terrible tinnitus after taking ED drugs. Even after discontinuing the drugs my tinnitus is roaring for the past 7 years since taking the ED medicine. Thankfully, I retired before this terrible ringing started. I can’t imagine working with this condition. I have been on Clonazepam and Gabapentin to help me cope with this condition. My Audiologist tested my hearing and the tinnitus is the worst he has seen for the last 20 years. The drugs I take for tinnitus has lowered and made it more bearable. Best of luck for anyone with tinnitus as bad as mine.
Did it take both those meds to help your tinnitus? I’ve been listening to this squealing for 3+ years!!!
Which ED medication did you take, and what dosage and how often did you take it?
Hi Dr. Neil. I took cymbalta for 5 months and develop tinnitus in my left ear. I left this drug for about 2 weeks and the tinnitus is still here. Will the tinnitus resolve itself with time? I really need an answer. Please, it’s really important.
Hi Andreia:
Duloxetine (Cymbalta) causes tinnitus in good numbers of people. However, I have no information on its permanence. I’m sure that sometimes it is permanent and other times (maybe most times) it is temporary and will fade into the background in time. There is no way I can predict (accurately, that is) whether yours will go away or not. But I can tell you that if you do not consider your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being and treat it as you do any other constant background sound (totally ignoring it), in time it will fade into the background an no longer bother you–if you even hear it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi again Dr. Neil, but can you tell me if you know some people who actually had that side effect and it eventually went away with time? I really want to believe that tis is just a bad time. We start takin a medicine and we are totally clueless about what’s going to happen. We just don’t. If I did know that I wouldn’t take this drug at all. So Dr.Neil, you say that most of the times it just disappears? Best wishes
Hi Andreia:
I previously told you I have no specific information on the permanence of tinnitus after taking Cymbalta. This includes no one telling me their results. Therefore, I am just giving you my speculations based on what I already know about drugs in general. Furthermore, whether tinnitus remains bad or fades into the background so it does not bother you depends on how you react to your tinnitus.
If you treat your tinnitus as “no big deal” and do NOT attach any importance to it (in other words do not regard your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being in any way), then you can habituate to it and it will fade into the background and not bother you.
On the other hand, if you attach importance to it (thinking it will affect your well-being) then it may never go away. So much depends on you. If I were you, I’d treat it as the sounds your fridge makes (you totally ignore them) because they are a “useless” environmental sound and you do not need to hear them.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve gotten tinnitus after taking levothyroxine. My doctor put me on it because I’m pregnant but now says I probably didn’t need to be on it because my tsh levels were in the normal range. I’ve been off levothyroxine for 6 days now and the tinnitus comes and goes every other day. It lasts the whole day when it’s there. Is this something that should go away when the drug is completely out of my system? I have a theory that my thyroid is basically going up and down with it’s hormones as the drug is leaving my system which is why I have tinnitus one day and not the next. Could this be it?
Hi Megan:
I always think it is good news when you have intermittent tinnitus. This proves that it is not constant and probably not permanent. So I think your tinnitus will go away in time. Your theory may be true, but only time will tell. I’ve never run across a situation like yours before.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been experiencing increased tinnitus in the last 2+ weeks since beginning Atorvastatin and Rogaine. Which is most likely the culprit? I would be grateful for any advice. Thank You
Hi Chuck:
That’s easy–Atorwastatin has 21 TIMES the number of tinnitus reports than Rogaine.
Cordially,
Neil
Good afternoon Doctor, I developed tinnitus about 18 months ago while at home due to the lockdown from the pandemic. Last week I came to the conclusion that it may be due to the propylene glycol ingredient in the Rogaine (generic form). Initially I attributed this to my statins (rosuvastatin), seeing how I started that regimen along the same time when the tinnitus started. However, after 8 months without statins, my tinnitus still persisted, although not as bad as it had been when I decided to drop it (I reached a point where I could not even concentrate in my own thoughts). Seeing how dropping the statin did not “cure” my tinnitus, I started to think about other things that coincide with the onset. I landed on propylene glycol after seeing it as an ingredient of the generic Rogaine and remembering that I had also adopted the regimen in a much stricter fashion during the lock down because I was home and able to use it twice a day. I don’t know if the mix of statins and Rogaine are particularly bad or if they both individually are toxic to the ear and I just happen to land on the specific regimen that destroyed my sanity. I’m hoping this ailment subsides now that I plan on not using Rogaine, regardless, what is your experience with propylene glycol and tinnitus? Am I hopelessly thinking this can be cured now that the damage is done?
Hi Chris:
I think the Rosuvastatin is the most-likely tinnitus culprit. Your tinnitus could be permanent from this drug. Your tinnitus dropped in volume after you stopped taking this drug, but unfortunately it did not completely go away.
There is a chance the Minoxidil (Rogaine) caused your tinnitus, but my gut feeling is that it was the Rosuvastatin.
I doubt the Propylene glycol is the culprit because I do not have it listed as causing tinnitus. It can mess up your middle ears, but so far, I don’t have any reports of it causing tinnitus.
If you stop the Rogaine and your tinnitus stays the same after a few months, then you know it was the Rosuvastatin that caused it. If this is the case, then you need to switch from trying to get rid of your tinnitus, to habituating to your tinnitus so it no longer bothers you. And if it doesn’t bother you, who cares whether you have it or not? It’s no longer a factor in your life. This is how I successfully deal with my tinnitus. You can do it too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil: I have previously existing quiet tintinus for six years. I learned to habituate to. Sometimes it gets louder or noticeable if I have too much coffee or induced by loud noises. I believe it was triggered in 2016 by Aspirin/ Advil combination when I threw out my neck. Recently my doctor prescribed Astrovastin and within 4-5 hours of taking first dose I started hearing my ears ringing again in the noticeable range. I am day 4 on this statin and I am still hearing the noticeable tintinus vs the quiet version. Is it possible to have this response from a Statin within 4-5 hours of first dose? What are odds the statin has reactivated my previously habituated low level ringing to be loud version? What is typical next steps?
Hi Jeff:
It was probably the Advil (Ibuprofen). I’ve had more complaints of tinnitus after taking Ibuprofen than for almost any other drug. Tinnitus from Aspirin is typically temporary while you are taking it and goes away in a week or two. Tinnitus from Ibuprofen can be long-term or permanent.
I assume you mean Atorvastatin (not Astrovastin). You can get tinnitus pretty fast with some drugs. The shortest record I know of is just 7 minutes. I don’t have specific information on Atorvastatin causing tinnitus that fast, but hundreds upon hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking this drug. I wouldn’t be surprised that the Atorvastatin caused your tinnitus in 4 or 5 hours, but more commonly it takes a few days.
It is a good possibility that the Atorvastatin has made you tinnitus ever so much worse. I hear that too from people.
Since the Atorvastatin almost certainly caused your tinnitus to get worse, the obvious solution is to stop taking this drug and hopefully your tinnitus will slowly return to its old level (no guarantees though).
Cordially,
Neil
I was taking losartin for high blood pressure. I noticed the ringing,chirping in my ears(mainly the left) Called my doctor and he switched to another. I was on Losartin for about 3 weeks. Will it hopefully go away?
Hi Celeste:
Give it time. One man found it took about 3 months for his tinnitus to reduce in volume somewhat. So you can be hopeful yours will do the same. However, there are two things to consider. First, the BP drug your doctor switched you to may also cause tinnitus so your tinnitus may not die down if this is the case. Second, a lot depends on how you perceive your tinnitus. If you think of it as a threat to your well-being in any way, your limbic system won’t let you habituate to it. So, instead, think of it as a totally useless, unimportant background sound that is safe to ignore, and then ignore it as much as you can, and over time you will habituate to it so you won’t even be aware you have tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Chuck, hopefully you can see this comment, curious, did you stop either or both the statin and Rogaine? Has your tinnitus improved?
You can walk away from your refrigerator making the noise. You can’t juust leave your head in the other room. Of course the person saying to ignore it is one that is not plagued with never hearing silence ever again.
Hi Jerome:
You missed the whole point. You don’t walk away from the fridge noise because you habituate to it so you don’t hear it. That is the way you need to treat your tinnitus noise.
And you’re wrong when you say the person saying to ignore it never hears silence. I’ve never heard silence because my tinnitus is always there–but I’m not “plagued” by it because I learned to habituate to it and didn’t let it control me. I wish you would learn to do the same.
Cordially,
Neil
I decided to make friends with my terrible tinnitus. If I couldnt beat it I’d join it. I find myself trying to mimic the high pitched pulsitile squealing inside the left side of my head. At least I can keep an ear on my heartbeat. I do have hearing aid in my left ear with the tinnitus masking. Cant say that it helps but If I leave the sound of wind chimes turned on I eventually pay attention to the chimes more than the pulsitile ringing………
Hi Robert:
Cool. But the whole idea of the tinnitus sound therapy is that you ignore both your tinnitus and the sound therapy sound (not focus on the sound therapy sound–you just passively hear it) so you learn to ignore your tinnitus at the same time.
However, do what ultimately works best for you.
Cordially,
Neil
I have ototoxic tinnitus and I deal with this now for most of this year, I believe that if you don’t attach to it and like the doctor says ignore it. It does fade . Depends on your emotional make up. I am quite headstrong and will not allow it to take over my head. I switch it off and it does work. If you go to tinnitus therapy.. this is just the same . I decided not to go and just ignore it and it does fade .. over time I guess it will still be there but I don’t hear it hardly.
Typical response. Just ignore it. Get real! I also can’t ignore my fridge. It lives in the garage as the hum makes me dizzy and physically sick. Stop telling people to just ignore our tinnitus. It’s NOT that easy.
Hi Miranda:
You don’t ignore something by telling yourself to do that. It can’t work because in order to know what you want to ignore, you have to bring it into your mind–and thus you just focused on it–not ignored it. You’ll notice I don’t leave it at “ignore it”. I also tell you how to do that, “by focusing on the loves of your life”. When you focus ALL your attention on something else, your brain doesn’t have any cognitive “horsepower” left over to decode your tinnitus and thus you don’t hear it. But as soon as you think about your tinnitus–there it is, because you quit focusing on the “loves of your life”.
I never said doing this was easy. I just said it NEEDS to be done. Those that overcome their tinnitus all do this one way or another.
And if you your fridge makes you dizzy, etc. you need to find out why. Is it because you are sensitive to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) it gives off? Is it all fridges that affect you or just the particular one you have?
And if I stop telling people the truth about tinnitus, what am I supposed to tell them–lies? You see, tinnitus is a psychosomatic condition–so you have to treat both the physical component and the emotional component–and if push comes to shove, the emotional component is the more important component. so that’s obviously what you need to work on.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been on blood pressure medication Ibesartan or about 7 year. In the last two weeks I developed tinnitus. Do you know if the cause of ringing in my ears come from the blood pressure medication. If so, do you think this side effect is permanent or temporary ? Thanks in advance for your input
Hi Bob:
Irbesartan can cause tinnitus, but I have no information to indicate that it causes tinnitus after being on it for 7 years. The only reports I have resulted in tinnitus in the few days following beginning on this drug or increasing the dose, not appearing years later.
While the Irbesartan may be the culprit, I tend to think there is another cause apart from this drug. Until you know the cause, it is hard to say whether it will be temporary or permanent.
But in any case, you should be able to habituate to your tinnitus so it is “no big deal”. When this happens, whether your tinnitus proves to be permanent or not won’t matter, because your tinnitus won’t bother you so won’t be an issue.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman, Do you have information about toradol? My daughter went to her school health center for migraine pain. The doctor gave her a 30mg shot of toradol. Three days later, she started to have severe titinius in both her ears. Two weeks later, one ear is okay, but the other ear still have titinius on and off. Do you know how long toradol induced titinius can go away? Do you know any good doctors in New York can treat this issue. Thank you so much for your advice!
Hi Jenny:
Ketorolac (Toradol) can (and does) cause tinnitus in some people. I don’t have any specific information about how long tinnitus lasts, but your daughter’s tinnitus is going away as one ear is now ok and the other has intermittent tinnitus. To me that is an excellent sign that it is going away. I’d just give it more time. There is no medical treatment that will be effective. Typically, doctors will just want to prescribe more drugs–and all of them have tinnitus as a side effect, so it can just make things worse, not better.
Instead, have your daughter learn to ignore her tinnitus and focus on other things. Worrying about it will just make it worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you very much!!!
How is your daughter doing today?? Has her tinnitus resolved?
Hi Jenny, I’m curious to know if your daughter’s tinnitus has resolved, as well. I’m in a similar situation- I received a Toradol injection and developed tinnitus a day or so after. I have been dealing with the tinnitus for several days now and can’t find much information to suggest if this will resolve at all. I am also female, in my 30s and went to the Dr. for a persistent headache. Let me know if possible:)
Dear dr Neil. I’ve been reading a lot of the posts here from those poor people with tinnitus. Well, I’ve had it for a few years but 6 days ago I started taking 2 l.ARGANINE tablets in the morning with breakfast just as a supplement and I want to say the ringing in my head is now just a very very slight noise. Almost a memory of what it was. Is this a fluke? Is it going to last? I don’t know. But thought I should offer this up in case it could help anyone else. Thank you.
Hi Jo:
Thanks for your report on L-Arginine. Since L-Arginine relaxes your blood vessels so more blood can flow though them, IF your tinnitus is due (at least in part) to lack of blood flow to your inner ears, then by taking L-Arginine, more blood flows to your inner ears and thus tinnitus from this cause goes away or reduces in volume. L-Arginine may also have some other effects on our ears that also helps.
However, I doubt most people have tinnitus from this cause, so for them, I doubt L-Arginine will help their tinnitus. But it is always worth a try to see whether it will help. Even reducing your tinnitus by a certain amount is still a blessing.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been taking Kratom recently because I’ve been suffering from terrible pain from my days in the NFL and now I have this constant ringing like I have a cricket in each ear. I can’t sleep because I can’t relax with such bad ringing. I also get really dizzy from it.
I have tried to stop the Kratom but it is surprisingly difficult to stop because of the withdrawal. I’m at my wit’s end and my Dr is stumped as was the one who recommended Kratom after years of hard pain pills.
Advil doesn’t even touch it. It has to be the Kratom because I don’t take any other medications. Now I’m stuck and a little embarrassed that a former pro athlete is hooked on Kratom.
I should have done more research in the matter and got a second opinion but I was kinda desperate for relief. At first I thought it might be CTE related but tests proved otherwise, thank God. I’m very reluctant to go to rehab or anything like that because the press would run with that and i don’t want to be labeled as a junky of sorts. Can I get some advice.
I strongly advise anyone to please do all the research if you want to try Kratom because the problems certainly outweigh any positives. Yes it helps with pain–a lot actually, but at what price? I might be stuck like this for good and knowing I did it to myself really sucks.
Hi FT:
Kratom has a bunch of nasty side effects, besides being addictive, so it is not a good drug for pain as you now know.
I understand your reluctance to go to a rehab facility, but maybe that’s what you have to do. A GOOD pain doctor would be my first choice. You need to learn how to deal with the pain without loading up with pain drugs.
My wife’s cousin is a sports injury/pain doctor. He once told me that those that have chronic pain and take pain pills have the same amount of pain after 3 years as those that have the same chronic pain and do NOT take pain pills, but seek to manage the pain through other means.
In other words, if you take pain pills and suffer their side effects including addiction, at the end of three years you still have the same amount of pain as if you hadn’t taken any pain pills. So you’d be just as far ahead by getting off the Kratom and learning to manage your pain without pills.
If the Kratom is causing your tinnitus, you want to get off it and hope that your tinnitus will reduce in volume if not completely go away. It’s hard to treat tinnitus if the drug you are taking is causing it in the first place.
In a lot of respects, successfully managing tinnitus is like managing chronic pain. You can habituate to it so it no longer bothers you, whether you hear it or not.
I’ve had tinnitus now for more than 70 years, but I do not let it bother me–even though my ears are ringing away quite loudly right now because I am thinking about tinnitus. The trick is to think of your tinnitus as a totally unimportant, useless background sound that it is safe to ignore–then ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life. When you do this it will tend to fade into the background. This is know as becoming habituated to your tinnitus.
In contrast, if you think of your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being in any manner, then your limbic system has to bring it to your conscious level so you can deal with this threat (even though it is phantom). That’s one of your limbic system’s jobs. Thus, you can never habituate to your tinnitus until this threat is removed.
That is why you need to think of it as a useless background sound that is NOT a threat to your well-being. This gives your limbic system permission to let it fade into the background and you will habituate to it.
Finally, don’t beat yourself up. You took the Kratom with good intentions. Beating yourself up doesn’t help anything and just makes things worse. Instead, put it all in the past and now focus on the future–what you need to do to overcome both your pain and your tinnitus and live a happy fulfilling life again.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I used to have tinnitus on and off for almost 20 years. It started with a fasting diet during a ceremony. Learn to ignore for most part. Recently started BP medicines. Initially had Amlodipine and thiazide. Shifted to Delitazam and Telmirstatan. Now I am only on Propanolol 20 mg. Tinnitus again roaring for a month. Is it due to Beta blockers. Thank you. Sundar
Hi Sundar:
All the drugs you mention can, and do, cause tinnitus in numbers of people. They also can cause hearing loss. So the trick is to find the drug that lowers your blood pressure but does not make your tinnitus worse.
Propranolol also has another interesting side effect. I can cause you to hear music in the wrong pitch.
Probably the best blood pressure medication in regards to not causing tinnitus is the ACE inhibitor–Lisinopril. A close second is the Beta Blocker–Labetalol. You might want to try one of these if your doctor agrees.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that your tinnitus from taking the 4 drugs you have tried will go away or drop in volume. It may, or may not.
Cordially,
Neil
I had a similar problem with my tinnitus and a newly prescribed blood pressure tablet .Ears got very loud. Got it changed to Bisoprolol (which I had used occasionally for arrythmia ) Took quite a while but the ears did quieten down again.
Dr. Bauman, I totally get what you are saying. I have tinnitus and it WILL make you crazy if you dwell on it. For something that might have no known cure, this is the best possible solution.
What he means is you need to learn how to get into a different mindset. The way i feel that i hear it is when i sit there listening for it and waiting to hear it. If you treat it like the sound of an air conditioning or like he said a fridge noise like something you dont pay attention too and dont even notice its making a sound until you listen for it. This mindset may not come quickly but in time you can train your brain into thinking its a meaningless sound that doesnt bother you. In other words if you keep thinking of it then you will begin to recognize it more. But if you ignore it or drown kt out with other noise to get you mind off of it then it could go away.
If your tinnitus is mild , maybe it will fade into your background. If its sounds like a freight train going by or standing next to a tornado siren it’s pretty hard to ignore.
What couple of weeks mean to decide that tinnitus is permanent?
Hi Andrew:
All I meant was that if you suddenly hear tinnitus, wait a couple of weeks before getting all upset over it and see if it goes away in that time. If it doesn’t, then it may be time to learn how to effectively deal with your tinnitus so it no longer bothers you.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil,
I’v been taking AED drugs: Tegretol and Vimpat (lacisamide). Tegretol for many years, lacisamide for 2 years. Can this AED induce tinnitus? The other side of the story that now lacosamide makes the ringing lower.. Can this AED cause tinnitus, then when it is not taken or dose is not raised tinnitus gets worse? Of course now tinnitus is now some combination of this and stress level/anxiety…
Hi Chris:
Both of these drugs are reported as causing tinnitus, although the Carbamazepine (Tegretol) is far worse than the Lacosamide (Vimpat) in this respect.
When you say “lower”, you mean your tinnitus gets softer correct, not lower in pitch. One of the interesting things about Carbamazepine is that it often makes sounds lower in pitch. Numbers of musicians note this when they take it.
You can take some drugs, notably the benzodiazepines, for a long time without getting tinnitus, then, when you stop taking them you are hit with tinnitus. I don’t have any information indicating whether the two drugs you are taking have this property or not.
You are right that anxiety and stress can cause tinnitus or can make existing tinnitus worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil,
I’ve been takint Tegretol very long time.. In chronologic order:
I had a very little tinnitus in 2018 then it almost disappeared could not notice, only with hard jaw movement.
The weird in the tinnitus is that in left and right ear the noise appears independent and almost every type of the noises (changes itself in these days too) can be modulated (pitch and volume goes up) by body movements. For example turning my head left or right, pulling my jaw back. But it’s focused on the left side. I had neck MRI and it shows protrusio disci but not extrusio – office work for many years.
After 2019 I’ve started taking Lacosamide (Vimpat) too. In may 2020 appeared tinnitus and disappeared like in 2018..
In the summer 2020 I broke my left clavicle. I had titanium elastic nail (TEN) in my clavicle until last week. But before that in march 2021 appeared this tinnitus quite permanent. Vimpat makes the noise disappear for a few hours (or for half day), which I should take 2x200mg pro day. (Tegretol 2×200 too)
Do you have any opinion how to judge these signs? I started TMJ examinations but parallel should I also try to forget Tegretol too? Or it is simply because of the stress/anxiety during the spring.
But now I realised that I must learn to tolerate these noise to be able to sleep which is quite hard during the nights…
Thank you,
Christian
Hi Chris:
From the sounds of it you obviously have somatosensory tinnitus, probably due to your neck being out of proper alignment. You said the MRI showed a bulging disk. Which vertebrae was this–between C2 and C3 for example? (Note: there is no disk between C1 and C2.) Or is it at C5 since that is one that has degenerated so much?
Tinnitus sounds can vary in volume and pitch, and which particular sound you hear depending on body movements that can pinch various nerves.
I really can’t tell you how much (if any) the drugs you are taking are contributing to your tinnitus, vs. the somatosensory tinnitus you have from bones being out of proper alignment.
Stopping taking the drugs may make no appreciable difference to your tinnitus if your somatosensory tinnitus is still active. You’d have to remove both sources to make a difference. And conversely, treating the somatosensory tinnitus may not make much difference if most of your tinnitus is due to the drugs you are taking.
Is it safe for you to stop taking the Tegretol? If so, I’d try both to see if you can get your tinnitus to go away, or at least reduce its volume.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil,
C.V. mild circular protrusio,
A C.III. discus small medialis protrusio,
myelon normal,
too small curve in neck lordosis,
nerve root compressio not visible is the result.
Result of Pushed forward posture.
I know it’s hard to modify on the AEDs but will try it with my neurologist.
How frequent is that tinnitus sound pitch can be manipulated by body movements? One doctor said that this is common even if it is not somatosensory tinnitus.
Which AED are safe not causing tinnitus? (or not too much)
Kind regards,
Christian
Hi Chris:
Many people with tinnitus can change the pitch or loudness of their tinnitus by clenching their teeth. This could be a form of somatosensory tinnitus superimposed on your regular tinnitus, or just somatosensory tinnitus.
I can’t tell you which AED are the least ototoxic because I don’t know which drugs doctors might use to try to treat this condition. However, if you get a list of drugs your doctors thinks might work in your case, I can put them in order by their degree of ototoxicity (in my opinion).
Cordially,
Neil
My thoughts exactly! My fridge is about 60db lower on the register too. Frequeny is much higher as well. My tennitus is a ringing sounds like crickets or high pitched tea kettle whistle in my ears that gets louder and louder. It’s so; annoying.
I so agree! I feel like I have a out sink off key symphony playing in my head when it is really at it’s worst.
This it’s the best thing I had read in a long time, seriously. I know the difficulties of what you are telling, but I think you are right. I’d wish that a treatment,
makes the trick to cure the tinnitus… by the way, my mother has an hearing device (audiphone) that has a “program” for tinnitus. She says that is very good. It’s not a cure, but makes his life better.
Doesn’t mean too much if it sounds like you are sitting next to a jet engine. Such as my case. Have tried to retrain my brain with music and a few other techniques but no progress.
My doctor put me on Cymbalta for nerve damage and pain in spine. Took one dose and became very depressed. (Not on any other meds.) By the 2nd day dose, I was suicidal and planning my funeral. I had a sense of total hopelessness and no desire to live. I was about to carry out my suicidal thoughts when I finally fell asleep around 5 am. The next day, my friends and family were furious with me for scaring them and making suicidal threats. It was not a threat. I would have went through with my plan – had I not finally fallen asleep before I could implement it. But, I was so hurt by my friends and family’s insensitivity to my situation, that I took note of the situation and asked myself what had caused this sudden change in my emotional state. I googled “Cymbalta” to see if others had experienced extreme depression and suicidal thoughts and immediately saw that I was not alone. Apparently, from all the posts, it was an epidemic! I immediately stopped the Cymbalta to thwart suicide – after only taking 2 pills (one each of the 2 days). The next day, I woke up with loud ringing in both ears. I continued to have pretty bad depression for about a week, but it eventually subsided. But, the constant loud ringing and buzzing in my ears has not stopped for one minute for 5 long months now. My family doctor sent me to an ENT specialist. A hearing test showed that my hearing had been affected, but he said that there was NOTHING that would stop the ringing in my ears. His only advice was to turn on some noise like a tv or radio at night to drown out the ringing so that I could go to sleep. That does not help. I try to take a Benadryl every night because if I forget, I wake up after a couple hours sleep and cannot go back to sleep because of the very loud ringing in my ears. It sounds like a very loud alarm or sirene going off and cannot be shut off. Besides now being tired and sluggish from lack of sleep, the ringing is getting on my nerves really bad and driving me crazy! I have other major physical problems, but the ear ringing is about to put me emotionally over the edge – nerve wise. Wish I had never taken the Cymbalta and am now very depressed wondering if this ringing will ever go away. Now I am stress eating because of it and gaining weight. If people think this is a minor problem, THEY HAVE NEVER HAD CHRONIC LOUD EAR RINGING (as if a thousand buzzing bees are trying like mad to get in your ears and will not go away – EVER!) I know that I quit cold turkey from the Cymbalta, but did not know that only 2 little pills would give me the suicidal ideations and then would be dealing with tinnitus for 5 very long months non-stop. I am also getting headaches from the stress of the constant loud ear ringing. Can anyone give me hope of a cure? Praying for a miracle! (Will never take another drug no matter how damaged my spinal nerves are – nothing (except an accompanying migraine) is as bad as constant ear ringing with no relief. Thanks for any suggestion. JEG
Hi Elaine:
Duloxetine (Cymbalta) has a LOT of side effects. Depression is a very common side effect of this drug. In fact, it is the 4th most common side effect of this drug reported to the FDA.
And thinking about suicide is very high on the list too. Thousands upon thousands of people get this side effect–but it is mostly hidden so you don’t see the true figures.
Tinnitus is another side effect of this drug thousands more struggle with the effects of their resulting tinnitus. One of the nasty things is that tinnitus can start AFTER you stop taking this drug.
I have two suggestions for you. First, have you tried Arches Tinnitus formula. It is basically the herbal Ginkgo biloba–but at a therapeutic dose. It works for a number of people–particularly those in your boat–who have tinnitus from taking one of the many ototoxic drugs.
Note that it doesn’t necessarily work immediately so you have to take it for 3 months before you evaluate whether it is working well for you or not.
Second, where is your spine bad? If it is in your upper neck, then I’d suggest you go to an upper cervical chiropractor, not a conventional chiropractor, and make sure that your C1 and C2 (top two vertebrae) are in proper alignment. If they are out, it can result in tinnitus too.
And you are right about intractable tinnitus being HARD to live with. In fact, the top three conditions that are most difficult to live with are in order–intractable pain, intractable vertigo and then intractable tinnitus.
I wish you well.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil does the mg.of cymbalta make a difference where tinnitus is an issue? I’ve had T for 3+ years and was on 120mg of cymbalta for a very long time. Now I’m on only 30mg and still have tinnitus. I’m not sure if cymbalta is what caused it but I sure wish someone would have told me cymbalta can cause it cuz I would have never started taking it. This tinnitus is on the verge of making me suicidal!! I need answers! Please help!
Hi Cindy:
A lot of people experience tinnitus from taking Duloxetine (Cymbalta).
As a rule of thumb, the lower the dose you take, the lower your risk of getting tinnitus and other ototoxic side effects.
However, once you get tinnitus from taking this drug at a given level (like your 120 mg), then reducing the dose may or may not let your tinnitus drop to a lower level. If tinnitus is always temporary, you may notice a difference, but if the drug causes permanent tinnitus, you may find that the tinnitus level remains the same even after you have greatly reduced the dose like you have.
Since your tinnitus is really bothering you, you need professional help. You don’t have to let it drive you buggy. You can learn how to bring your tinnitus under your control. My book “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”, especially chapter 16 will show you how you can do that. You can get this book at https://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Cindy:
I have no specific data on whether Duloxetine (Cymbalta) is dose dependent or not as regards to tinnitus, but I suspect it is–just like many drugs are.
However, if your tinnitus was caused by a high dose, your tinnitus may not drop just because you are on a reduced dose now. That’s just the way it is sometimes.
Why don’t you get off the Duloxetine. Ask you doctor for a different drug and see whether that lets your tinnitus drop.
Since you are feeling so overwhelmed by your tinnitus, you should seek professional help. I’d suggest a counselor versed in Cognitive Behavioral therapy in relation to tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi
I have tinnitus I think fro m my hearing loss
Was bad went on Trazadone 25 to 50 mg for 2 weeks . I got suicidal and went off by 2 days 25 then 3days 25mg doctor said I could just go clod Turkey
Well my tinnitus is now booming do you think for coming off trazadone low dose caused this? Is it perminate
Hi Cyndi-Lou:
Trazodone can certainly cause tinnitus, or make existing tinnitus worse. I think your tinnitus got worse from taking the Trazodone in the first place, not so much from coming off it too fast.
I have no information to indicate whether it is permanent or temporary. My feeling is that if you basically ignore your tinnitus and don’t treat it as something that affects your well-being, it will fade into the background in time. However, if you focus on it and worry about it, just the opposite will happen.
Cordially,
Neil
This is good advice! I was taking a combination of acetaminophen and aspirin, not knowing that the aspirin was at such a high dosage. I thought the tinnitus was from the acetaminophen, even though I wasn’t abusing it at all. I’m going to learn to focus my attention elsewhere!
My problem is that I don’t notice it so much when I am awake, but it wakes me up and keeps me awake during the early morning hours so I end up just getting up at 5:30 am before I have gotten an adequate amount of sleep and then I find myself exhausted during the day.
Hi Marilyn:
You could try going to bed earlier. (I’m at my desk by 5:30 every morning.) Or put on a fan or background music or environmental sounds to listen to. That often masks your tinnitus enough that you can go back to sleep or stay asleep.
Cordially,
Neil
I had a sinus infection and given antibiotics that didn’t work. Tennitus started soon after treatment. I related it to the infection but after surgery and cleaning of the sinus . Tinnitus remained and an additional treatment if antibiotics after surgery, tennitus got worse.
I have finally figured it out to be caused by the antibiotics.
Is this permanent damage?
Hi Brtii:
Hard to say of course, but tinnitus from antibiotics tends to be permanent, although your emotional state has a lot to do with whether it will fade away in time or not. If you consider tinnitus as a threat to your well-being in any way, it will tend to be permanent and get worse. If you treat your tinnitus as a useless environmental sound and so don’t pay any attention to it, it will tend to fade away.
Cordially,
Neil
I have ignored mine with sound machines but you cannot hear people in normal conversation in a public place. I quit lexapro in October of 2016 and am patiently awaiting any kind of improvement. Can’t we sue Forrest Pharma for Lexipro or our doctors for not warning us of oxotocity? #LexiproLawsuit
I have same issue.. Can also drug be of help… How long you have this… It’s week for me my email is viewsunny589@gmail.com please reply
Lasix caused mine been on it since 2007. I’m going to try herbs for edema hopefully it will leave. Is it possible?
Hi Nikki:
Your tinnitus may or may not be permanent. Unfortunately, only time will tell. Apart from your tinnitus, using herbs and other alternate treatments for edema would appear to be a better solution than taking powerful drugs like Lasix that can permanently harm your body/ears.
Cordially,
Neil
I unwittingly discontinued Abilify early after using it for months and am now experiencing dizziness and tinnitus in my head. Should I continue to stay off of the medication or should I resume taking it in order to get rid of the tinnitus?
Hi Brian:
Unfortunately, there is no way to know in advance whether going back on the Aripiprazole (Abilify) will get rid of your tinnitus and dizziness or not.
As you know you have two choices–1) stay off it and tough it out, or 2) go back on the drug. Here’s how I look at these choices in order to decide what to do. So much depends on how much time has passed since you stopped taking the drug and how severe your symptoms are.
1. If you have been off the drug for some weeks or months AND the symptoms are slowly getting better, then I’d suggest staying off–as you already have passed through the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. Actually, if the symptoms are getting better, no matter how long you’ve been off the drug, you might want to tough it out. It also depends on whether you think you can tough it out or not. If your symptoms are debilitating, you might not want to do this, but for milder symptoms that you think you can handle, you might choose to tough it out.
2. If you went off the drug just a few days ago, you might want to go back on the drug and then taper off it slowly–especially if your symptoms are severe. The same applies if you are not making any progress in reducing your symptoms and some weeks have gone by.
Cordially,
Neil
I was put on Etodolac for about 3 months. It worked great, but now my ears ring constantly. I had no idea it could have come from the medication until I looked up causes for ringing ears. I’ve been off the etodolac for almost 3 weeks. No sign of improvement in the ringing yet.
Did your situation ever improve? I just now realize my tinnitus is from the Etodolac I’ve been taking for my back pain. I am discontinuing the med starting today.
Hi Randy:
Etodolac can certainly cause tinnitus in some people, and the resulting tinnitus can be permanent so quitting the Etodolac may or may not affect your tinnitus. Here’s hoping it will.
Cordially,
Neil
Does it mean if it causes tinnitus it is permanent? I only took 3 tablets as my doctor adviced me and i developed tinnitus. Cut off immediately but i’m so stressed to think it stays forever. Can it be reversible? Can we do sonething about it?
Hi Basak:
If you take Etodolac and get tinnitus from it, the resulting tinnitus may be temporary or permanent. Probably, for most people the resulting tinnitus goes away in time. Whether this happens depends on a number of factors. The most important factor in my opinion is your emotional attitude towards your tinnitus. If you think of your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being, you will have a tough time dealing with it. However, if you treat it as a unimportant, totally useless background sound that is safe to ignore–and then you do ignore it by focusing on other things, then you have an excellent chance of bringing your tinnitus under control so whether you hear it or not makes no difference to you because it is a non-issue. This is called becoming habituated to your tinnitus.
You need to calm down and not be stressed out over your tinnitus. That is exactly the wrong thing to do if you want it to go away.
Cordially,
Neil
My wife took amoxicillin about a year ago for an infected tooth and has had tinnitus ever since. I just finished six days of the same and tonight my ears started ringing as well. Can’t believe this is that uncommon. We both had great hearing at 30db’s. But now who knows. It sucks.
Hi Curtis:
I’m hearing from more and more people all the time that are getting tinnitus as a result of taking Amoxicillin.
Cordially,
Neil
One morning I woke with with ringing in my ears, I don’t recall being exposed to any loud noise. I then realized well, maybe it has to do with my medications. I evaluated what I was taking, well to find out Allegra D causes ringing in the ears, so does aspirin and Ibuprofen. So therefore I got off the Allegra D and for several weeks now I still have ringing in one ear. It sucks, It is hard to sleep at night, focus on things and concentrate as it draws my attention and makes it hard to perform. It does cause stress and anxiety which I never had before. All I do is pray it will alleviate at this point.
Hi Robert:
My money is on the Ibuprofen for causing your tinnitus. I hear from numerous people about their woes with tinnitus after taking Ibuprofen. So that is the drug I’d dump and hope the tinnitus is not permanent.
Tinnitus from Aspirin is almost always temporary. Allegra can cause tinnitus bet not all that often.
Cordially,
Neil
So tell me if you are a severe chronic pain patient with screaming tinnitus how exactly does one manage their pain when pretty much every drug can cause tinnitus?
Hi Aleshia:
If the pain drugs you are taking are causing your tinnitus, then you need to take the least ototoxic one with the lowest dose that will do the job and for the shortest time. But taking drugs for pain is only a short term solution. You need to learn how to manage pain without drugs. My wife’s cousin is a “pain doctor” and he told me that if you take two people with severe pain and treat one with drugs and the other one doesn’t get drugs, at the end of a year or so, both will have the same level of pain, but the one without the drugs will not have all the side effects of the pain medications and will be further ahead of the person taking the drugs. So maybe you need to start looking at non-drug ways to deal with your pain since the drug method obviously isn’t working for you.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m being treated from sudden sense neural hearing loss. Developed tinnitus but it faded away as my hearing was getting better. Then I took Pepcid 40mg at night and pantoprazole 40mg next morning for acute gastritis due to prednisone. Tinnitus came back suddenly very loud. I stopped these meds right away for 2 days now but the tinnitus is so bad! Any hope it will fade again?
Hi Neveen:
Although Famotidine (Pepcid) can cause tinnitus, my money is on the Pantoprazole (Protonix) as the likely culprit.
Hopefully your tinnitus will fade away in a couple of weeks, but if not, do what you did before to habituate to it (and don’t take those drugs again). Basically, don’t focus on your tinnitus, or think of it as a threat to your well-being, and you should find yourself habituating to it again.
Cordially,
Neil
I took amoxil and keltrak week ago.. Is tinnitus permanent?
Please reply sir
Hi Manzar:
Amoxl is Amoxicillin, but I don’t know what Keltrak is. What is its generic name?
If you get tinnitus from taking Amoxicillin, it seems that it is often long term.
Cordially,
Neil
I had two low dose ketamine injections last Tuesday and Wednesday for depression relief. As of Thursday of this week I started noticing tinnitus in both ears. If it was the Ketamine, would it take that long to cause tinnitus or could it be related to another cause?
Hi Zach:
I have not found any reference to tinnitus from taking Ketamine, so I rather doubt that it was the Ketamine. However, I could have missed it, or it has not yet been reported. So don’t rule out Ketamine as the cause of your tinnitus, but at the same time, don’t assume it was the Ketamine. There could have been other factors. For example, depression. People with depression are more likely to have tinnitus than the general population. Did you expose your ears to loud sounds in the past week or two? That could be another cause.
Tinnitus from taking drugs may happen within 5 or 10 minutes for certain drugs. For others it may not happen for 6 months or longer. And for others it may only happen when you stop taking the drug. So the time ranges all over the place. Normally, you would expect tinnitus to start within 2 to 4 days of beginning a drug–but as you can see, that is not a given.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the response Neal. I stopped Lexapro in November and there is evidence that it can cause tinnitus.
Hi Zach:
Yes, Escitalopram (Lexapro) can and does cause tinnitus in numbers of people so it is good you are off it.
Cordially,
Neil
Well it’s been a little over 2 years since I stopped the escitalopram and the tinnitus that started then is still present although I do not think about it much and deal with it without worry. It does get lower if my sleep is better and stress levels are down. I only notice it when the room is completely quiet. I do not believe that the Ketamine trial was the culprit. Many others have it when stopping the escitalopram from my research. Over the years some people have it go away, others are not so lucky. Thanks.
Hi Zach, how did your T evolve after quitting Lexapro ?
I also swear that Ketamine troches (400mg) caused tinnitus for me. I never noticed it until taking these troches, and I had done 14 infusions prior to taking these.
You may want to research more. Your doubts are unfounded.
Hi Michael:
You are correct. I wrote that about 5 years ago, and since then I have come across information on the ototoxicity of Ketamine. It includes a few cases of Ketamine resulting in tinnitus. It sounds like you are one of the “lucky” ones.
Cordially,
Neil
I started taking ketamine therapy for depression two weeks ago and it absolutely made my ears roar for three days afterward, and now I am about to call the doctor and stop it. Obviously it is oto-toxic and if your depression and anxiety gets better but the noise is doubled, what;s the point of taking the drug because you’re back where you started, only far worse.
Hey did your tinnitus go away?
Hello,
I took Inderal for two weeks as I had high heart rate. Also my vitamin b12 is 212 Pg/ml. Do you think Inderal (proponal) can cause tinnitus also I took it for two weeks only.
Also I took Inderal(10 mg) twice a day for two weeks then to taper off I took 10 mg once a day for three days and then I quit it.
Is it good enough ?
Hi Bisma:
Propranolol (Inderal) can cause tinnitus in some people. As near as I can tell, tinnitus as a side effect is not very common. So it is possible your tinnitus is a result of taking the Inderal, but it could also be from other factors. From what little you have told me, I can’t tell one way or the other.
I don’t know whether you tapered off too fast or not. Since you were only on it for two weeks, maybe your fast taper was ok. One way to tell is if you didn’t suffer any side effects from quitting the drug, it probably was ok–but if you really want to know, check with your doctor.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi. I was prescribed rosuvastatin for borderline high cholesterol. I am also on viberzi 75mg 1/day and 10mg prozac per day for IBS. After a month on the statin, I noticed my ears ringing. The doctor advised me to stop taking the statin, wait for the ringing to stop, and then attempt to take it once or twice a week. Ten days later, I’m still waiting for the ringing to stop and am very hesitant to take that drug ever again. I looked online at drug interactions, and one site stated that viberzi can exaggerate the effects of rosuvastatin. Could this be what caused the problem? Do you think this ringing will go away at some point? Thank you for any advice.
Hi Cheryl:
Rosuvastatin (Crestor) can indeed cause tinnitus. I have no information on whether the resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent. I agree with you that it is not a good idea to take it in the future as it may make your tinnitus worse.
As far as I know, Eluxadoline (Viberzi) is not listed as causing tinnitus. I rather doubt it was the Viberzi that made your tinnitus worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I was taking the Naproxen 500mg for 4-5 days to treat ny headache. And then my ear start ringing. Now almost a month and still ringing and get wrose these two days. It makes me anxiety. Its so loud that make me so sick, felt like i cant handle this nosie no more. Will it be temp or long term? Anyone anyidea pls help.
I just went to ER with no treatment available . Gosh. How can there is no pill to fix it?!
Hi Kelvin:
Tinnitus (ringing in your ears) is a fairly common side effect of taking Naproxen. Sometimes the tinnitus goes away in a few days to a few weeks, and sometimes it doesn’t. Since it has been a month now and you haven’t taken anymore, it may be permanent.
Why would you expect there be a pill to fix your problem. It was a pill that caused it in the first place. Typically, taking pills is not the answer to problems–they just cause you more problems as you have unfortunately found out.
Even if your tinnitus doesn’t go away, take hope. The future doesn’t have to be bleak. There are many things you ca do to help bring your tinnitus under your control so it won’t bother you. I’ve had constant tinnitus for many decades now, but it doesn’t bother me–I don’t let it. For example, my ears are ringing away right now, but it’s no big deal.
You can get a lot of help from my book on tinnitus–Take Control of Your Tinnitus–Here’s How. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/. I’d especially recommend carefully studying chapter 16.
Cordially,
Neil
I was taking Aleve for my back pain. I took it on and off for about two weeks. Last Sunday I woke up with tinnitus. It has been 5 days now. I noticed that it got better since Sunday, but not much better for the last 2 days. Is tinnitus from Aleve usually permanent? I’ve also been experiencing stress and anxiety for the last 3 months, so that could also be the cause, from what I’ve read. I want to give another week or so before I go to a doctor. I’m hoping this is only temporary. It’s not too loud, I only hear it when I’m in silence. But still..
Hi Paulo:
It can be permanent or temporary. Those that find it temporary find it goes away within 2 weeks–so you still have to give it more time to be sure whether it is temporary or not.
If you go to the doctor, what do you expect him to do? Put you on drugs that have even more side effects? Or what?
Cordially,
Neil
I have had buzzing in my ears since starting an antibiotic following voice surgery last week. I was on Tylenol 3, cephalex and prednisone. Do you think it’s from the medication?
Hi Maryanne:
Was Cephalexin the only antibiotic you took? Cephalexin can cause tinnitus in some people, but I don’t think it is too common. I had a course of Cephalexin this past year and it didn’t cause any change to my existing tinnitus.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can also cause tinnitus in some people. So can Prednisone.
So it could be any of the three, or perhaps a combination of the three.
Another possibility is the tinnitus is a result of trauma from the surgery that resulted in somatosensory tinnitus. If it was this kind of tinnitus, often pressing on parts of your neck or face will make it stop or change temporarily.
Cordially,
Neil
Can single pill of naproxen 550 mg cause tinnitus?
Hi Jorge:
I wouldn’t be surprised if it could. One lady took two 220 mg pills (one each day) which resulted in her ear ringing very loudly. So taking more than double the dose at one time probably could do the same.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor. I was recently prescribed ciprofloxacin for a bout of food poisoning. After 2 days (4 tablets of 500mg in total) i an hearing ringing noises. It is causing me insomnia now. What’s the chances of it going away?
Hi Nixon:
Tinnitus from taking Ciprofloxacin unfortunately can be permanent. If this is the case with you, then you need to learn how to take control your tinnitus so it doesn’t drive you buggy. There are a lot of things that you can do. I give the details of these in my book, Take Control of Your Tinnitus. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/
Cordially,
Neil
I took one pill of cipro and now I have ringing in both ears. I was on sulfameth for three days with no problems.I stop both of them. Do you think that it is peremant or temporary?
Hi Cheryl:
Cipro is one of those drugs that can cause tinnitus from the very first pill. Sometimes it proves to be permanent. It’s much too early to know at this point. Let’s hope yours is temporary.
Cordially,
Neil
I went to the ent and everything is normal. He said it should go away in a few weeks. I gave me steroids for the time being. Hopefully it works out for me. Thanks
So it has been a month now and I still have the ringing. It has gone down a lot even sometimes it goes and comes but still low. Is there still a chance of it going away?
Hi Cheryl:
You are on the right track–volume greatly reduce and disappearing for some hours at times. This is all good. In time, hopefully it will fade away completely, but even it a bit remains, it shouldn’t bother you at all–so just ignore it.
Cordially,
Neil
I developed ringing in my ears (high pitched) two weeks after stopping Citalopram cold turkey. I was only on it for three weeks. Do you think the cause was the Citalopram? Have you ever heard of cases where there is a delay in the onset of the tinnitus after stopping? I had no ear ringing problems while I was taking it a part from the last day I took it but it was fleeting. The ringing started approximately 15 days after the last usage (10mg). I’ve been told by numerous people it should of been out of my system by then but I’m still paranoid it was the cause since I’ve had no noise trauma or ear infections. I do have an ear wax build-up but only in one ear.
Would really appreciate your thoughts on this.
Hi Sean:
I’ve not heard of people getting tinnitus after stopping Citalopram, but I would not be surprised if it happens. I say this because this is true with the Benzodiazepine class of drugs. You can take them for years without getting tinnitus, but the minute you try to get of them, you are hit with tinnitus.
Thus I see no reason that other classes of drugs might do the same thing.
And just so you know. I receive more reports of Citalopram causing tinnitus than for any other drug. So tinnitus is a very COMMON side effect of taking Citalopram.
Cordially,
Neil
As a seasonal allergy sufferer I’ve had frequent inner ear fluid, vertigo, sinus problems, fullness & pressure in my ears.. feeling like I’m underwater, ears popping, etc. Was prescribed Doxycycline twice last year and twice this year already. Finished the 2nd script on March 30th and woke up with low humming & buzzing in both ears. Also have buzzing & vibration in my ears when loud trucks or cars go by. I’ve been researching tinnitis on the net since March 30th for help when this happened.. I’ve been on Atenolol for 15 years. Saw an ENT & audiologist last Friday and I have moderate hearing loss in both ears.. He gave me the name of an app to download for sound therapy. Don’t know my options or where to turn now. I’ve read about sound therapy, exercises, trying anti-anxiety meds, and possible help thru chiropractor. Can you help me or give any advice? Thank you.
Hi Tricia:
Doxycycline can cause tinnitus (and hearing loss). So there is a good chance that all the Doxycycline you have taken has done a number on your ears.
I don’t know whether that is responsible for the vibration you experience when loud vehicles go by, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case.
Atenolol can make your ears do “funny” things too–especially after a number of years on it.
I’m assuming that your hearing loss is a result of taking drugs. Ditto for your tinnitus–but since tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss, your tinnitus could be secondary to your hearing loss–so indirectly related to the drugs.
If your tinnitus is bothering you, then having background sounds to listen to helps you deal with it.
Personally, I’d stay away from anti-anxiety meds as they just cause even more problems. Better to deal with the root cause of your anxiety and let it go. A good counselor can help you with that. Chiropractic (upper cervical chiropractors, not conventional chiropractors) can help IF your neck is out of proper alignment, but if your problems have arisen from taking drugs, then chiropractic probably won’t help.
If it were me, I’d not take any more antibiotics for allergies. Go for natural remedies so you don’t damage your ears more than you already have. I’d go to a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) for help.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve been taking Wellbutrin for 8 days and have stopped as I’m getting bad side affects. I noticed over the last 5 days I’ve had really loud ringing in my ears so loud I can’t sleep. As I’ve only been on it for such a short amount of time and have stopped could this be permanent?
Hi Rebecca:
There is no sure way to tell whether tinnitus from taking Wellbutrin will be temporary or permanent. For some people the tinnitus drops considerably in volume or goes away after they stop taking it. For others, it is permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I have been taking Triamterene HCTZ for over 6 years now. For the diuretic side, no blood pressure….for about 6 months I have had a very high pitched shrill in both ears. Could it be the meds?
Hi Jan:
I have no information indicating that Triamterene is associated with tinnitus so this drug is probably not the culprit.
Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is also not listed “officially” as causing tinnitus, but I have heard from several people who got tinnitus from taking it–so it may be the culprit. The good news is that it seems the tinnitus goes away (or back to its old level) when you stop taking this drug.
One suggestion is to ask your doctor to put you on pure Triamterene and leave out the HCTZ and see if your tinnitus drops in volume. If it does, then you know the HCTZ is the culprit.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi.
I was prescribed citalopram by my GP for anxiety/ blushing. 20 mg a day X1 tablet. I’m 36 year healthy – ish male.
I noticed after x2 days that I had very faint ringing in my ears. I would only notice the high pitched distant noice when alone and quite. Different matter on day 20 after taking the medication each day. The volume increased dramatically and enough to wake me up. Since then I have had constant volume at various frequency. I stopped taking the cit the day the volume increased, it has been 10 days now and still no improvement. At first it scared the hell out of me ( I’m not usely freaked out ) I have now chilled a little and accepting the constant head and ear buzz as either way life goes on!!, it gets a little tougher and distracting at night when trying sleep and still wakes me up early.
Really disappointed as I felt the cit had really helped with the blushing and general anxiety and felt really good.
I have been back to GP a few days ago and she prescribed beta blocker propranolol 40 mg to be taken x1 a day to start.
Im a little nervous and have not taken the prop yet in case it raises the volume of tinnitus so thought I’d give it another week or so to see if the T improves.
If I’m prone to reaction with one drug am I prone to others too? Would you advice that I stay clear of any drug that causes reaction?
Do you think my ears will return to ” normal” after taking cit for 20 days?
The T varies in pitch and volume but affects both ears.
Also I like to keep fit and use ear phones when running – can ear phones damage the ear further?
(Sorry for long post!!)
And thanks in advance
Hi Kirk:
You may be interested to know that I’ve heard from more people regarding getting tinnitus from taking Citalopram than any other drug. So you are not alone in getting tinnitus from taking this drug.
The general feeling is that if you are sensitive to one drug, you may be more sensitive to other drugs as well. But that does not mean that if you take other drugs you will get worse tinnitus for example, but you may.
Propranolol does cause tinnitus in some people, but definitely not as high a percentage as does Citalopram. From this point of view, it would be a step in the right direction to try the Propranolol if you need to take a drug.
There is nothing wrong with listening to music via earphones when you’re running. What is wrong is if you have the volume too high. You should keep the volume to a level that is similar to what you hear people talking at. When you do that, you greatly reduce the chances of damaging your ears from loud headphone sounds. In any case, if listening to your headphones make sure tinnitus worse, you know you’ve got the volume set to high.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi I have hypertension blood pressure and I am on medication for it, and I have allergies , my doctor told me it was ok to take Claritin.
My wife bought me Claritin D extra strength, I had ringing right away but did not realize it was from the Claritin I took it for 21 days before I found out on line that I’m not supposed to take it and ringing in the ears was a side effect. I even had pressure in my head and confusion and very nervous , and my close vision was extremely blurry. I’ve been off it for about 45 days my vision is almost back to normal I still have ringing in my left ear and when I take my dog for a 15 minute walk I feel like I’m stoned and get vibrations in the back of my head and it takes about an hour and a half of sitting before my head goes back to normal but I still have the ringing.
And sometimes the ringing gets very high pitch and breaks up a bit and I can almost not notice it but then the next day it will be extremely loud again I’ve had it only like that a 4 times in the past 45 days where I can almost not notice it, The last time where I could almost not notice it was after about 43 days of not taking the Claritin other than that it’s been very loud. Well my head clear up when I move around? And will my ringing fade away ? And all only sleep about 12 hours a week I’ll sleep one or two hours for two nights then I’ll stay up all night because I can’t sleep and then I might get one or two hours the next night after that and so on.
Hi Rick:
I’m hopeful that over time your tinnitus will fade away. It’s always a good sign when time goes by and you realize you haven’t been aware of your tinnitus. The big thing is not to focus on your tinnitus or worry about it. You have to treat it as a sound that is not even worthy of your attention. If you treat it as a threat to your well-being, then it likely never will go away.
Thus, there is a lot you can do to help get control over your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil
I have hypertension high blood pressure and I’m on medication for it and I also have allergies my doctor told me it was OK for me to take Claritin so my wife went to the store and bought me extra strength Claritin-D , when I started taking it I got ringing right away but never knew it was the Claritin my vision got blurry my brain got really hazy and I got vibration in the back of my head , after 21 days of taking it I went online and found out that I am not supposed to take Claritin-D and ringing was one of the side effects so I stopped immediately, my vision has gone back to normal but I still have ringing in my ear and when I move around I get vibration in the back of my head and pressure and I feel like I’m stoned if I take my dog for about a 15 minute walk it takes about and hour and a half before my head gets clear again with me just sitting or lying on the couch, even if I move around in the house doing some housework I get the same way. I notice my ringing sometimes gets extremely high tone and breaks up a bit where I hardly notice it there that has happened to me about four times the last time was about three days ago and the next day I will wake up and that ring is extremely loud again and I’ve been off Claritin for about 25 days.
Is that a sign there ringing will go away when it goes to a high pitch where I can almost not notice it?and all the pressure and the vibration and the feeling like being stoned go away when I move around ?
Hi Rick:
To me, whenever your tinnitus takes a break for whatever reason, it’s always a good sign. You can be hopeful that in time your tinnitus (and other symptoms) will fade away completely. There’s no guarantees of course, but hopefully that is what will happen.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, I recently developed ringing in both ears. I’m trying to figure out the reason. I was on Prevacid for 3 months, no problems. Started taking Allegra in the last month of Prevacid treatment. Still no problems. Stopped the prevacid, 2 days later the ringing started. I stopped the Allegra 3 days after that. Do you think this permanent tinnitus? Or should I expect it to go away?
Hi Tara:
Lansoprazole (Prevacid) can certainly cause tinnitus in some people.
Fexofenadine (Allegra) can also cause tinnitus in some people.
I don’t have enough information to know whether the resulting tinnitus from either of these drugs is temporary or permanent, but I’d hope it would be temporary.
So much of whether tinnitus is permanent or not depends on your own attitude towards your tinnitus. If you treat it as a threat to your well being in any way, then it will stay. But if you treat it as “no big deal”, typically it will fade into the background and not bother you. So in the meantime, learn to ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life.
Cordially,
Neil
well reading all comments instead of felling better i feel more insecure about my condition.. i explain..i was going through anxiety after been home for long time after selling my busyness and take a little time off , after visiting my doctor for couple time she asked me if i want to get therapy for my anxiety and I said why not! after been with my psychology for couple therapies she decide to put me on 10ml of Escitalopram , but she told me to start of with half pill (5ml) for the first couple days but after the first half the next day iiI noticed that icy ears were really sensitive to the noise around but didn’t pay to much attention and after couple days feeling the same i decidedto call my doctor and see what she say about that feeling, she replied saying that never heard about that before and asked me to keep taking the medication for one more week , now the 2 weeks pass and the same citation was in plays with the ringing in my ears , I called her one more time and she told me to stop taking the medication and also told me to not worry about the noise because if that was a result of the meds it was going to disappear after the side effect goes away , … That was in January and now the ringing is getting worse , i was force to go to a ear doctor last week and now waiting for a hearing test nest week , my anxiety is killing me , people say that is going to be permanent and sometime i feel hopeless thinking how and why.. why me on top of my anxiety which i know is playing a role on me feeling more desperate thinking about my future with this… any idea what is going on and what can i do to minimize this feeling…??
Hi Danny:
In my opinion, taking drugs for anxiety is the wrong way to treat this, because so often, drugs can just make things worse.
One of the side effects of Citalopram (a close cousin of Escitalopram) is hyperacusis–exactly what you are now experiencing–your ears are more sensitive to sounds than they should be and you perceive some so loud that they hurt.
So now you have to deal with anxiety AND hyperacusis. Before you only had anxiety.
What I’d do if I were you is find a good counselor that has success in helping people get their anxiety under control through non-drug means.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Niel,
I took Atenolol 25mg/d for 4 weeks. I developed vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus in my lest ear.
My doctor has taken me off the drug. I fear I have ototoxicity What are the chances of my symptoms improving over time?
regards John
Hi John:
Pretty good actually. Numbers of people find that when they go off Atenolol their hearing improves and their balance issues fade away. It’s not guaranteed of course. For some the side effects are permanent. The problem is you don’t know which class you are in. But you can be hopeful that things will improve in the next few weeks.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Niel,
Thank you so much for the quick reply. It has only been 4 days since stopped taking Atenolol so I will take some consolation and hope from your opinion. I have only been getting about 3 hours sleep each night . So have been in a bit of a state!Is there any thing I can do to help the process?
Thanks again John
Following brain surgery, I had serious nerve pain in my head. For the past 15 years I have taken Amitryptiline, which although not ototoxic, is known to affect tinnitus. Will stopping the drug also stop the tinnitus?
Hi Elee:
Amitriptyline is indeed ototoxic. As you mention, it causes tinnitus–one of the ototoxic side effects of Amitriptyline. It also causes a number of balance problems.
I don’t have enough information to know whether stopping the Amitriptyline will result in your tinnitus going away after all these years. I do have reports of people getting screaming tinnitus whenever they take this drug–but it goes away when they stop–so there may be hope for you too.
Cordially,
Neil
Currently prescribed azithromyacin and I want to know if it causes hearing loss ita been two days but I am ready to discontinue it’s in my left ear. I’m also taking prednisone and bromfel for my cough
Hi Angel:
A good number of people now have hearing loss as a result of taking Azithromycin. So, if your hearing is dropping, it’d be a good.idea to not take Azithromycin anymore, or any of the other macrolide antibiotics for that matter. Obviously your body is sensitive to them. You should ask your doctor for a different antibiotic if you need it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, ive been using topical regaine foam 5% Minoxidil for 3 months. I noticed a terrible pain in one ear and then weeks later it went into the other. I feel pressure in my ears and clicky sound when swallowing. Im constantly yawning to try and unblock or ckear pressure. And in the last 4 weejs have developed tinnitus. It started off as a hush but now higher. Do you think it will reverse? I have discontinued using regaine a week ago.
Hi Kerry:
Minoxidil can cause ear infections which could be giving you the pain and the clicking. It can also cause hearing loss and tinnitus. Apparently this is what is happening to you, indicating you are sensitive to this drug. So you’d be wise not to take it in the future.
I have no information to indicate whether your tinnitus will prove to be permanent or just temporary. However, you can be hopeful that your tinnitus will go away in time.
Cordially,
Neil
I took minoxidil for 1 month and then started spironolactone simultaneously. A week after starting spironolactone, I had an acoustic trama from a speaker’s loud feedback next to my ears. I only felt from the acoustic trauma some feeling of pressure in the ears. Only 1/2 weeks after the acoustic trauma I got tinnitus. I then found out how minoxidil and spironolactone can impact tinnitus and stopped taking them 12 days ago. I had a few days of huge improvement but then took brufen for a few days and it’s bad again.
What do you think I should do? Will it be permanent?
Hi Mariana:
Ibuprofen (Brufen is a brand name) causes tinnitus in a lot of people. I think your loud tinnitus is now the result of taking this drug, rather than from the two previous ones you mentioned which seem to just have caused a temporary increase in your tinnitus.
Tinnitus from taking Ibuprofen can be temporary or can tend to be permanent. There’s no way to tell ahead of time. So I sure wouldn’t take any more Ibuprofen and hope your tinnitus will fade away in time.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I develpoed Tinnitus in my right ear two weeks ago. It then moved to both. I was on codeine for about two years. Also took ibuprofen every now and then for headaches. As soon as the tinnitus started I researched what it could be and found out they are both ototoxic.
I stopped taking them right away which left me a little ill for a few days due to withdrawal symptoms I suppose.
My doctor thinks I have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction which I dont think I have.
The strange thing is, twice in the last two weeks the tinnitus has gone away completely for about 5-6 hours each time. Why could this be?
Ive started to take Vitimin B complex and potassium tablets to see if it helps but me being a pessimistic I dont think it will.
Yesterday was probably the first time I thought to myself, I’ve got this for the rest of my life, and im 34. It really upset me.
Hi Dan:
My money would be on the ibuprofen as causing your tinnitus, rather than on the codeine, although codeine can cause tinnitus and some people, but I don’t think it is too common.
Whenever tinnitus goes away for a few hours, I always think that is a good sign. This shows that you tinnitus may not be permanent and is getting ready to go away.
Why does your doctor think that your tinnitus is caused by Eustachian tube dysfunction? Personally, I don’t see any connection.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, what are your thoughts on xifaxan causing tinnitus. It’s been close to 5 months since I stopped taking 550mg three times a day for 14 days.
Thanks for your help and time
Hi Eddie:
Rifaximin (Xifaxan) is listed as causing tinnitus in less than 2% of the people taking it. I have no information on whether the resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent.Since it’s been five months since you last took this drug, it appears that your tinnitus, unfortunately, may be permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil. This is Tina W. I started taking Xifaxan, thinking it was safe. My T spiked after the second pill, noticeably. I took one more pill, and it spiked again. Obviously I stopped. Now it’s the day after and I’m praying that this goes away. If you look at the tinnitustalk forum — several people had bad experiences with this drug. I think the ototoxicity must be underreported. Now I am praying and fighting back tears bc my T was much lower after an ENT found and resolved a sore on my eardrum, just about 6 weeks ago. Tina
Hi Tina:
Of 11,636 reports to the FDAs data base of side effects from taking Rifaximin (Xifaxan), there were only 23 reports of tinnitus, so I don’t think it causes tinnitus very often.
I couldn’t find any reports of tinnitus due solely to Rifaximin on TinnitusTalk, only cases where a person took the Rifaximin in conjunction with Neomycin–and Neomycin is know to be highly ototoxic.
I still think Rifaximin is only mildly ototoxic. Unfortunately, you could have been one of the rare people that had bad tinnitus from taking it.
Cordially,
Neil
Started taking Isosorbide 15mg and started ears ringing. I am scared to think I will have this the rest of my life.
Hi Kay:
Isosorbide can cause tinnitus in some people. I don’t have any information that indicates whether the resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent, so don’t assume you’re going to have to put up with it for the rest of your life. however, there are a couple things you could do.
With your doctor’s permission, you might try cutting the dose and see if there’s a level below which your tinnitus goes away.
Another option is to ask your doctor to switch you to a drug that doesn’t cause tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Cervical spine problem can this cause tinnitus also had open heart surgery 3 years ago I am taking baby adprin 81 mg metropolo 25 mg and pravastain 40 mg what can it be have had tinnitus for22 months
Hi Ronald:
Yes, upper cervical spine misalignments can result in tinnitus.
Numbers of people who take Metoprolol report getting tinnitus as a result. The good news is that when they stop this drug, often their tinnitus goes away. You might want to get your doctor to switch you to another drug and see if this happens to you too.
Pravastatin can also cause tinnitus, but it’s probably not all that common compared to Metoprolol. So I’d get off the Metoprolol if you can.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, a doctor prescribed me e-mycin for acne, 2 tablets a day. After 10 days, I started getting bi-lateral tinnitus. I kept taking the tablets for a week then realised it was caused by the tablets so I stopped. I’ve had the tinnitus for two 2 weeks now (so been off the tablets for a week but no improvement). I know it’s hard to say but do you think it will subside? Thanks 🙂 Jacq
Hi Jacq:
I think you have better than even odds that your tinnitus will fade away in time since you were not taking it for long and don’t have any other ototoxic side effects. The best thing to do is just ignore your tinnitus and treat it as any other unimportant sound you hear. Don’t think about it. Don’t worry about it. When you do this, you definitely improve your chances of it fading away.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Neil, appreciate your response, have a wonderful day! 🙂
Hi Neil, I also wanted to mention to you, and others, that I was taking Nexium at the same time. Not sure if it could have been the combination of the two drugs. I have never had a problem with Nexium before.
Hi Jacq:
Esomeprazole (Nexium) causes tinnitus and other ear problems in numbers of people. So you can’t rule on the effects of Nexium on your tinnitus or in combination with the Erythromycin.
Cordially,
Neil
Does ibuprofin-aggravated tinnitus tend to improve over time after you stop taking ibuprofin?
Hi Elizabeth:
Yes and No. When some people stop taking Ibuprofen, their tinnitus either gets softer so it does not bother them, or it goes away altogether. For other people, their tinnitus stays the same volume and is permanent.
This may have something to do with the dose you take and how long you take it. Doses over 800 mg per day seem to cause tinnitus more than doses below 400 mg per day. So always take the lowest dose that will do the job and for the shortest time possible. That will hopefully put the odds in your favor.
Cordially,
Neil
Can Cellcept, spironolactone, or finasteride
contribute to tinnitus? Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth:
Mycophenolate (CellCept) is listed as causing tinnitus in greater than 3% of the people taking it. The other two are not listed as causing tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your responses. This should be my last question. I was prescribed high doses of ibuprofin and took 800 mg per day for a week or so, then experienced an increase in tinnitus volume. For this type of medication-induced tinnitus, what is the average time line for improvement for those patients who do improve? Is it in terms of days, weeks or months?
Hi,
I was taking 100 mg of Spironolactone for around 7 years and started having stomach problems so I quit taking it around 2 months ago and have had tinnitus ever since. It doesn’t prevent me to sleep, but a fan has helped. I’m starting to get headaches now and am wondering it it could be caused from the tinnitus. Have you ever heard of stopping taking a diuretic causing tinnitus? My blood pressure has been a bit high since I quit taking the drug as well.
Hi Katie:
I have no information that taking Spironolactone causes tinnitus. Nor any information indicating that stopping taking it could cause tinnitus either.
The only link I can possibly see is that when you stopped taking the Spironlactone, your blood pressure went up somewhat. Higher blood pressure can result in tinnitus. So this may be the reason. But there could be other factors at play rather than the higher blood pressure that is the reason for your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
I had open heart surgery and symptoms (Whooshing) started after the surgery. I thought it was related to surgery. Doctors felt it was not because surgery was successful. I did not relate to medication, but realized after I stopped taking Spironalactone because I lost 25 pounds and was not retaining fluid, the whooshing stopped. I didn’t connect it initially, but when I started taking it again, then I got the pulsating tinnitus (whooshing). I stopped and the symptoms stopped. My blood pressure is fine.
Hi Mary Ann:
Thanks for the report. Interesting that Spironalactone caused your whooshing tinnitus. I’ll add that fact to my knowledgebase.
Cordially,
Neil
Does methylprednisolone cause tinnitus? If it does, does it tend to go away or be permanent? Is either prednisolone or methylprednisolone safer to take?
Hi JR:
At this time, I have no information that Methylprednisolone can cause tinnitus. I have only one reference to Prednisolone causing tinnitus. I have no information on whether resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent. From the information I have, Methylprednisolone would be marginally safer to take than Prednisolone, but either of these are only mildly ototoxic so it probably doesn’t make much difference which one you take.
Cordially,
Neil
I had two Medrol injections into the shoulder, about a month apart. Can locally injected Medrol cause tinnitus? If so, does it tend to go away?
On a separate note, I’ve also read that oral methylprednisolone can help tinnuitus. Should I avoid that, given my recent Medrol injections?
Hi Jan:
I have no information that Methylprednisolone (Medrol) results in tinnitus. It may, but at this point, I’ve not seen any reports indicating that it does. Why do you think that your tinnitus is a result of taking the Medrol?
NO drug has been approved by the FDA for treating tinnitus. Thus, none are proven effective for this purpose. But doctors are free to use them “off-label” if they so choose. Personally, I wouldn’t take drugs to treat tinnitus. This is just asking for other side effects. There are other good ways to deal with your tinnitus. I explain many of them in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”. You can get this book at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus volume increased after being injected twice with Medrol- that’s why I asked. I called the doctor and was told that Marcaine was also in the shot. Marcaine has tinnitus liated as a side-effect. Do you have any knowledge about Marcaine-induced tinnitus? Thank you.
I took 3 days of metronidazole and got tinnitus in my left ear 3 days now, is it permanent, I stopped taking the drug when it atarted
Also I had to take moviprep today for a colonoscopy and it has seemed to get louder, so they have a common ingredient propylene glycol. Could this be the culprit , and is it permanent, If it’s this loud tomorrow morning I don’t think I will do the second dose and just cancel the colonoscopy, not gonna have it get even louder
Hi Ron:
I have no information indicating that propylene glycol is associated with tinnitus although it can cause a number of other ear problems such as hearing loss, ataxia and cholesteatomas. So it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility that it could also result in tinnitus.
If you have good reasons to believe it is associated with your tinnitus, you do well to be cautious.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Ron:
Metronidazole can cause tinnitus is some people. I don’t think it is too common though. There is a good chance that the tinnitus will be temporary, but there are no guarantees.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, any info on Meloxicam causing tinnitus? Was on it for over a year and then developed tinnitus, stopped to about 3weeks ago and no relief any chance it could still resolve??
Hi Tray:
Meloxicam does indeed cause tinnitus in numbers of people. The resulting tinnitus can be permanent, but fortunately for some people, the volume reduces with time. Other people are not that lucky.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. I was wondering if my tinnutis is going to be permanent? If there is something I can do about it? I also feel like a tackling sound in my left ear every time I swallow? Also, I feel like I have my ear clogged. I was on ciprofloxacin 500 mg for a week. It has been 3 weeks now since I stop taking it. The sound has reduced. I just hear it now when I am in a quiet place (bedroom or library). My doctor said that most of the times it goes away with time. But I still have it. I am really worry.
Hi Lupe:
Ciprofloxacin causes tinnitus and hearing loss (along with other ototoxic side effects). Tinnitus resulting from taking Ciprofloxacin in many cases is permanent–so is the hearing loss–you you are lucky that your tinnitus is fading away.
Have you had your hearing checked? Typically, the clogged feeling you have is indicative that you have a hearing loss now. Since tinnitus very often accompanies hearing loss, you may find your tinnitus won’t go away–but since it is at a low level, you should be able to easily ignore it and let it stay in the background.
The crackling sound you hear when you swallow is almost certainly caused by “gunk” in your Eustachian tube. Every time you swallow, your Eustachian tube momentarily opens and air tries to get in or out (depending on which way the pressure differential is) and as it “forces” its way through the “gunk”, you hear this as a crackling sound. This will go away naturally as the “gunk” drains from your middle ear and Eustachian tube.
Cordially,
Neil
I was on Accutane for a little over 3 months and noticed a ringing in my ears and I stopped taking the med immediately. My tinnitus has gotten better and worse sometimes. It’s been going on now for a little over a month. Will it be permenant.
Hi James:
Isotretinoin (Accutane) can indeed cause tinnitus, not to mention permanent hearing loss, so maybe it’s a good thing you quit taking it before that happened.
It’s hard to say whether it will be permanent, but to me, it’s a good sign that you have good days and bad days. Hopefully the good days will become more frequent in the future and the bad days less and less frequent until it finally fades away.
Cordially,
Neil
I did get my hearing checked and they said I had perfect hearing which is good news. I just hope the ringing noise goes away. Thanks so much for your input.
Hi James, did the ringing ever go away?
Hi, I was on Ostevelamir (Tamiflu) for 10 days and Cefpodoxime for 5 days after contracting swine flu. Two weeks after finishing both courses my existing mild tinnitus has flared up since the past 2 days. Any chance of it going back to the volume it was at before the meds?
Hi Natasha:
I have no information showing that Oseltamivir (Tamiful) is associated with tinnitus. Also, Cefpodoxime seems to only rarely cause tinnitus. Therefore, I can’t say that your increase in tinnitus is related to these two drugs (but, on the other hand, I can’t say it’s not).
I think that you have reason to be hopeful that your tinnitus will fade back to its old level unless you had a hearing loss from getting the swine flu.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Neil.
Good to know both meds are not known to cause it.
Back to Homeopathy for me. It may or may not help but won’t leave me worse off. Hopefully the effect of the swine flu will wear off in time.
Hi Neil,
I developed tinnitus after being prescribed Z-Mycin for a sinusitis. I took 2 courses of 3 days ans the tinnitus started on the 2nd day of the 2nd course, this was 10 weeks ago now. I still have the sinus infection and my tinnitus is loud with fullness in the ears often throughout the day.
When it started I was prescribed some steroids which made no difference
I have tried and am still having auricular acupuncture, neurofeedback, magnetic therapy, osteopathy, taking gingko biloba and a nasal spray. I am also being treated my an ENT but no positive result as yet!
The tinnitus is still there and I keep hoping that it will go away and not reaching the 6 months mark when it gets harder to get rid of!!
I should add that I am not experiencing any hearing loss!
Can you please give me your professional opinion on my case.
Many thanks.
Hi Claudine:
Taking Azithromycin (Z-mycin) can indeed result in hearing loss and tinnitus. In fact, hearing loss is reported about twice as often as is tinnitus. So you are fortunate that the Azithromycin did not affect your hearing.
I’ve heard from others that have gotten tinnitus from taking Azithromycin for a sinus infection, so you are not alone.
You seem to have tried a number of tinnitus reduction therapies to no avail. One of the secrets to getting your tinnitus under control is to believe that tinnitus is not a threat to your well-being. As long as you believe it is a threat to your well-being, your limbic system (the seat of your emotions) will continue to flag tinnitus as an important sound that is to be heard. And the more you worry/dwell on/obsess over your tinnitus, the worse your tinnitus will get–independent of the drug that caused it.
Thus, the solution is to treat your tinnitus as a totally unimportant environmental sound that you just happen to hear (like the sounds your fridge makes) which you totally ignore.
In like manner, you don’t have to let your tinnitus ruin your life. You can take control of it so it won’t bother you much or at all. I explain how to do this in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” (http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ ) especially in Chapter 16.
In your case, getting your tinnitus under your control is something you’ll have to do for yourself rather than it being something you take or others do for you.
Cordially,
Neil
Such a nice description of how to put tinnitus in its place!
Q: My doctor wants me to take xifaxan for SIBO – what risk does it pose for hearing loss and tinnitus, both of which I already have?
Hi Shulamis:
Rifaximin (Xifaxan) is somewhat ototoxic. According to my information, it can cause hearing loss is some people (probably not too common) and tinnitus is more people, as well as dizziness, vertigo and ear pain. I rate its ototoxicity as a 2 out of 5.
You can try it if you want to, but keep an eye out for any of the above side effects occurring.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve been on several antidepressants for many years. I have a number of psychological issues. I try to keep my appointments for counseling and med checks. But I sometimes have to put them off for days at a time. Sometimes I run out of meds and the tinnitus starts within a few days. When it starts it is unbearable. I can’t hear much else with it. I get sick to my stomach and become very depressed and irritable. I could calm myself if I didn’t have such severe tinnitus. Is there an otc herb like melatonin that could help the severity?
Hi Juanita:
One herbal is Ginkgo biloba. Just be sure you take a proper therapeutic dose of 480 mg per day. To be effective this dose should be standardized to contain a minimum of 24% flavone glycosides, 6% terpene lactones and 2.6% bilobalide. One source of Ginkgo that meets these standards is Arches Tinnitus formula.
Ginkgo works for about half the people who take it, so it could be worthwhile trying it. Be aware that it may take a month to 3 months before it becomes effective, so don’t just try it for a week and then think it doesn’t work. Take it for 3 months, then evaluate it’s effectiveness.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m on tegretol for 4 year I didn’t have any problem for taking it but last week I started hearing my ear vein on my left ear
I went to the doctor he told me that I have tinnitus so can tegretol course tinnitus??
Hi John:
Carbamazepine (Tegretol) can cause tinnitus in some people. But the kind of tinnitus you have is called pulsatile tinnitus and is often the result of high blood pressure or clogged arteries and may be totally unrelated to Tegretol. However, Tegretol affects how your heart works, which affects your circulation and thus whether you experience pulsatile tinnitus. Tegretol can cause slow, fast or pounding heartbeats, for example.
Cordially,
Neil
I was on vimpat 7 months and started getting tinnitus.. Have been off it for 3 weeks. For me – vimpat made my life like ai was living a helllike death. Will the tinnitus go away.? I am 62 years old. Was on it for epilepsy and haven’t had a seizure for 42 years – yet neuros insisted I be on it. Now I was put on valium it seems the tinnitus got lower (in loudness). Yet constant.
Hi Beni:
Lacosamide (Vimpat) can cause tinnitus in some people as you have found out. I don’t have any information whether tinnitus from taking Lacosamide is temporary or permanent.
Diazepam (Valium) can also cause tinnitus in some people. You may find that your tinnitus stays at a lesser volume on Valium than on the Lacosamide.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi! I have Meniere’s disease and my tinnitus was quite avoidable for the past five years. However I have been drinking for the past 6 months heavily and at the same time I am on nexito forte and Sizodon to help me sleep better. But in the past two months I have realised that my tinnitus has skyrocketed. To the extent that no noise can mask it. Can it be due to ototoxicity? Also, what should I do in order for the T to get back to its usual self? I have quit drinking though.
Any advice is really appreciated
Hi Abhinav:
Risperidone (Sizoden) can cause tinnitus (and hearing loss) in some people.
Nexito Forte is a combination of Clonazepam (Klonopin) and Escitalopram (Lexapro). Clonazepam causes tinnitus in numbers of people. So does Escitalopram.
If it were me, I’d cut out both of these medications and see whether your tinnitus drops in volume. (Run it by your doctor of course.) It may take a number of months for this to happen.
You could try herbals such as Valerian to help calm you down so you can sleep.
Cordially,
Neil
I have read so many posts here and am glad that Neil is so supportive. I am now wondering if it is in the air, LOL. Seriously, cellphones and other signals that our parents and grandparents never encountered at this level?
I mean, I bought a new cellphone, new WiFi smart TV after my father passed away and then started Lexapro at that time too. Too many drugs listed here and so it might be worth consideing something larger at work here. The same phenomenon is not happening in other countries from what I’ve seen.
Hi MB:
There are ever so many drugs that can cause tinnitus such as Escitalopram (Lexapro). There is no doubt that drugs are the culprits in many cases of tinnitus.
However, we are now surrounded by micro-wave electrosmog from cellphones, wi-fi, smart meters, etc., etc. and this all has negative effects on our health. Some people are very sensitive to this electrosmog and have resulting health problems. Other are much less sensitive.
If you think you are sensitive, then you need to reduce the electrosmog in your environment. For example, don’t use Wi-Fi–use Ethernet cables instead. Leave your cell phone on airplane mode except when you want to use it. Keep it away from your head–use speakerphone mode.
I’ve not found electrosmog a problem for me (as far as I know), but I have been proactive in keeping my exposure to a minimum. For example, my phone is on airplane mode 99% of the time. My wi-fi is turned off and all my devices are hooked up via Ethernet cables. I only use Wi-fi when traveling–in motels and coffeeshops, etc where you are surrounded by this electrosmog whether you use it or not.
And yes, this is a problem in other countries too. Some of them have put laws in place to try to curtail it. We haven’t done that here.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr.,
I have been on clonazepam .5 mg twice a day. I have taken it for about 3 years for pre-Medipause. I have weened myself to once a day and now I am off of it. The ringing in my ears started when I stopped taking the medication. I am thinking the ringing in my ears is a side effect of this. After going to my GP, and a massage therapist for the ringing, I can’t figure anything else out.
Some days it is louder than others…and sometimes I don’t notice it at all. It is annoying and is effecting my daily activities. Any advice?
Hi Kerry:
Clonazepam is one of the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Once you form a dependence on such drugs, you need to taper off VERY slowly in order to avoid certain side effects. I’ve heard from others that got off the benzos too fast and the result was loud tinnitus.
It sounds like you did a very fast taper. A slow taper to me would be 1/3 of 1% per day–thus taking 300 days to get off it.
What’s done is done. However, the good news is that you have good days and bad days and even days without any noticeable tinnitus at all. I say this is good news because your tinnitus isn’t there solid and severe all the time. If it can vary like it is, to me this indicates that in the future you will have more and more good days and days where you don’t notice your tinnitus.
The secret is to continue to ignore your tinnitus as much as possible–don’t focus on it–even on the bad days. Focus on the loves of your life instead. Hopefully, in time, it will fade more and more into the background and not bother you–even if you do hear it.
Cordially,
Neil
Can tramadol cause this? They are not ringing, but feel very full and painfull a few hours after taking them. It has happened twice now, lasting two or three days. Could this be a start of tinnitus?
Hi Ellie:
Tramadol can cause a number of ototoxic side effects including tinnitus and ear pain which you are experiencing.
The fullness/ear pain is a separate condition to tinnitus, but anything that causes some degree of hearing loss can also result in tinnitus.
I’d be careful about taking Tramadol in the future. Your ears are obviously sensitive to it and you don’t want all the other ototoxic side effects to surface.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, just a few days ago I noticed a ringing in my ears, and it has not gone away for a few days now. I have been taking Tetracycline (a low dose) for maybe 18 months, and then I stopped for maybe 2 weeks and started again. Shortly after that I noticed the ringing. What are your thoughts on potential permanence?
Hi Zac:
That’s a hard question to answer with any accuracy. Tetracycline can and does cause tinnitus in some people. However, I do not have any information regarding its permanence.
Do you have any accompanying hearing loss? If so, then the tinnitus will tend to be permanent, because the hearing loss will be permanent. If you have no hearing loss, then the tinnitus may prove to be temporary once you get off the Tetracycline. Only time will tell.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling like my left ear was clogged like when you can’t pop your ears. I had very slight nasal drip, but no other symptoms. After taking an OTC decongestant for a couple of days, it went away. A few days later, my hearing was impaired again. I was prescribed ipratropium 0.03% nasal spray. The first time I used it, I developed tinnitus, but didn’t know that’s what it was until after day four of using it. I was taking a decongestant as well (store brand Sudafed). After researching it on the internet and finding your website, I must ask your opinion. I’m assuming I should not use the nasal spray anymore, but do you think there is permanent damage? After the second night of using the spray, I had a couple of hours of silence, but it was back the next day.
Hi Kim:
Ipratropium is listed as causing tinnitus in some people. It seems you are one of them. So it is probably wise not to use this drug again in the future as it will likely make any existing tinnitus worse or cause tinnitus again.
It’s also possible that the Sudafed had an effect on your tinnitus, but I don’t think that is too common.
I’d think you have a reasonable chance of your tinnitus going away–especially if it becomes intermittent.
Cordially,
Neil
I had flu and tried to blow my nose and had my ear full of air pressure so I visited my ENT and he prescribed augmentin and actifed (triprodline2.5mg, and pseudoephedrine 160mg) after 3days I had high level of tinnitus. I dont know if it has anything to do with the drugs bcs the flu is gone but the tinnitus remained. If I stop the amoxicillin will the noise stop?
Hi Ben:
Amoxicillin can cause severe tinnitus in numbers of people. Unfortunately, t appears that the tinnitus can be permanent. Thus, if this is your case, stopping the Amoxicillin won’t make your tinnitus go away—but it sure doesn’t hurt to try in the hopes that it will.
Cordially,
Neil
Whenever I swallow saliva
I get a thumping sound In my ears and sometimes it’s a creaking sound I dont know if that’s normal or if mucus is stuck in the inner ears or something
Hi Lord ben:
Personally, I’d think it has something to do with your Eustachian tubes. Perhaps they are clogged?
Cordially,
Neil
Dr.Bauman. is it normal to hear sticky sounds in the ear when swallowing
Hi Ben:
It’s normal to hear a brief clicky or sticky sound as you swallow and your Eustachian tube opens up, especially if you had a little bit of saliva at the end of your Eustachian tube at that time.
if your middle ear or Eustachian tube is called up, then you will hear crackling sounds every time you swallow or yawn. This is air trying to get through all the gunk in your Eustachian tube to equalize the air pressure in your middle ear with the outside air pressure. Once the gunk drains out of your middle ear and Eustachian tube then you should not hear this anymore.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks a lot sir for the info am now relieved. Its now a waiting game between me and the tube
Hi DR. Bauman, my ears keep popping and making noises like air trying to pass through mucus when I swallow. But when I do the vasalva molanouvre I dnt feel any friction as air goes into the eustachian tubes could it be that there is liquid stuck in the inner ears or problem with that eardrum.
Hi Jenny:
If your ears are popping and making crackly sounds, this means that your middle ear (not your inner ear) and/or your Eustachian tubes are clogged with gunk. When this gunk drains out your ears will clear and all the popping and crackling sounds will stop.
the Valsalva manoeuver doesn’t always result in crackling sounds. It basically works if the air pressure in your middle ear is less than the outside air pressure. If the air pressure in your middle ear is already higher than the outside air pressure, then doing the Valsalva manoeuver is not going to force any more air in, so you won’t hear crackling sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I have ringing and echoing in my one ear and was recently on a round of Doxycycline for flu/pneumonia. Is this permanent or will it go away in time? If so, how long?
I saw a doc about it and was told it was a side effect.
Or could it be tied to a sinus infection with fluid buildup in my inner ear? I do have a lot of mucus if so, is there something else I can do besides taking a decongestant bc it doesn’t seem to be working?
Hi Melissa:
Tinnitus as a result of taking Doxycycline may be temporary or may be permanent. There’s no way for me to know which it will be in your case.
If your tinnitus is the result of your middle ear (not your inner ear) being filled with gunk, then when the gunk drains from your middle ear and Eustachian tube and your hearing returns to normal, the tinnitus should go away.
So, you have two possible causes of your tinnitus, or maybe some of each. Only time will tell whether it proves to be permanent or not.
Cordially,
Neil
Greetings. I have tinnitus from what I believe to be drug withdrawal from 8 weeks of ambien. I’m now on month 5 of Tinnitus. I do have almost silent days. My dr put me on lexapro after I complained of tinnitus. Staring it was anxiety induced with no hearing loss. Now I’m reading lexapro can cause T. Should I stop taking it?!? Lexapro has eliminated my anxiety issues, I don’t feel lexapro caused the T since I had it before taking it.. but now I’m so confused. Maybe the lexapro is prolonging my tinnitus? Drugs are just awful!
I began having symptoms from Tinnitus since December 2015. It varies in how severe it is but most nights its easily muted by a fan next to my bed. On occasions it is more severe and I can often hear my pulse through my ears along with the constant ringing. I went to an ENT and they checked my hearing and everything was good. They also tested my ears for pressure differences and found that my left ear pressure is 30% weaker than my right ear. I have also been experiencing mild motion sickness while boating and riding in the rear of a vehicle.
Recently I started to look into the vitamins that I take daily and the medications that I have been prescribed and none were known to cause Tinnitus. I did find that Zyrtec (cetirizine) is known to cause Tinnitus. I have stopped taking it now for 3 days but the Tinnitus is still affecting me, I’m hoping in a few weeks or a couple months the symptoms will subside. I have taken Zyrtec now for about 5-6 years for my allergies. Has anyone else experienced Zyrtec?
Other prescriptions include Avapro (Irbesartan) – BP medication, Protonix (Pantoprazole) – Acid Re-flux medication, Align daily probiotic
Vitamins I was taking: Vitamin World Brand – Joint Soother, Niacin, Flax Seed Oil, CoQ10, Phytosterol Complex, UltraMan Multi-Vitamin, and Biotin
Hi Robert:
If you have taken Zyrtec for 5 or 6 years, I doubt that it is the cause of your current tinnitus, although as you know, it can cause tinnitus.
Irbesartan can also cause tinnitus and hearing loss.
Pantoprazole causes tinnitus in numbers of people, and hearing loss in even more people.
Did the start of your tinnitus correlate with either of these two drugs. If so, that drug is likely the culprit.
Some people get tinnitus from taking too much Niacin.
So there are some things to consider.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for the reply, neither of the two drugs or the niacin correlate with the tinnitus. I have been on Irbesartin for several years before I noticed it and will confirm the actual date with my cardiologist at my next appointment. Hopefully we can experiment with a different medication to exclude it from the list. I started taking Pantoprazole sometime around 2014 or 2015 but I know I was not symptomatic until December 2015, I will also discuss options with my docotor.
I’ve stopped all vitamins and supplements except for Align, Irbesartan, Eliquis and Pantoprazole for about two weeks and I am still suffering from tinnitus.
If one of the medications that I am taking is causing the tinnitus, will it eventually stop once it is out of my system or will it be something that is permanent?
Hi Robert:
Whether you stop a drug and your tinnitus goes away or stays is often a mystery. Some drugs seem to cause permanent tinnitus, others cause temporary tinnitus and some may do either. And with some your tinnitus drops to a much lower level once you quit taking them–but the tinnitus never goes away–but basically is no longer a problem. It’s then just a meaningless background sound.
Align shouldn’t cause you any problems. Neither should the Eliquis. Just be aware that Irbesartan does cause tinnitus in numbers of people and Pantoprazole in hundreds and hundreds of people, so you might want to dump it too and see how your tinnitus responds.
So the only way you can tell is to stop a drug and give it a month or so. If the tinnitus drops to a lower level or goes away, then you know it was that drug, and you now know how it affects you.
Cordially,
Neil
Doctor, how long do I wait before the thick gunk in my ears drains out? Cus its driving me crazy. Anytime I swallow air sometime gets trapped in my ears and I have to swallow again to relieve pressure.
Hi Jenny:
It varies, but it can take two or more months before all the gunk drains out of your middle ears and Eustachian tubes. Of course it can also happen much faster too.
Cordially,
Neil
I am so happy I found this site! I have been taking Atenolol for about a month after being diagnosed with Hyperyhyrpidism. I started having severe ringing in my ears , along with pressure and slight dizziness because of it. I plan to call my Dr. first thing in the morning to put me on a different medication. Is this typically temporary or permanent when caused by Antenolol? I am trying my best to ignore it but it is so loud and distracting and it is hard to hear anything over it. Thank you in advance!
Hi Kelly:
tinnitus from taking Atenolol can be pretty severe as you have found out. However, the good news is that some people find when they stop taking Atenolol their tinnitus drops to a low level and may fade away. So you can be hopeful that your tinnitus will fade away or at least drop to a manageable level when you change your medication. That’s assuming that your new medication doesn’t also cause loud tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
I developed tinnitus in my left ear after being on prednisone for 2 months. I’ve now tapered down to 7 mg a day, but it will be slow going for I have been on it a year. Is my tinnitus permanent?
Hi Denise:
I have no information that indicates whether tinnitus from taking Prednisone is permanent or not. You can be hopeful that in time your tinnitus will fade into the background and either go away or not bother you. You can hasten this by treating your tinnitus as an inconsequential background sound such as the noise your fridge makes. You totally ignore the noise your fridge makes, so treat your tinnitus the same way, and you will likely find that you won’t hear your tinnitus either unless you specifically listen for it.
Cordially,
Neil
I first noticed tinnitus 11 years ago following two shoulder operations. The first operation generated just a little bit of background noise that I only notice at night. The second operation (both to repair damaged A/C joint) triggered high, steady pitch tinnitus that has lasted for 11 years. On Nov. 28, I had a colonoscopy and was given propofol as a sedative. About 16 hours later, I awoke in the middle of the night to much louder tinnitus at slightly different pitch. I told the Dr. about this and warned the doc and the anesthesiologist about my prior history of surgery induced tinnitus. The doc said it should dissipate quickly, however there has been no change all day and I suspect I’m now going to have much louder tinnitus for the rest of my life. I’m 61. Is there any drugs that can counter act anesthesia induced tinnitus?
Hi John:
Propofol can, and does, cause tinnitus in some people. I have no information on whether the resulting tinnitus is permanent or not, although I suspect in most cases it is temporary.
You need to give it at least a couple of weeks before you decide whether your tinnitus might be permanent or not. It takes time for any drug to get completely out of your body and let your tinnitus calm down. Some people will notice their tinnitus drops in a matter of hours others they noticed that the next day and still others don’t find any difference for two weeks, so give it time.
I’m not aware of any drug that stops tinnitus, and so far the FDA has not approved any drug for tinnitus. However, if you want to try a non-drug solution, I’d recommend trying Arches tinnitus formula. This formula is made from the herbal Ginkgo biloba, so it is not ototoxic. According to Barry Keate, the owner of Arches, this works well for drug-induced tinnitus, so you might want to give it a try. The website is https://www.tinnitusformula.com/ .
Cordially,
Neil
I have been having tinnitus for about a month now. I really started to notice it after I started trintillix for anxiety but don’t know if it is directly related to this med or not. I also have the clicking when I swallow so I am not sure if it is just fluid in the tubes or what. It is always worse at night when I lay down and quite. I do have allergies and I have taken nasal allergy spray for a while thinking it would help but hasn’t. Was just wondering what you thought. I really am having good luck with the trinttellix and my anxiety so I really hate to have to stop it but if it is contributing to the tinnitus I don’t want to continue. What do you think. I did notice some tinnitus here and there but was usually sound induced or when my ears were clogged.
Hi Lisa:
I have no information that indicates that Vortioxetine (Trintellix) causes tinnitus. It may, but I’ve not seen anything that suggests it does.
Your tinnitus may be related to your allergies in that when your ears are clogged up, the result can be tinnitus. Anxiety can also make tinnitus worse. But from what you have said, I don’t really think that the Trintellix is causing your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Aloha Doctor,
I’m on a 12 week prescription for Zepartier and I started getting tinnutus. Is this a result of the medication and, if so, can I look forward to its demise when my course of medication is finito?
Hi Ellen:
I’m assuming you meant Zepatier, not Zepartier, correct? If so it is a combination of two drugs–Elbasvir and Grazoprevir. I have no ototoxic information on these drugs so I can’t say whether they might have caused your tinnitus or not.
Cordially,
Neil
I was given a lumbar epidural and two steroid injections in my lower back within 2 weeks of each other and was prescribed dyclofenac 75 at the same time. I started having tinnitus and felt very tired and achy. I stopped the dyclofenac after week 3. At week 4 I was given another lumbar epidural and was sent into a tail spin. The T got worse and I started having dizziness and eventually had to go to the ER from an extreme vertigo attack. I have been off the shots for 5 weeks and the dyclofenac for 7 weeks and still have T. Its not as loud and the dizziness is gone. What is the chance it will go away?
Hi Deborah:
What drug did they use in the epidurals and what drug did they use for the steroid injections?
Diclofenac not only causes hearing loss and tinnitus in hundreds and hundreds of people, but it can also cause all sorts of balance problems to thousands of people including dizziness, vertigo and various balance disorders.
I don’t have much information at all on whether tinnitus from taking Diclofenac is temporary or not. The good news is that your tinnitus is now less in volume. It’s entirely possible that this will continue and in time you won’t even notice it unless you specifically listen for it so it will not bother you. Thus whether it goes away or not won’t matter as it will be a non-issue.
Cordially,
Neil
Doctor is it possible for saliva or mucus from a flu to for up the eustachian tube when blowing the nose?
Hi Marcus:
I’m sure it is. If you are stuffed up and blow your nose, you often hear a crackling sound as the air is forced up your Eustachian tubes through the gunk and mucous.
Cordially,
Neil
What if the eustachian tubes is filled with dry mucus is it responsible for the crunchy sound heard when swallowing(opening of the eustachian tubes)
Hi Marcus:
Mucous never gets dry and crunchy in your middle ears or Eustachian tubes. It is always wet–like think gunk. The crackling sounds are actually pockets of air popping and moving along though the gunk. It sounds dry, but it’s not.
Cordially,
Neil
When I swallow sometimes my ear feels clog then I have to swallow again to relieve the pressure. I also have sudden sharp tinnitus I dnt know if these symptoms would go on their own or if I need medication doc?
Hi Shirley:
If you have a cold or sinus problems, that will clog your ears and it takes time for the “gunk” to drain out and the clogged feeling to go away.
Tinnitus can accompany clogged ears because the clogged ears give you a temporary hearing loss that causes the tinnitus. I don’t know if that is your problem or not.
How are you feeling now since I see it’s been 3 weeks since you posted your question.
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus started 5 years ago after getting a colonoscopy. Just thought if was a coincidence that it happened on the same day. Well I just had another colonoscopy and it had gotten much louder. So I decided to do some research and discovered that if was caused by the Propofol that I was given for sedation. For the most part I have been able to tune it out. But sometimes it is so loud that it gives me a headache. I don’t think that my emotional state is going to fix that.
Hi Christy:
Propofol can (and does) result in tinnitus in some people so you could be particularly sensitive to this drug.
It’s good that you can tune it out most of the time. That shows your emotional state is working properly. When it get loud for some reason, just continue “ignoring” it as best you can and let it pass without getting upset with it. That is what I do with my tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil, I started taking Acetazolamide yesterday and several hours later I noticed high pitch ringing in both of my ears. Will this ringing stop if I stop taking it?
Hi Rita:
There are not all that many reported cases of tinnitus from taking Acetazolamide, so you may be particularly sensitive to this drug. However, once you get tinnitus from taking it, there’s no sure way to know if it will go away if you stop taking it–unless you stop taking it and see what happens. I know one person still had her constant tinnitus 8 days after she stopped taking it. Unfortunately, you may find yourself in the same boat.
Cordially,
Neil
I was given zoloft from my PCP and after 4 days I developed high pitched constant tinnitus. I had my hearing checked and I have no hearing loss? I was told I may have myofascial dysfunction in neck that may be causing it from another doc. Currently doing dry needling. This has been going on for almost 2 months now. I don’t know what to do. Could 4 days on zoloft have given me permanent tinnitus?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Hi Ken:
The short answer is yes. Some drugs can give you permanent tinnitus from the very first pill. Sertraline (Zoloft) doesn’t seem to work quite that fast, but a few days on Zoloft is enough to get your tinnitus started.
Myofascial dysfunction in your neck and face and also cause tinnitus–but it seems that your tinnitus coincided with taking Zoloft, not omyofascial problems didn’t it?
Cordially,
Neil
Doctor, Tinnitus caused from zoloft can be temporary or permanent?
I have taken it for 5 days and it caused my tinnitus.
Should I discontinue it? What can im
Hi Julian:
Side effects from Sertraline (Zoloft) can be permanent according to the reports I’ve received from people, but I’m sure they can also be temporary. If you decide to quit taking it and your tinnitus goes away or greatly reduces in the next 2 to 4 weeks, you’ll have a good clue that it is temporary in your case.
I can’t tell you whether you should get off it or not. That’s your decision, but I can tell you that I sure wouldn’t take that drug myself.
Cordially,
Neil
I started tinnitus 1 month ago after having my two wisdom teeth taken out , I took ibuprofen as prescribed which I think it’s a really high dose! 600mg of Motrin 4 times a day
I hear a hissing sound in my left ear … doctor says it’s going to leave but who knows…
Hi Mindy:
Taking that much Ibuprofen in a day can certainly bring on tinnitus. Some people get tinnitus from only taking 800 mg per day, and you were taking 2,400 mg a day.
For some people the tinnitus is temporary and for others it is permanent. Only time will tell which camp you’ll be in, but you can hope that it will drop in volume even if it doesn’t fade away completely.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi I developed Tinnitus what seems to be in the center of my head and sounds like a high pitched constant tone 24/7 on 12/15/2017, I have no idea what could have caused it because I had so much going on at the time. I had a Lumbar Puncture done on 12/08/2017 for a headache that started on 12/04/2017 and was diagnosed with a mild case of Viral Meningitis (never had any other symptoms though no fever or stiff neck) my life seemed to go down hill after that spinal tap though I had SO MANY bad side effects from that I ended up getting a SEVERE post dural headache that lasted about 5 days which was the followed by EXTREME head pressure, my GP put me on Amoxicillin assuming I may have had a sinus infection which I stopped after about 4 days because it seemed to be making me short of breath (I believe I noticed the ringing very loudly the day after I stopped the antibiotic) but I was also in the midst of a series of panic attacks and extreme anxiety when I truly noticed the ringing, during that time I was also taking ibuprofen 600 mg as needed as well since the spinal tap. I went to an ENT a few days after the ringing started he checked me and said I looked fine and there was no sinus infection but told me to try Prednisone in case I might have ETD, which I stopped after 4 days because it made things worse. Eventually the pressure in my head went away but the ringing in my head remains along with some popping of my ears often especially when I am driving also I head a lot of crackling when I swallow and yawn which might be due to the my sensitivity to sound right now, I already suffered from health anxiety and anxiety in general so you can only imagine what I am going through at the moment it has sent me into a severe depressive state. I have a app at PENN in philly to rule out a slow CSF leak since I did have the headache that is associated with it and then the unexplained pressure in my head which I read on CSF.org can be a cause of pressure/ear popping/tinnitus. I saw a neurologist who kinda shrugged me off and said Tinnitus perceived “in the head” isnt “true tinnitus” and it was most likely caused by stress/anxiety. As of right now the only thing that gets me through the day is Xanax but I obviously can not take that forever. I am so lost and confused because there were SO MANY factors that could have caused my tinnitus. I am so saddened by all of this. Also I forgot to mention I had a blood patch done on 12/19/2017 in hopes that it would help the tinnitus but it seemed to make things worse I ended up going back to the ER that night because the pressure in my head was so INTENSE, it ended up subsiding the following day after given medicine through an IV at the hospital. I was not given any clear instructions after the blood patch either I did not lie down long after and did a lot of moving around afterwards. I am so lost and scared and there is no hope in any of the drs and internet.
Hi Dominique:
Like you say, there are so many things happening at once that it is hard to pinpoint exactly what is causing your tinnitus, or very likely, a combination is causing it/making it worse.
For example, Amoxicillin can cause tinnitus so that may have been the culprit, or the initial trigger. But your extreme stress, anxiety and depression can all make your tinnitus worse, or trigger it in the first place.
I have a problem with your doctor who said that tinnitus perceived “in the head” isn’t true tinnitus. Where do you think you perceive anything–it’s all perceived in your head! So that doesn’t make sense.
You want to be careful with the Xanax as it also causes tinnitus in numbers of people.
You need to work to get your stress and anxiety and depression under control. I think that is your first step. A good counselor would be the way to go. Hopefully, that will allow your tinnitus to reduce in volume. That, in turn, will make things easier for you to deal with.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your reply and yes I had a problem with What he said as well because my friend who had post concussion Tinnitus heard it in the center of her head as well it went away after 7 months. It’s all very frustrating and depressing when you just want it to stop but it won’t, I’ve looked in supplements started using magnesium oil and will be picking up chelated zinc today and perhaps some niacin as well. As far as the Xanax I am going to try to taper off in a couple weeks but as of right now it is the only thing allowing me to function somewhat, I wanted to perhaps start an anti depressant but it seems they all worsen tinnitus. I have also been drinking apple cider vinegar and steaming everyday just in case the crackling I hear may be from a clogged ET? But my hearing doesn’t seem muffled.
Hi Dominique:
Typically, hearing crackling sounds is from semi-clogged Eustachian tubes. The other possibility is bones in your neck cracking–but you should be able to tell the difference from crackling in your Eustachian tubes.
If you want to take a non-ototoxic anti-depressant, you might want to consider the herbal, St. John’s Wort. It works as well as the prescription anti-depressants, but does not have all the bad side effects prescription anti-depressants have. I know numbers of people who have had very good success with St. John’s Wort.
If you do decide to take it, make sure it says on the bottle that the active ingredient “hypericin” is “standardized” to somewhere between “0.3% and 0.7%” Commonly, it is 0.7%. If it doesn’t say all three things, forget it. You don’t know what you are getting in that case.
Cordially,
Neil
It definitely seems to be coming from my ears (the crackling) also my ears seem to feel full here and there and pop in the car a lot it’s weird because I’m not driving in the mountains and Thank you so much 😊
Hi Dominique:
I’d say you have clogged middle ears/Eustachian tubes that are causing the crackling sounds. Hopefully this will go away as the gunk drains from your middle ears/Eustachian tubes.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi
I read with particular attention your paper about ototoxic drugs and possible associated tinnitus. I am 46 yo and have a La peyronie disease so took Cialis 5mg every day for 6 months until I started to have Tinnitus but no hear loss. I would appreciate very much your opinion on the following :
Would you believe that Tinnitus induced by erectly disfunction drugs would occur so late after i took the first pill ? I have no hear loss only Tinnitus. I start to believe that my high blood tension and anxiety are the real root not the Cialis. This is also what my ENT doctor believes (but he was not aware of relation with ED drug and Tinnitus).
Thank you so much in advance for your answer.
Hi F:
Tinnitus can occur shortly after you begin taking a particular drug, or it can occur several weeks later, or several months later or even several years later. I don’t have any specific information on how long it takes Tadalafil (Cialis) to cause tinnitus.
I do not know whether tinnitus is the result of hearing loss from taking Tadalafil or directly because of taking Tadalafil. In any case, numbers of people have reported tinnitus as a result of taking Tadalafil and even more have reported hearing loss.
You say you don’t have a hearing loss. How do you know? Did you have a hearing test? And if so, did they just test your hearing to 8,000 Hz, or did they test you right up to the upper limit of your hearing (typically around 20,000 Hz)? You could have hearing loss above 8,000 Hz and not be aware of it, but your brain is, and that can result in tinnitus.
It is entirely possible that your tinnitus is not the result of taking Tadalafil, but due to yeur high blood pressure and anxiety as you suggest. Or it could be a combination of that AND the Tadalafil. There is no way for me to know with the information you have given here.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks a lot for your answer ! Much appreciated. Let me give you some more details I have done a hearing test indeed and it was stopped at 8000Hz. When testing my T I believe it is actually near 11000Hz so I might have hearing loss at this frequency indeed (will ask at my next visit). It looks strange to me that Tadalafil can have such hearing loss or / and T issues so long afterwards. How this would be explained ? It is tough to live with T and even tougher with T and limited sexual life… Not sure who I should contact to know more about Tadalafil long term effects.
Thanks
Hi Fabrice:
Some drugs get into your system and stay there for weeks or months so they can affect your ears months after you stop taking them. The aminoglycoside anti-biotics are an example of such drugs. I don’t know the mechanism that Tadalafil uses to affect hearing–just that it does.
I don’t know who would know about Tadalafil’s long-term effects either.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I have used 2 days of 5mg of Lexapro 6 days ago. I noticed that it has been improving a lot, mostly in the morning a bearly here anything for the first three hours. Mostly it gets louder during the day. Though I see improvements throughout those moments of the days as well. Do you give me good chances of remission? Is there a specific reason why it tinnitus gets louder during the day? Should I stay in a quiet room to have the highest chances of remission?
Hi Roger:
Escitalopram (Lexapro) certainly does cause tinnitus in numbers of people. The good news is that tinnitus from Lexapro typically goes away in a few days to some months later. The fact that your tinnitus is milder at times is a very good sign that it will likely fade away in time.
I don’t think you have to stay in a quiet room to help your tinnitus go away. Just stay away from really noisy venues.
I’m not sure why your tinnitus gets worse as the days progresses. I think it has to do with your “wearing out” or being more stressed out as the hours go by. And you are recharged each morning. That’s my guess.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Neil,
I have the feeling that is progressing again lately. Sometimes I have the feeling it is really all inside my head.
Now I even hear (1/10) anyting until 8 PM. It always heals somehow during the night.
Three more questions:
I am planning to use fluvoxamine instead of Escitalopram. Will this cause tinnitus again?
So instead giving it days, I should give it weeks to recover fully?
So it is normal that the tinnitus really ”waves” away? Good and bad times, but the good become more often. Never a bullet stop so to say.
Kind regards,
Hi Roger:
Of course your tinnitus is all inside your head. Where else would it be? After all, it is a phantom sound so it is only perceived inside your head.
I have 10 TIMES as many reports of people getting tinnitus from taking Escitalopram than from taking Fluvoxamine so Fluvoxamine would be definitely easier on your ears than Escitalopram.
There are no guarantees that your tinnitus will ever go away. Nor is there any hard data that says that tinnitus from a given drug will go away in some many days or weeks. Everyone is different. That is why I say to give it time. It may take days or it may take months or longer. This is just another way of saying you need to be patient and put your tinnitus out of your mind so that it can fade away in time. If you worry about your tinnitus and see it as a threat to your well-being, it will NEVER go away. That is why you need to view it as an unimportant, useless sound that you can safely ignore–then do that.
Again, everyone is different. For some they have good and bad days. For others it slowly fades away so imperceptibly they don’t really notice it at the time. And for a blessed few, they wake up one morning and their tinnitus is just gone.
I can’t predict which category you fall into, but it seems you may be in the first group and have the good days/bad days scenario.
Cordially,
Neil
I started Wellbutrin 150 one time a day on Monday, also I developed a sinus infection the same day I started it. Wednesday night I went to bed and noticed a ringing in my ears like I had just gotten home from a loud club or concert. The ringing was still there on Friday so I went back to the doctor who put me on methylprednisolone, ammoxicillin, and Flonase. She told me to stop the wellbutrin and go back to my regular doctor at a later date if it persists. I have now been off the wellbutrin for 4 days but am still taking the antibiotics and steroids. I still have the tinnitus and my ears still feel kind of blocked along with sinus symptoms still persisting. I also took Tylenol and Advil at the recommended doses due to my headache from my sinuses before I started the antibiotics. I feel like everything I have taken now is a recipe for disaster. I have major anxiety already and now I feel so depressed because I hate noises to begin with and I hear it all night in bed even over my air purifier and over my TV. It’s a high pitched ringing. Did I curse myself by taking all of these?
Hi Nicole:
Bupropion (Wellbutrin) is quite ototoxic and does cause tinnitus in numbers of people who take it. For some people, their tinnitus drops in volume when they stop taking it. For others, their tinnitus seems to be permanent at full volume.
You should also be aware that Ibuprofen (Advil) causes tinnitus in a good number of people. Advil is sort of like Wellbutrin in that the resulting tinnitus may be temporary or permanent.
Amoxicillin and Fluticasone (Flonase) also cause tinnitus in numbers of people.
So basically, all the drugs your doctor put you on can cause tinnitus. However, Bupropion and Ibuprofen are the most likely culprits in your case.
At the same time, your sinus infection may have played a part too. The virus may have gotten into your inner ear and caused the tinnitus and muffled hearing (really a degree of hearing loss). Thus, it is hard to point the finger at just one drug or the sinus infection. Your ear problems may be from any combination of sinus infection or drugs.
The best thing to do now is to learn to ignore your tinnitus and let it fade into the background in time. The more you worry or obsess over your tinnitus, the worse it will become and it cannot fade away while you are doing that.
If you need help sleeping, masking your tinnitus with a fan, music or CD of environmental sounds may really help you. You’ll have to try and see what works for you. You may also find the herbal Valerian helps you calm down in the evening so you can sleep.
Cordially,
Neil
I am taking erythromycin and advil for dental\al surgery. My tinnitus woke me up such that i decided to google and found this site at 4am. Things is, purely out of instinct and guessing, I stretched my neck and jaw muscles-to some relief but no avail re: tinnitus. Then, since I am a yoga teacher, I had the urge to try, in my bed, to turn my head upside down as if the prepare a headstand. The stretch felt wonderful-and the ringing stopped. All the while, with my head upside down and my chin tucked in the ringing stopped. I got up, google searched this page and will followup with my search for asanas- including headstand-to treat tinnitus. i look forward to returning to bed once the awake phase passes. It seems there is an imbalance involved inside the ear-either way-I don’t care-the wringing has ceased for tonight.
Hi Loretta:
The Ibuprofen (Advil) could have been the cause of your tinnitus as a lot of people get tinnitus from taking it. It can be permanent or temporary.
Your tinnitus could also be the result of the way your head/neck were positioned for the dental work–resulting in somatosensory tinnitus. When you get your muscles, ligaments, tendons realigned properly and relaxed, the tinnitus can go away. I wonder if that is the more likely scenario in your case.
Cordially,
Neil
I believe I got tinnitus as a result of taking Valacyclovir for a fever blister.
I took it for 5 days then the tinnitus started. I immediately stopped the medication 2 days ago, but the tinnitus persists. Do you think it’s permanent?
Hi Charlotte:
Valacyclovir does indeed cause tinnitus in numbers of people so you are most likely correct that it caused your tinnitus. I have no information indicating whether it will be permanent or not. However, if you ignore it and focus on the loves of your life, and let it fade into the background, it will typically become less and less of a problem as time goes by.
Cordially,
Neil
Do you about how long this could take? I am having difficulty sleeping. Will it happen naturally or do I have to have some kind of therapy? Thank you!
Hi Charlotte:
A lot depends on your emotional make-up. If you can deal with it yourself, then you don’t need any outside therapy. However, if you can’t, then you should seek help.
If you have trouble sleeping, there are a few things you could try. One is to have a fan running in your bedroom. Just that bit of sound can help mask your tinnitus so you can sleep. Some people find listening to fractal music, or any music, or listening to environmental sounds on a CD help them sleep. Whatever sounds work for you.
Second, you could try the herbal Valerian. It can help calm you down so you can sleep and yet doesn’t leave you drowsy in the morning.
See if either or both of these help you gain control of your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you, Neil. My tinnitus has started to quiet down since its onset a week and a half ago. Last night I tried some noice cancellation headphones (Bose) to listen to 2 thirty minute podcasts on low volume. My tinnitus was worse this morning when I woke up. Do you think there is a connection? I thought these headphones would help, but maybe it’s the technology. I guess I will have to stay away from all headphones forever?
Wow been reading all of your comments and it just hurt me because I took some Amocicillin to get over something and to hear that it’ll more than likely be permanent really sucks
I had a sinus infection in May 2017 and was given doxycycline. Almost as soon as I started it, the very low level tinnitus I had became a very loud roar. I put it down to the sinus infection, which was draining into both ears (have never had ETD, though). It eventually went away, I assumed with the sinus problem.
In November 2017, I had two dental implants placed and was given doxycycline. Again, my “regular” low level tinnitus became a roar, but again, I failed to “connect the dots.” That, too, cleared up.
Now it’s February 2018, and I had another dental implant placed. After three doxycycline tablets, I DID connect the dots. I stopped it (only took five tablets of twenty prescribed). Have been off it not quite twenty-four hours, and my ears are still roaring, though I can hear. I am hoping it will resolve in time since it did so the last two times. I feel so stupid! I should have realized!
My tinnitus, whether low level or this roar, seems to be worse on awakening. Can you tell me why? And do you think my chances of this being temporary are possible since it went away two times previously? Thank you.
Camille
Hi Camille:
Doxycycline does indeed cause tinnitus–and hearing loss too. I’d suggest in the future you take a different antibiotic since obviously Doxycycline affects your ears. You might want to consider one of the Cephalosporin class of antibiotics. I’d definitely stay away from the Fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics such as Ciprofloxacin.
I hope your tinnitus will drop back to its old level–I think you have a good chance–but there are no guarantees.
Some people’s tinnitus gets worse overnight and drops in volume once they get up and start moving around. This can be due to your neck being out of alignment and when you get up and move around, you “shake” it back into alignment enough that your tinnitus drops. A change in pillow thickness may make a difference if this is so.
Or it could be due to the quietness of the early morning hour–and when you start making noise and focusing on things, it seems softer in relationship to the other sounds and the fact that you are thinking about what you are doing, and not focusing on your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus started suddenly in late December followed by pain in all of my teeth. My hearing check showed some hearing loss but no change in the last 15 years. After talking to my doctors and cutting back on medications (methotexate, meloxicam for RA)(Gabapentin for nerve damage)(Keppra for seizures), I found that I had been incorrectly dispensed several Levaquin instead of Keppra and possibly taken as few as 6. My doctor took me off the meloxicam, another cut the Keppra in half and the Gabapentin from 3 – 300 to 2 – 300. My teeth still hurt and there’s no change in the tinnitus after one month. Any thoughts on my situation Dr. Bauman? Is there still hope that the tinnitus will pass? It is unbearable.
I should also note that my tinnitus goes from ear to ear, then both ears and sometimes neither particular ear, but I still hear it. It pulsates at times and at times it is a constant sound
Thanks, Frank
Hi Frank:
Before your tinnitus began, did you have any recent (in the past month or so) changes to your medications–did you add a drug, or change a dose?
I suspect one or more of your drugs caused the tinnitus–and it could have been the last one added or dose changed, so knowing that would be a good place to start.
Of the drugs you are taking the three most likely culprits are Gabapentin (most ototoxic), followed by Methotrexate and Levofloxacin (tied for 2nd most ototoxic), so that is where I’d start. The Meloxicam was only about 1/3 as ototoxic as the 2nd place drugs and Levetiracetan brings up the distant rear at only 1/30th of the 2nd place drugs.
Assuming that one of the top three ototoxic drugs are causing your tinnitus, if you totally stop taking it, there is a chance that your tinnitus will drop in volume or fade away, but there are no guarantees.
Cordially,
Neil
Potassium Citrate for kidney stones was started back in early October. All of the other medications I have been taking for at least a year and a half, except for those Levaquin I should not have been taking and it appears I took those just days before the tinnitus started. Update: Since I originally wrote the above, my family doctor put me on cyclobenzaprine to relax my jaw and my teeth pain has almost completely stopped. The tinnitus is still there. It’s bad and I am concerned about how I am going to deal with it.
Also, my recent hearing test since the tinnitus began showed no changes to my hearing over the last 15 years. I do have some high pitch loss, but no change over that time span. Without additional hearing loss, could ototoxicity still be the cause of the tinnitus.?
Hi Frank:
Tinnitus from taking ototoxic drugs can show up almost immediately after you start taking them, or it can take days, weeks, months or years. So I still lean towards one or more of your drugs as being the basic cause of your tinnitus. But of course, there might be other factors you haven’t considered.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve been using Travatan for a couple of months for Glaucoma. This morning I got up with a very loud ringing in my ears. I read that this eye drop can cause ringing in the ears. If I stop using Travatan could the ringing stop. I also use Simbrinza.
Hi Karen:
Travoprost (Travatan) can indeed cause tinnitus, but its not all that common.
Simbrinza is a combination of two drugs–Brinzolamide and Brimonidine. Brimonidine can also cause tinnitus in a few people.
So either the Travatan or the Simbrinza or both could be causing your tinnitus (or some totally unrelated factor). I have no information that indicates whether any resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent. Hopefully it will prove to be temporary if you stop taking the Travatan (if that was the cause).
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, have you heard of anyone experiencing severe tinnitus after taking the antibiotic Xifaxan? Thank you.
Hi Teri:
I’ve not heard personally from people that have taken Rifaximin (Xifaxan) and gotten tinnitus, but tinnitus is listed as a side effect in the PDR. So it does happen, but probably is not all that common. Are you one of the “lucky” ones?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi! I’ve been struggling with depression for a while now and things got bad at home so I just took a shitload of pills hoping to not wake up the next day (clearly I did) and now I realized what I took. ( Aspirin and Ibuprofen) I have a really loud continuous sound in my ears and I only hear it well when its a little bit quiet. Its very annoying and I’m worried its permament. Can you tell me is it? Thanks.
Hi Adalina:
I hope things are going better for you. You need help dealing with your depression.
To answer your question, Aspirin typically causes TEMPORARY tinnitus–so if the aspirin caused your tinnitus it should go away in 2 or 3 days. However, Ibuprofen can cause permanent tinnitus–and I think that drug was the likely culprit.
Now you have to deal with the results of this tinnitus racket. There are a number of things you can do. First, you need to NOT be upset with your tinnitus. You need to treat it as an UNIMPORTANT sound such as the sounds your fridge makes and as much as possible ignore them just like you do fridge noise. If you think of your tinnitus as a threat to your well-being, it will stay loud and annoying. However, when you treat your tinnitus as just another useless background noise, and NOT a threat to your well-being, it can then begin to fade into the background and not bother you even if you do hear it.
To help you, you may find that having background sounds on–radio, TV, etc. to give your ears some real sounds to listen to and this helps mask the sounds of your tinnitus.
In time you will become habituated to your tinnitus so you won’t even know it is there much of the time and it won’t bother you even when you do hear it. Just to show you, I’ve had tinnitus for more than 60 years, yet it doesn’t bother me. In fact, I can go for hours without even being aware I’m hearing it unless I am thinking about it–like right now I just began hearing my tinnitus for the first time today. You can learn to do the same.
Note, you want to deal with your depression as depression makes tinnitus worse and harder to ignore.
I wish you well.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, over the past couple months I’ve been noticing some health issues, so I decided to head to the dentist, got some teeth filled, got put on etodolac for inflammation. Was on it for a week, 3x a day. Didn’t really notice any difference except a bit of hypersensitivity in my ears. 8 days ago I went to see my Dr who prescribed me Zoloft 50mg, took it for 3 days at 50mg, at the 3rd day I began noticing a loud ringing mainly in my right ear, called my doc and they suggested I cut my dose in half. The next 2 days I took 25mg, ringing got even louder, so I stopped taking it. It’s been 3 days since stopping and the ringing is still roaring like 8000 crickets in my head turned up x2 speed. Wondering if it was the etodolac? The Zoloft? A combination of both? Doctor wants to see me tomorrow, going to tell him I don’t want to be on any prescriptions. Thanks in advance.
-Owen
Hi Owen:
Etodolac can definitely cause tinnitus is some people. So it is possible your tinnitus is a result of taking the Etodolac.
Sertraline (Zoloft) causes tinnitus in hundreds and hundreds of people so it is a more likely culprit. Since your tinnitus didn’t start until 3 days after you began the Zoloft, I’d think you can safely blame the Zoloft.
I’m with you in not wanting to take any more drugs. My policy is to tough it out and only take drugs when it is essentially a matter of life and death or extreme pain–things like that. But if it is more of a minor discomfort, I don’t take drugs–period.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I got tinnitus 2 months ago, after seeing a video about tinnitus. It has been something that I was always afraid of. 6 weeks before I had a very bad cold, and I used codeine (1 pill per day for 4 days) and 1,5 week before I got tinnitus I went to a party (i wore earpluggs) and the day after I used ibuprofen (400mg) and asperin(1000mg). I take 400mg Ibuprofen sometimes(1-2 a month), always 1 pill of 400mg. I sometimes wondering if this is the reason I got it. I went to the doctor and he said my ears look great and my hearing is better than average (i hear too much). So now I wonder, is it stress(I had a lot of stress), anxiety, that I have hyper focus on normal sounds or the medicine. What would you say? Best, Anne
Hi Anne:
Tinnitus can definitely be brought on by stress. Furthermore taking ibuprofen or large doses of aspirin can certainly bring on tinnitus. In your case, I wouldn’t be surprised that your tinnitus is a combination of taking the drugs and being under extreme stress and anxiety at the same time.
Incidentally, more people complain to me about getting tinnitus after taking ibuprofen that almost any other drug.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Neil,
Since my 20’s I have always had a mild form of tinnitus because of loud music. I have learned to live with it and scored it a 3 or 4. Considered it my own fault for listening to high volumes.
For the last couple of days it has gotten a lot worse. I’d score it an 8 or 9. Perhaps not a coincidence since I just finished a 10 day prescription of Metronidazol for several types of bugs in my colon.
Do you have any knowledge of Metronidazal causing tinnitus to worsen? And of coarse…. Would you consider it permanent of temporary?
Ray
Hi Ray:
Numbers of people have reported tinnitus as a side effect of taking Metronidazole. I don’t have much information on its permanence, but at least one person reported his tinnitus was temporary. So you can hope for the same and that you tinnitus will soon drop back to its old level.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Neil,
thanks for your reply. It still is very loud unfortunately. My ears feel very ‘full’ and my balance is also somewhat impaired.
I’m hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst…
I hope you can help.
I took topamax , two 25 mg pills two times daily for 3 days. I have ringing in my ears that won’t quit. Is this permanent?
Hi Stancy:
Topiramate (Topamax) causes tinnitus in numbers of people. However, I don’t have any information on whether it is temporary or permanent. Only time will tell, but I’d give it two weeks anyway to see if it will fade away before you begin worrying about whether it will be permanent or not. Some drugs take several months. In the meantime, ignore your tinnitus as much as you can and focus on other things. This will help it fade into the background where it won’t bother you.
Cordially,
Neil
I took Celexa for depression for 6 months or so at a low dose. I’ve always had tinnitus at a really low level but with this drug it increased 100 fold and now is loud, roaring, ringing. I got off Celexa 3 years ago and tinnitus has not gotten any quieter. Doctors are useless
Hello there,
I was taking 4 days of Cipralex for GAD and fear of social situations. I took 5mg per day that 4 days. So its a very low dosage.
The 4th morning i woke up with very loud tinnitus. Its been months now and i sometimes have notices that it’s not as bad i don’t thimk but sometimes it gets bad. And yes, emotions have something to do with it.
I also had some feeling of fullness in my right ear for a few weeks after taking the drug and also pain that lasted a few seconds many times a day for weeks but both of these have stopped.
I think slowly month by month my tinnitus might get fixed. Or im getting used to it. But i have noticed emotiona also play a big part in tinnitus.
I have noticed that moving my jaw, head and neck/shoulders affect on the volume and pitch of the tinnitus.
Not sure what to think? Perhaps some of my tinnitus is somatic. I don’t know.
Its very hard to keep my head off the tinnitus sometimes. My doctor said for many weeks it should disappear.. but also said basicly that its impossible that the drug caused permanent ototoxic reactions.
She didnt even know of ototoxcity or the meaning of the word. And this is a phychiatrist.
I had a hearing test done i could hear even -5dB sounds a few so no hearing loss here. I quitted Cipralex immediatly the tinnitus started.
Maybe some strong antioxidants could work?
Hi Nico:
Hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking Escitalopram (Cipralex) and thousands more other ototoxic side effects. One man got severe tinnitus from just taking one pill. It took 3 years for his tinnitus to begin to fade away.
Your tinnitus may go away faster, especially as it is already fluctuating now.
Since you can change your tinnitus by moving your head and neck, I’m sure you have some degree of somatic tinnitus caused by your top two vertebrae, your TMJ and associated muscles/tendons/ligaments not being in proper alignment. Getting them all in proper alignment may not make your tinnitus go away, but your existing tinnitus will no longer change in volume with head movements.
Your doctor is obviously very ignorant of ototoxic drugs in general and obviously knows nothing about the ototoxicity of the drugs she prescribes.
I doubt that antioxidants will help now since so much time has passed. If I were going to try something, I think I’d try taking Arches Tinnitus Formula for 3 months and see whether it helps. Between that and focusing on other things and thus letting your tinnitus fade into the background, you may find your tinnitus no longer bothers you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi
I’ve had very bad sciatic nerve pain on standing / walking for 6 weeks now which has greatly hindered my ability to walk for more than a few minutes at a time. Initially I was occasionally (maybe once or twice per day, but not 4 hourly) trying to obtain relief using Voltarol Pain-eze Emulgel (Diclofenac diethylammonium) which I believe is 1.16%. More recently, for the best part of 2 weeks, I switched to using Votarol 12 hour Emugel 2.32%, which I also applied either once or twice per day, but at the appropriate interval. High pitched constant tinnitus started about a week ago. Googling the condition I found it could be caused by taking anti-inflammatory drugs and went on to discover that whilst the initial gel I was using did not report tinnitus as a potential side effect, the 12 hour version did, along with headache, blurry vision and dizziness, all of which I have also experienced to some degree over the past week. Am I right in therefore presuming that even the localised external application of a topical gel can be sufficient to trigger tinnitus as opposed to taking oral / injectable medication? Obviously I immediately ceased using the gel 2 days ago and yesterday I noticed the tinnitus had stopped. I was hopeful my quick action had reversed it; however, it woke me up again at 4am this morning. Do you feel my tinnitus was likely caused by the Voltarol and may subside? I wonder why they do not mention this as a contra indication on the leaflet inside the pack! Many thanks for any advice.
Hi Alan:
I sure know what sciatic pain is like. I had it for a number of years. I never took any pain meds for it though–just toughed it out. Finially I had enough and had back surgery to remove the part of the herniated disc that was pressing on my sciatic nerve. The result? Instant pain relief. It’s wonderful to be pain free again. And the really cool thing is that I never even took a painkiller after recovery. I woke up in the recovery room after the surgery and after I got my bearings again, I got up and walked around pain free. Went home an hour or so later.
Now to answer your questions about Diclofenac (Voltarol). Yes, anything that is rubbed on the skin can and will be absorbed through your skin and into your blood stream where it will be transported throughout your body. Then it can cause problems with your ears–such as your tinnitus. I know of a person who had a burn on his leg and put an antibiotic on it–and next day it took out his ears. So it does happen. You are lucky it didn’t cause hearing loss because Diclofenac is reported to cause hearing loss more than it does tinnitus. And it messes up your balance far more often that it affects your hearing.
The fact that your tinnitus went away for a bit is a good sign, and indicates that stopping this drug will likely result in your tinnitus permanently going away–but there are no certainties that it will do so, or stay away, but it looks hopeful that it might.
The reason they don’t mention tinnitus on the package is either they don’t believe the drug causes tinnitus, or they don’t think it is a problem (this in the face of the hundreds and hundreds of reports that it does cause tinnitus). If they listed all the side effects they’d scare people away from ever using their products.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I guess from reading your earlier comments that generally improvement should be noticed in 2 weeks if there is any chance of tinnitus not being permanent, or maybe it can vary depending on the drug and the individual? I’ve so far only had the one occasion when it seemed to go away for best part of a day. Not sure though why this tinnitus should sometimes appear louder than others. There are times when I think it’s faded a bit, then it comes back louder again. Plus I have the same high pitched tone in both ears, but it feels like I can hear one or other side periodically and briefly cycling through a louder phase and then settling back to where it was. You mentioned a herbal option somewhere above, which I guess may be worth investigating. My thanks again.
Hi Alan:
If a drug is causing your tinnitus, you should see changes in your tinnitus in a couple of weeks or sooner, but since everyone is unique, this can vary all over the place.
Be careful not to focus too much on your tinnitus–is it getting better or worse–as the more you focus on it, the worse and more permanent it becomes. Better to just focus on the loves of your life and thereby ignore your tinnitus. Review your changes once a week or so, not every few minutes as that is really counterproductive.
Your tinnitus can switch from ear to ear to both from time to time, but that is nothing to worry about either. Mine does that, but mostly stays in both ears.
And if you want to try a herbal, I’d suggest Arches Tinnitus Formula. Again, you want to take the long term view and take it for 3 months before worrying whether it is affecting your tinnitus or not.
Cordially,
Neil
I thought I should post an update to my earlier questions. It’s just over 2 months now since my tinnitus started. It’s still with me, so I’m guessing it’s probably here for the longer haul; however, things have moved on. For the most part now it doesn’t bother me; that is to say whilst I would value some respite, I find it much easier to blank it out and sleep is not usually the issue it originally was. When I can’t help but focus on it, the high-pitched sound seems weaker and even higher than it used to be, which I think strangely helps. Also, and here’s the interesting thing, the high-pitched whistle has now disappeared on several occasions (11 in total) which, on the face of it, one would assume is very encouraging. However, I don’t get to hear silence. From the third time the whistle disappeared it has always been replaced by what I refer to as a ‘ticking clock’. This sound is quite loud, rhytmic and fast (approx 200 ticks per minute) much akin to the ticking of an old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock, if you remember those? Because I hear it in both ears with a slight echo; in truth it more accurately sounds like I’m in a room with more than one ‘ticking clock’. The first few times this happened I was encouraged because I felt the sound of a ticking clock was more natural than that of a referee’s whistle and thus easier to cope with, but now that the high-pitched tone is a bit fainter than it used to be I think it may be that sound that gets my vote instead. I never properly hear both sounds together except perhaps for a brief period before they are due to change over from one to the other. I don’t therefore really know if both sounds are intermittent or permanently co-exist and merely swap dominance. The time interval between the switch of sounds has also settled into pretty much a perfect rhythm – 3 days of whistle followed by 1 day of ticking clock. The first day of a whistle cycle is usually the loudest and worst; maybe because I have to get used to it all over again. Curiously, whilst the ‘ticking clock’ sound can start at any time of the day, the whistle will only ever start while I’m asleep at night.
Trawling the internet for this phenomenon, the only references to ticking clocks and tinnitus are usually those suggesting you buy a loud ticking clock as a distraction technique. There are references to ‘clicking sounds heard’ (not always rhythmic) and I wonder if this is other people’s interpretation of what I hear. Interestingly, one website suggests that “clicking tinnitus is commonly due to drugs or problems in the middle ear. A high-pitched continuous tone is commonly the result of a nerve or inner ear injury.” Based on that, I still believe that the Diclofenac in the Voltarol may be to blame. I’ve also read that ‘clicking’ can be due to muscle spasm in or around the ears, which may be possible to correct with a muscle relaxant.
I had a hearing test, which proved slight hearing loss in both ears. I’ve therefore been referred to an Audiologist who I’m hoping will be able to advise more about the sounds I’m hearing. In the meantime I thought I’d share this with you in case it was of interest and on the off-chance that you are aware of any significance attached to what I’ve described.
Regards
Hi Alan:
Continue to ignore your tinnitus as much as possible–as you can see it is having good results and your tinnitus no longer bothers you as much.
You tinnitus regularly changing from one sound to another is unusual. I don’t think I’ve encountered this before. Various tinnitus sounds can come and go–but I’ve not encountered a person who has such a regular pattern.
I wouldn’t say that clicking tinnitus is a common side effect of taking drugs, but it certainly can be a result of middle ear muscles going into spasm.
I don’t think your clicking is the result of muscle spasms. It seems to be too fast and too regular to be from that cause. I have no reason to disagree with you that the Diclofenac is the real culprit.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I have had reactive arthritis for about 8 years now after getting an infection. I was initially put on sulfasalazine and was taking a lot (3 to 4 a day) of Voltaren (Diclofenac) for about 6 months. Being a dumb young male i felt better after that time and just suddenly stopped taking anything for the next 7 years or so, until recently when i complained about some flare ups in my heels and hands, back and inflammation in my eye. I am now back on sulfasalazine (4 a day).
Thing is, I have tinnitus in my right ear, i THINK i’ve had some level of it for as long as i can remember (even as a kid) that i could hear in my head/body that i habituated to, but recently in the last few years, i have a hissing high pitched tone which sounds more directly inside my ear as well as the tone i’m mostly habituated to.
This tone comes and goes and on some days I only hear the old tone i’ve had for years and feel great, and then next day my ear will be hissing again. My question is, do you think the tinnitus is from the sulfasalazine, the arthritis, or just stressing about it a lot?
And what does it mean that on some days I don’t hear the hissing at all? Does that mean it’s NOT damage from the drugs?
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
Hi John:
Let me be sure I have this straight. You had a basic tinnitus most of your life–before you began taking the Sulfasalazine. And it didn’t change when you were on the Sulfasalazine back then? Now you also have a hissing tinnitus. When did it start in relation to your starting the Sulfasalazine this time–before or after? If it started before, then the Sulfasalazine is off the hook.
It is true that Sulfasalazine can cause tinnitus in some people, but I think the risk is pretty low.
Now let’s talk about the Diclofenac. When did you take it in relation to the first and second times of the Sulfasalazine? Diclofenac is quite a bit more ototoxic than Sulfasalazine and a lot more people get tinnitus from taking it. So could it be the culprit?
From what you have told me, I don’t have enough information to figure out where your tinnitus came from. Certainly stressing can make tinnitus worse. I’ve never heard of arthritis as such causing tinnitus, but drugs used to treat it could.
I always say that if you have varying tinnitus, that’s a good sign as the tinnitus is not solid. So there is a chance your hissing tinnitus may go away–once you figure out what is triggering it. It could be as simple as your stressing is causing your body and neck to tighten up and cause the tinnitus. Learning to relax lets your muscles in your neck and face relax and if that caused the tinnitus, it could fade away.
There are so many possibilities that need to be assessed.
Cordially,
Neil
I was taking both sulfasalazine and diclofenac and developed tinnitus and now have hearing loss in both ears.
Hi Ray:
Both Sulfasalazine and Diclofenac can cause hearing loss and tinnitus as you have found out. Both of these drugs are more mildly ototoxic, but who knows what synergistic effect they may have when taken together.
Cordially,
Neil
hello,
I started taking doxycycline about a year and a half ago to treat acne and have recently gotten off of it but have switched to accutane. My tinnitus started around the same time, so I believe it is the direct culprit. I plan on getting off of accutane as clear skin is not worth it. It is a high pitched ringing in both ears that is constant but sometimes can, seemingly out of no where, increase its pitch and volume in one ear (changes ear each time). I’m worried that since I was on the medication so long, it is now permanent. Can tinnitus caused by doxyxyline go away eventually if I stay clear of the drugs, or is the damage permanent? Thanks.
Kind regards
Kaiya.
Hi Kaiya:
Both Doxycycline and Isotretinoin (Accutane) and ototoxic and both can cause hearing loss and tinnitus. If anything, Accutane is more ototoxic than Doxycycline.
You said you were on Doxy for about a year and a half then switched to Accutane. You said your tinnitus started about then. What did you mean–your tinnitus started soon after you began taking the Doxy, or soon after you started taking the Accutane?
If the former, then your tinnitus is related to the Doxy. If the latter then Doxy is off the hook and you can blame the Accutane.
In either case there is no way to tell whether the tinnitus will be permanent or temporary in your case as it may be either. If you’ve quit both drugs, you need to allow times for your tinnitus to go away (if it will). I’d give it a month or so.
But at the same time, you mustn’t focus on your tinnitus and keep checking to see if it is still there. That is one sure way to make it become permanent. Instead, you need to totally ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life. When you do that, you give your brain permission to ignore it and let it fade into the background.
Cordially,
Neil
hi I am at a suicidal state. Approx 4 years ago I was switched to methadone for chronic pain from a car accident I had. After about a year of taking it, with out adding any other drugs to the mix, I started getting a loud pounding in both of my ears. It was about once a week and would last for hours and hours like some kind of torture. It has gotten progressively worse and I am living with this severe pounding in my ears every day. I have gone to ear specialist and there is no ear damage, no hearing loss, no clogged arteries, I had mri ,mra and no one can find the cause of my Pulsatile tinnitus. It is like an extremely loud drum beat as loud as a concert that goes along with my pulse. It is driving me insane, has caused me major depression and worsened my anxiety which is off the charts. I forgot to mention I take ativan for anxiety and now i take it to sort of alleviate the loudness of the pounding. I have the sneaking suspicion and gut feeling that it is the methadone. It seems to be the loudest when i first take it and then seems to get quieter by night time, but it will only stop for a short while if I load up on ativan or xanax. If it is indeed the methadone, will it go away if I stop taking it? Also do you think the methadone could be the culprit? I discounted it as the cause for a long time because as I said, the first year I had no pounding in my ears from taking the methadone. Could the methadone have become ototoxic? What do you think?
I forgot to add that I did a test to see if it was the ativan that was causing the pulsatile tinnitus by switching to xanax for about 6 months and vice versa and it made no difference. As I said the benzos are the only relief I get when this horrible pounding occurs which is now almost 24 /7. I just wanted to let you know i eliminated Ativan as the culprit and I eliminated Xanax as the culprit.
Thank you, I need help I am desperate.!
Hi Jeanie:
Methadone certainly causes tinnitus in numbers of people. However, I don’t have any information whether it causes pounding tinnitus. Since you suspect it of causing your pounding tinnitus, why don’t you get off it for a week or so and see what happens to your tinnitus.
Since you say it is louder after you take it and it gradually quietens down somewhat as time goes by, I agree with you that maybe the Methadone is the cause of this pulsatile tinnitus.
Note that tinnitus doesn’t have to start as soon as you begin taking a drug. Sometimes it begins within minutes with certain drugs. For other drugs it takes a few days. For still othes it could be weeks, months or years before the tinnitus begins. So even though you were on this drug for a year or more before you noticed your tinnitus, this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t caused by the Methadone. It could have been.
If you choose to quit the Methadone for a week or two to see what happens with your tinnitus, I’d love to know your results.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Neil, I thank you so very, very much for getting back to me so quickly. Thank you for your expertise and advice and that is indeed what I intend on doing. Saying is much easier than actually getting a pain Dr. in the town where i live! I really secretly hope it is the methadone because if it is and I quit the methadone and the pounding in my ears goes away, it will be two years of hell solved. I am in the process of finding a pain Dr. who will understand i need to switch medicines and not think I am some drug addict looking for some new fix. They are so suspicious of everyone these days. Long story short, It is a hill I have to climb but I am willing to climb mountains to get rid of this horrible pounding in my ears. Thank you again, and I will let you know the outcome! God Bless you, Jeanie
Hi Jeanie:
Just a note on the pain meds. If you practice pain reduction strategies (other than medications) you are further ahead than if you just took pain meds for the two years (and you have the drug side effects to deal with too). You need to find a pain doctor that does not prescribe pain meds for longer than a couple of months, but uses the many other techniques to reduce the pain and get you in control of it.
Cordially,
Neil
I had quit taking Wellbutrin but stopped and had bad headaches and ringing in my ears. I started taking Wellbutrin again and it helps my depression and anxiety but now I have a low humming in both ears. What should I do.
Hello Dr. Bauman ,
My urologist prescribed me Avanafil (Spedra) , a PDE5 inhibitor class of drug , after a prostate surgery , close to 2 days ago I took the smallest recomended dose of 50 mg , cut the 200 mg pill in 4 , and while it worked as intended it also turned my mild tinnitus that I have for a couple of years into something much worse and very loud and intrusive , to my knowledge I have no sudden hearing loss or any noticable loss of hearing , according to my urologist and my ENT it would be extremely rare that the drug is the culprit and see no real corelation , it would be the first case he heard about in his many years prescribing these drugs .
To my opinion and common sense the coincidence after stable tinnitus for many years is too great , have you heard of these type of drugs increasing tinnitus and/or is there a fair chance my tinnitus will return to the habituated base level in a few days to weeks ?
Thanks .
Hi Bart:
I’d say your doctors don’t know much about Avanafil. Officially, Avanafil causes tinnitus in around 2% of the people taking it–and that figure is low, because it is only the reported results. Typically fewer than 1% of side effects are ever reported, so you can expect the real results are much higher.
Incidentally, he can’t have prescribed this drug for “many years” because it was only approved by the FDA less than 6 years ago.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on whether tinnitus from taking Avanafil is usually temporary or permanent. Probably you’ll have the tinnitus as long as you are on this drug if it is the culprit. But if you quit taking it, there is a chance your tinnitus will soon revert to its old base line.
What drugs did they give you for your surgery–antibiotics, etc–because any of those drugs and antibiotics might also have caused your tinnitus–or a combination of them and the Avanafil.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the fast reply ,
The surgery was done several years ago and I co not know and/or remember what they gave me back than .
My doctor meant that he prescribed this class of drugs, ED drugs for many years and never heard they gave people hearing problems even though they are very rarely asociated with sudden hearing loss and tinnitus , the mechanism are unknown and it is is impossible to link those incidences with the actual drug .
I took Levitra before (vardenafil) and that had no effect on my tinnitus but gave me other side effects as headaches and flushing, so my urologist decided to prescribe me the relatively new Spedra, wich is generally well tolerated and should give less side effects , but my tinnitus reacts very badly to it, i only hope it is temporary .
I just took a one time small dose and threw the rest of the box away
How long does it typically take beore adverse reactions like tinnitus subside after ceasing a drug ?
I was under the impression that once the drug leaves your body any side effects should stop ?
Hi Bart:
That is really variable depending on the drug–sometimes the next day, sometimes a couple of weeks, sometimes longer, and sometimes never.
Then to complicate things, a lot also depends on your emotional state. For example, if you focus on your tinnitus, it may take on a life of its own and never go away. So you have to learn to ignore your tinnitus and not worry that it will affect your future well-being in any way in order to give your limbic system permission to let it fade away.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I stumbled across your website today and am grateful. I’ve read many of the postings and have found them helpful.
Does Adderall (regular) and Adderall XR cause tinnitus? Also, I saw that you’ve noted that people on specific allergy medications have experienced symptoms. Does Zyrtec happen to be one of those brands? Thanks for your help and I look forward to your response.
Thanks again,
Meredith
Hi Meredith:
Yes, Adderall and Adderall XR can cause tinnitus in some people. The drug that does it is the Amphetamine in the Adderall. I don’t think it happens too often as compared to a lot of other drugs, but it does happen.
Cetirizine (Zyrtec) is also ototoxic and can cause a number of ototoxic side effects, more so various balance problems than cochlear problems such as hearing loss, hyperacusis and tinnitus, but numbers of people have reported them too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, I took adderall for 3 months and within the first week I developed tinnitus (the third day of taking it). It would come when the medication was wearing off. As soon as I would take the medication, the tinnitus would go away. I didn’t know it could possibly be permanent or that it was even that bad. I also experienced other things while on the medication that seem to still persist like body aches, headaches, and pressure in my head. I never experienced a headache in my life until I was on that medication. I went off of it because my side effects were too unbearable (extreme headaches, could not sleep for 24 hours, was only get 4 hours of sleep at most). It has been 5 and a half months since and I still have this massive ringing in my ears. I feel like it is getting worse just this week and there is a slight pressure in my head. I’m 24 and I never use to get headaches or pressure ever. My ears kind of feel like they are uncomfortable as well. Could the tinnitus possibly have anything to do with mitochondrial dysfunction? I have been recently reading about how amphetamines can cause oxidative stress which can mutate your mtDNA, and cause mitochondrial disfunction. Apparently a high percentage of people with autism actually have mitochondrial dysfunction (80 percent). People with ADHD and OCD fall in that realm to, I have both ADHD and OCD. I’m not sure if that is why or how I would really test that. Also, I have had bad ears in the past, i’m half deaf in one of them and cannot get water in them. Any information you have on adderall with tinnitus would be really helpful because I told my doctor about it and she did not know anything. I’ve been trying to find out why adderall causes ringing in the ears? I’m really afraid that it is something really bad. Is it something to do with oxidative stress (mitochondria dysfunction), or your ear hair follicles? I’m really scared that it has caused mitochondria dysfunction because that would make me prone to a plethora of diseases as well as aging fast.
Hi Hannah:
Amphetamines (Adderall) can and do cause tinnitus in some people. Interesting that in your case, the tinnitus came as the Adderall was wearing off, rather than the other way around.
Tinnitus can be temporary or permanent. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information to indicate whether it is permanent in the case of Adderall.
Since Amphetamines are stimulants, they increase your brain activity and thus could also increase auditory activity that results in tinnitus.
I have never heard of tinnitus being associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, but it could be. At the cellular level some health experts believe that all disease is due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus, in order to be healthy, you have to keep your mitochondria healthy. One way, as I’m sure you know, is to reduce oxidative stress.
Tinnitus almost always accompanies hearing loss, and since you have hearing loss, that could also be a reason for your tinnitus. But obviously the Adderall had something to do with your tinnitus too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I developed unilateral tinnitus a few months ago. I had been on a lower dose birth control, Yaz, for 1 year at the time. Due to insurance change, I had to change the birth control to a higher estrogen but same progesterone , Yasmin, and 3 weeks after starting it, I developed tinnitus in my other ear which was previously unaffected. I cannot find any correlation between the two, but could it be possible that the shifting in fluid dynamics with all the estrogen could have induced T? I am also under severe stress at the moment. Thank you in advanced, you are amazing !
Hi Sana:
Both Yaz and Yasmin can and do cause tinnitus in some women, so that could account for your tinnitus in both ears. Severe stress could certainly exacerbate your tinnitus as well.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Bauman: Stopped 20 years of Prozac because of all my older family members are getting memory issues – and they are on antidepressants. Tinnitus has persisted for 7 months so I’m guessing I need to learn to ignore it!
Hi Scott:
Did you get your tinnitus while you were on Prozac, or when you stopped taking it?
How fast a taper did you use when coming off the Prozac?
And yes, you need to learn how to successfully deal with your tinnitus. If you can just ignore it and let it fade into the background, more power to you.
Cordially,
Neil
One question – ever hear of tinnitus from intermittent fasting? Also, could a lower carb diet, lower insulin, cause tinnitus?
Thanks!
Hi Scott:
Not in people that regularly do intermittent fasting like I do. But if you are used to three squares a day and suddenly stop eating one, your body gets low on sugar and for some people this triggers tinnitus. However, if you slowly build up to intermittent fasting with a ketogenic diet so your body burns fat when the readily-available sugar stores are used up, you shouldn’t have any problems. Years ago, I’d get headaches if I missed a meal. Now I can go for 20+ hours without any problems with headaches or worsening tinnitus or anything else. I normally go 18 hours without eating anything.
I don’t think a lower carb diet itself causes tinnitus, but if your body gets low on sugar you could get tinnitus as mentioned above. And you can get tinnitus from a high sugar diet too.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m so glad i found this site. My doctor prescribed me Cephalexin for a sinus infection and prednisone for cluster headaches. I just started taking the Cephalexin three days ago (500mg 3 times a day) and the prednisone two days ago (20mg 2 pills in the AM). I’ve noticed a whoosing/seashell noise in my right ear ever since taking these meds and I began to google. I do not plan to take either of them anymore but if you could please give me more info on my story I would really appreciate it.
Hi Dominique:
Cephalexin can cause tinnitus (the whooshing sound) in some people. However, it could also be from the Prednisone as it also can cause whooshing tinnitus. Since you took them together, there’s no way to be sure which drug is to blame. I’m hopeful that it will soon fade away. Just ignore it and focus on the loves of your life. When you totally ignore it, you give your limbic system permission to let it fade away. The opposite is true if you focus on it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor. Are there any SSRIs/antidepressants that do not have potential risk of causing tinnitus? I know a lot of them have been listed here but are there some with less of a risk than others that you can recommend? thank you so much for your help.
Hi Ilan:
As far as I know all the SSRIs and antidepressants can cause tinnitus. Of the SSRIs, Fluvoxamine has by far the fewest reports of causing tinnitus. Citalopram or Fluoxetine would be my next choices.
However, if you are depressed, I wouldn’t take any of them. My choice would be to take 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 give 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.
That’s what I’d take if I were depressed.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor Bauman, wanted to thank you so much for your response. I hope you had a great thanksgiving, I am grateful for you and this website! Thanks again.
Dear Dr. Bauman, I have ringing in my ears and it’s very annoying. I take Atorvastatin and Hydrochlorothiazide could either of these drugs be the cause of my tinnitus? I’m tempted to stop both to see if I notice and improvement. Thank you
Hi Ellen:
Both can cause tinnitus and hearing loss, but Atorvastatin is definitely more ototoxic than Hydrochlorothiazide, so that is the one I’d start with and see whether eliminating it will let your tinnitus fade away.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Bauman,
I got the flu shot three days ago and my tinnitus got really bad – intermittently. The volume varies from near zero to much worse than ever. I believe that gentamicin (in a “trace amount”) might be the culprit. I really hope the increase is not permanent. I’m trying NAC (1000 x 2 daily), to see if that helps. Prednisone (used asap) seems controversial and is apparently mainly for sudden hearing loss (vs. tinnitus)? My hearing seems OK so far. I’m going to see an ENT / audiologist soon. My instinct is to wait it out.
Some history…
I’m 67. I’ve had tinnitus for 10 years. I have minor high frequency hearing loss in my left ear. I had a CT scan, MRI. I never found out the cause. I suspected this herbal sleep aid (with Valerian, Hops, Passionflower and Catnip). I’ve read about the effect of benzodiazepines on GABA receptors and how Valerian has a similar effect. I know that some foods (with salicylates) make it louder. But after a gruelling 10 day water-only diet late in 2009, my tinnitus remained. So I concluded that salicylates / foods aggravate (but don’t cause) my tinnitus.
I would compare my tinnitus sound to that high pitch whine you hear from cicadas in the summer. It ebbs and flows a bit, but it isn’t pulsatile.The sound does drastically increase in volume when I clench my jaw. Very rarely, I get a crystal clear solid tone in my right ear, but that hasn’t happened in at least a year.
My health is good otherwise.
Some relevant links:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/how-gent … QH_k5GiE0Q
https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library … uary-2009/
What is the best way to make the best of a bad situation? NAC, prednisone, other? Wait it out, to see what happens?
Many thanks for your informative articles and for your advice.
Michael C
Hi Michael:
I’ve received numerous reports from people that have had hearing loss and tinnitus from taking the flu shots. Actually, hearing loss reports outnumber tinnitus reports by a ratio of 3 or 4:1.
Hearing loss and tinnitus can show up as soon as one hour after the flu shot, although more typically it is 2 or 3 days later, but side effects can take a week or two to show up.
From the stories people have told me, their tinnitus is often permanent. Hearing loss may or may not be permanent.
I doubt the Gentamicin in your flu shot was enough to damage your ears, but I certainly could be wrong. Taking high doses of NAC is a good idea, but there are no guarantees it will get rid of your increased tinnitus.
The fact that your tinnitus shoots up whenever you clench your teeth indicates that your tinnitus (at least in part) is the result of your neck and/or jaw are out of whack. I’ll bet you have the same effect if you turn your head all the way left or right too. A good upper cervical spine chiropractor can generally fix that.
If you really suspect the Gentamicin as the culprit, you’ll notice in the first of the two links you mention, that Gentamicin can persist in your inner ear fluids for up to a year and continue doing damage during that time. Barry Keate, in the second article suggests taking NAC for 2 weeks. Obviously he is not aware of just how long Gentamicin can persist in the inner ear.
Taking Prednisone may or may not help you. It could help bring back lost hearing, and that alone could reduce your tinnitus volume, but I don’t think Prednisone will directly affect your tinnitus.
I think you’ll just have to wait it out for your increased tinnitus. But seeing an upper cervical spine chiropractor could really help your underlying tinnitus. You’ll know when it works as clenching your teeth or turning your head all the way left or right won’t cause your tinnitus to spike much at all. Sometimes you’ll also need head and neck massage in conjunction with the chiropractic treatments.
Apart from this, learn to ignore your tinnitus so it doesn’t take on a life of its own. Instead, focus on the loves of your life–like your film-making and let your tinnitus fade into the background.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I have been taking diazepam suppository (10 mg) for 1 month for pelvic floor pain. My doctor started me on 300 mg of Gabapentin. I took the first dose, and the next morning the tinnitus started. I never took another dose of Gabapentin. During this exact time, I had a problem with my tmj slipping out of place. The tmj problem and the tinnitus are on the same ear. I also feel like my ear is full and clogged and I have ear pain on both ears. I am slowly tapering off the diazepam. I have seen countless ENTs but no one takes it seriously.
Can you please tell your opinion on this and any advice would be helpful. Is there as my natural things that could possibly help me? Thank you!
Hi Mary:
It is possible that the one Gabapentin pill you took started your tinnitus. I’ve heard from another lady that had exactly the same thing happen to her with her first Gabapentin pill. So that is one possibility.
It is also true that TMJ can also cause tinnitus. Unfortunately, when they happened together, its hard to determine exactly who is the culprit, or whether both are.
Personally, since your ears also feel clogged and you have pain, and have TMJ, I’d go to a upper cervical chiropractor and make sure that your C1 and C2 are properly aligned. That could be the underlying cause of your TMJ, ear fullness and ear pain.
But it is also true that taking Gabapentin can cause ear pain, ear blocked feeling and Eustachian tube dysfunction–although I wouldn’t have expected those side effects to appear with the first pill you took.
As far as I’m concerned, the most natural thing you can do is go to an upper cervical chiropractor. You can find one at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on Practitioners. That would be my first step.
Cordially,
Neil
I will look into that. Based on everything (the single dose of gabapentin, the stopping of Diazepam) do you think this could be reversible? Is there any test to rule out a Eustachian tube dysfunction? I’ve had 2 hearing tests done and my hearing has not been affected.
Thank you!
Hi Mary:
I’d check out the upper cervical chiropractor first and see if that resolves the problem. It it doesn’t, then it is time to rule out other things, but I think good things will happen at the upper cervical spine chiropractors.
Cordially,
Neil
A lot to consider. Thanks so much!
Hello Dr. Bauman
4 days ago I tried MDMA (Ecstasy) with a friend of mine for the second time. The first time I did that was more than 10 years ago and everything went well.
So I developed some sort of tinnitus. This isn’t actually anything new to me because sometimes when I was trying to sleep, this ringing would come but it wasn’t always present and I wouldn’t get it every single day. Now it’s there all the time and it’s louder. On the second day after I did MDMA, the ringing was louder than ever but I’ve noticed that it has been decreasing in intensity.
I don’t do drugs, and I don’t take any sort of pills. The last medication I took was 5 or 6 years ago for the flu.
So my question is, can tinnitus be induced by MDMA? And if so, it would be a permanent, long term or quick recovery from it?
I was stressing with it for the last few days, but now I feel like it’s ok. Only problem is to get asleep at night, but overall I feel like it’s slowly fading away. I’ve also seen reports that tinnitus went away when people tried MDMA. What do you think? I don’t plan to repeat the experience anytime soon but if this subsists, do you think it would be bad try it again for a second time 2 or 3 months in the future?
Best regards
Rick
Hi Rick:
I don’t have any information that says that MDMA causes tinnitus. More likely it is that when you take MDMA, you may be in a noisy place such as at a concert or listening to loud music–and that probably causes the tinnitus.
Some people believe that MDMA can stop tinnitus. I’ve not studied that to see if it is true or not.
Personally, I wouldn’t try MDMA again. If it did cause your tinnitus, you might be worse off than you are now. There are better ways to treat tinnitus than to take dangerous drugs such as MDMA.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I’ve been on Accutane for 3.5 months. Several days ago I began to notice a high pitched ringing in my ears, which I self-diagnosed as tinnitus (seemingly louder in the right side). I can’t tell if it’s gotten any worse or if it simply manifested and has remained constant––but I notice it prominently at night (before bed), and at random times during the day.
As I’d been aware from reading the drug info, ‘hearing changes’ are a known side effect of the Accutane, so I took to the web to see what I could find, spoke to my dermatologist, and subsequently visited an ENT.
Unfortunately, none were much help. My dermatologist is on vacation and advised me over the phone to cut my dosage in half for a week and check in with him then; the internet is scarce in information regarding the relationship between tinnitus and Accutane; and the ENT literally googled “Accutane & hearing problems” while I was sitting in his chair, and said “[he] would stop.”
I am desperately looking for advice regarding this situation. I’ve already gone through 3.5 months of [relative] torture from this drug and only have a month and a half left of treatment until I’m done forever. I am trying to figure out if it’s worth it to just finish the treatment or if I should just STOP and have to waste the last several months of this miserable drug therapy (and a life free of acne).
Every piece of advice I’ve received thus far has been inconclusive. Although I know nothing is certain, I am thankful to have stumbled upon this page, and would truly appreciate your expertise––I’m just looking for some answers.
If I decide to just finish the treatment: is it likely to get worse in that month and a half? If so, *how much* worse could it get? What are the chances/do you have any knowledge or data regarding the likelihood/rate at which Accutane (or similar tinnitus-causing drugs)-related ototoxicity tends to reverse following treatment of the drug?
Have you ever had other patients/experiences regarding Accutane and these hearing issues before? Overall, what do you think I should do?
Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this and answer my questions. I’ve been going crazy the last few days, and like I said, I’m just looking for answers right now––nobody I know has ever experienced this and I’m really just scared. Thank you again, I truly appreciate your time and effort.
Best,
JW
Hi JW:
Isotretinoin (Accutane) can certainly cause hearing loss and tinnitus in numbers of people. About twice as many people report hearing loss as do tinnitus.
Sometimes the hearing loss is temporary and other times is permanent. I don’t have any information on whether tinnitus from taking Accutane is permanent or not. Probably if you have permanent hearing loss, you’ll find the tinnitus to also be permanent since tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss.
I cannot say whether your tinnitus will get worse if you continue on the Accutane or not.
Probably, what I’d do in your situation is go to an audiologist and have a complete audiological evaluation. That may help you decide, because if you have any hearing loss, continuing the Accutane could make it worse. If there is no evidence of any hearing loss, you may decide to continue the Accutane for the next month and a half.
Note: hearing loss may be in the high frequencies above 8,000 Hz where they do not normally test. If the audiologist has an audiometer that can test higher than 8,000 Hz, have him test you to the highest frequency it goes to. This will give you a better idea whether the Accutane is affecting your hearing since drugs typically first damage hearing in the highest frequencies you can hear and then progress down to lower frequencies.
So far, I’ve not received reports from others having ear problems from taking Accutane, so I don’t have specific information to go by.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I have been taking hydrocodone acetaminophen for one year. 20mg a day. Just a week and half ago I woke up with a high pitched noise. I don’t know if it’s in both my ears or my head. I do have arthritis in my neck and have received injections in my neck and shoulders awhile back. I don’t know if the medication is causing this continuos ringing or my neck or the loud noises I heard outside my house when construction men were working next door outside. Or is it a combination? I just find it strange that I would experience this side effect a year after taking this med. I contacted my doctor and he says he does not know of this med causung this kind of issue and to get an ear exam before I wean off to determine if anything is wrong structurally with my ears. I’m 34 years old and can’t imagine hearing this noise for the rest of my life. Any input as to what you think may have caused this and if it is reversible is appreciated. I have an ear exam with an ent next Thursday. I’m scared.
Oh and my three year old daughter bumped my head with hers the night before this all started.
Hi Michele:
You have a number of factors that may have caused your tinnitus. However, I suspect that it is the Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (Vicodin) that is the cause. If you have been taking this drug every day for one year, I wouldn’t be surprised if your tinnitus is a warning that this drug is already damaging your hearing–probably up in the high frequencies where such damage usually starts. With this drug, damage can show up in a few months, or it may take a year (or years) to show up. Thus, you might not suspect that this drug is the culprit.
This typically happens to people who take high doses for several months. Now, you haven’t been taking high doses (such as 20 pills a day), but you have been taking them for 12 months. Even taking Acetaminophen twice a week for a year increases your risk of hearing loss by 100%.
Here is a quote from my book “ototoxic Drugs Exposed”
People can develop progressive, irreversible hearing loss from taking “extremely high doses of Acetaminophen for a little as 2 months, or after taking clinically acceptable doses for as long as 10 years”. At regular dosages (e.g.: up to 4 pills a day), when taken two or more times a week for more than a year, Acetaminophen can cause hearing loss. For example, in a study of 26,917 men between the ages of 40 and 75 at the beginning of the study, men that used Acetaminophen at least twice a week had a 22% increased risk of hearing loss. However, when only men under the age of 50 were considered, the risk factor skyrocketed to 99%.
This fits you as you are only 34 years old.
For your information, in just 9 years, the FDA received 18,308 reports of ototoxicity from this drug.
Here’s more information from the as yet unpublished 4th edition of the above book.
Doctors have discovered that Acetaminophen depletes your body’s stores of glutathione, a powerful natural antioxidant that helps protect our hearing from the effects of free radicals that are produced when our ears are exposed to loud noise, to prescription drugs and to various chemicals. When glutathione levels are reduced, the free radicals floating around in the cochlea zap (kill) the hair cells, resulting in some degree of sensorineural hearing loss.
Since Acetaminophen depletes the body’s supply of glutathione, then it follows that taking glutathione at the same time as taking Acetaminophen (or many other drugs), helps protect your ears from any resulting hearing loss, not to mention preventing or reducing damage to your liver. Note: since glutathione is not easily absorbed through your stomach, a good alternative is to take N-acetyl-cysteine (a major building block of glutathione) instead, and let your body convert it to glutathione.
So that’s something you might want to try and try to stop any future hearing loss.
Tinnitus usually accompanies (or precedes) hearing loss, so this may be a warning to you. I don’t want to scare you, but this is one very real possibility. Taking pain killers is something you do for a week or two, but after that, you need to find other ways to manage pain if you want to avoid ear (and other) problems.
This is what I suspect is happening to your ears rather than the bump on your head, or the workmen outside, or even the arthritis in your neck which could cause a misalignment of the C1 and C2 vertebrae and thus result in tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi , i Took Trihexyphénidyle 5mg for three days on a raw, first day 1pill, second day 1/2 pill, third day 1/2 pill. The third day at night tinnitus started in my ears, it’s been now 4days , i saw today an ORL , he said that my ears are good. I’m afraid that could be permanent, please give me your opinion
Hi Anis:
There are only a handful of reports of Trihexphenidyl causing tinnitus–so it can happen, but it is not very common. I have no information on whether it is permanent or not, but I think it will be temporary–all things being equal. So don’t worry about it, try to ignore it and hopefully it will fade into the background in the next few weeks.
Cordially,
Neil
I took Vimovo for arthritis for about a week on & off more off than on and after feeling better I stopped and ringing in my ears started. I noted the date & time and it has been now going on for 5 days. Of course it has been making me uncomfortable and I started doing my research to find that Yoga would help. After doing it for a day I slept better but having also to include taking a melatonin drop before going to bed. It’s very light sound but annoying to say the least. I do make it to sleep but if I have to get up during the night it starts again. So it seems like any movement keeps this going until I lay down. I also notice a nasal drip which also makes me think that I have some sinus issues. My hopes is that this will eventually go away. I do have an appointment with an ENT this week but from all the reading/research I don’t see that there is any solutions. What do you think? Am I on the right track?
Oh BTW I forgot to mention that I have been taking Tumeric as it is good for inflammation along with Vit C. I stop going to the Acupuncturist which had me in the best health, because of work schedule so I’m thinking I should re-visit them since I do have back issues. L4/L5 disc problems
Hi Roz:
Vimovo is a combination of Naproxen and Esomeprazole. Both of these drugs are well known to cause tinnitus. Hundreds and hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking this drug. Sometimes the tinnitus is temporary. Esomeprazole is even worse. So who knows what the results are of taking them both together?.
Obviously, you are sensitive to these drugs and probably shouldn’t take them in the future or you could experience worse ototoxic side effects.
If your tinnitus bothers you when you wake up in the night, you might want to put on some background sounds to help mask the tinnitus and give your ears some real sounds to listen to. Some people find a fan in the room is all they need. Others like to listen to environmental sounds on a CD, etc. Use what works for you. It doesn’t have to be loud–as long as you can just hear it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil ,
I was prescribed the generic variant of Cialis (Tadalafil) for erectile problems .
While the drug does what it is suppose to do the side effects are quite bad after taking just a single 10 mg pill (recomended starting dose) .
I allready had tinnitus for several years and it was quite managable , mostly due to habituation .
I took one pill last and several hours after taking the Cialis it signicantly ramped up in volume , it doesn not seem like my hearing is affected, just the tinnitus is much louder and more pronounced , I could hardly get any sleep last sleep because of it .
This iq quite disconcerning , my doctor thinks that it is temporary and than it is a very rare side effect , with permanent tinnitus even rarer , maybe because I allready had tinnitus that I am more susceptible to a further increase ?
Do you think there is a fair chance that it will return to it’s previous level , and how long is it suppose to last before I can notice any improvement ?
Thanks .
Hi Steve:
Numbers of people have reported tinnitus from taking Tadalafil (Cialis). Even more have reported getting hearing loss from taking this drug. I have no information on whether the tinnitus will be temporary or permanent, but for hearing loss, it seems about 1/3 of the hearing loss cases were temporary. So it is likely true that tinnitus may be temporary for numbers of people as well.
Personally, I’d give it a couple of weeks to see whether you tinnitus goes away or lessens in intensity before you worry about whether it will be permanent or not.
In the meantime, don’t focus on your tinnitus, but focus on the loves of your life and let your tinnitus fade into the background.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the reply ,
I just returned from the ENT doctor and the test showed no sign of sudden hearing loss , tinnitus is very severe though but he was confident that it was temporary from a single pill , he advised people with tinnitus to stay away from PDE5 inhibitors though . I am starting steroids tomorrow and will hope for the best .
Hello Steve,
Has your tinnitus gone now? Also got tinnitus from cialis about 2 weeks ago
Hi, I have been on Vancomycin for about 8 days now and am almost done. I started hearing ringing on day 7. Very low but still there. Is this common for this antibiotic?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Ted:
With Vancomycin, tinnitus is certainly not uncommon, but often it is a precursor to hearing loss. In fact, hearing loss is much more common than tinnitus for people taking Vancomycin.
Cordially,
Neil
hello, so i am about to take Bicillin shots for lyme disease it is penicillin G whitch i read that is a natural AB so i guess it is safe for my ears right ? I had azitromycin and other ototoxic meds in the past and now i have a very mild ringing in my right ear but it comes and goes, i have it for 4 days, hope it goes away…..when i yawn it becoes louder.
Hi Alex:
Bicillin is one of the forms of Penicillin. It is mildly ototoxic, but probably is less ototoxic than most antibiotics, so is a reasonable choice.
You might also want to take certain essential oils for your lyme. You can read about in in this article by Dr. Mercola at https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/17/essential-oils-for-lyme-disease.aspx
Since your tinnitus isn’t very loud/bothersome, just ignore it as much as you can.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you sir, i will check out the oils. God bless !
Hello again,
so, i took a shot of bicillin 1500000 IU. (i have to take a shot per week, don’t know for how long) and the ear pain is still there, the ringing comes and goes, it ring like 2 – 3 times per day and just for a few seconds, is that a good sign ? i still think it is from the other ABX i took a few weeks ago, those were : Azitromycin, Bactrim, Clindamycin, Ciprofloxacin and Minocyclin. I took those in combination for 4 months……now i only take the shot + samento oil and other suplements like goldenseal , milk thistle, ginko biloba, vit C, and so on…
Hello again,
so, i took a shot of bicillin 1500000 IU. (i have to take a shot per week, don’t know for how long) and the ear pain is still there, the ringing comes and goes, it ring like 2 – 3 times per day and just for a few seconds, is that a good sign ? i still think it is from the other ABX i took a few weeks ago, those were : Azitromycin, Bactrim, Clindamycin, Ciprofloxacin and Minocyclin. I took those in combination for 4 months……now i only take the shot + samento oil and other suplements like goldenseal , milk thistle, ginko biloba, vit C, and so on…
Hi Dr Neil
Does low dose, less than 1mg, oral minoxidil cause or make tinnitus worse? Also, does stopping a drug for 2 weeks enough time to know if it was the problem?
Thanks
Hi Sam:
Minoxidil can and does make tinnitus worse for some people. I can’t say what dose does that as everyone is a bit different. If you were particularly sensitive to the drug, a lower dose could affect your tinnitus. But I don’t think most people get tinnitus at all from this drug.
Often two weeks is long enough to tell whether stopping the drug lets your tinnitus drop. But for some drugs it may take longer. It probably varies between people and between drugs so there is no definitive answer.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I am 30 and weigh about 54kgs.
I was on 800 mg cefixime and 1000 mg Azithromycin for 8 days when I developed Tinnitus on the 8 day. The ringing went away in a day. But after 3 days I was exposed to loud noise at a family function with DJ for about 30 mins when the ringing came back 2 days after the event. It’s been 12 weeks since then but it has not gone. Have you heard of any such cases? Any idea if this could be permanent or temporary?
Hi Jazz:
Cefixime is not reported to cause tinnitus. In contrast, hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking Azithromycin.
So likely the Azithromycin caused your initial tinnitus. Then the loud noise three days later further damaged your ears while they were still in a “delicate” state from the Azithromycin damage and that caused your tinnitus to come back again.
Since it is now 12 weeks later, it is quite possible that your tinnitus will be permanent. So you now need to learn how to successfully deal with your tinnitus so it no longer bothers you. My book “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” ( http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ ) particularly chapters 16 and 17 will really help you with this. I’ve had tinnitus for more than 65 years now, but I do not let it bother me. It is just “there” in the background, and hours go by without my even being aware I have tinnitus. This is called habituating to your tinnitus–and it should be your goal. Then, whether you hear your tinnitus or not is no big deal.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for this information and any further insights you might offer me. I had a penis injury and was prescribed Cialis 7mg daily to help with healing. I had tinnitus previously due to exposure to loud noises during work. After my second day taking it I woke up the next mornin and instantly noticed I was hearing the ringing even though I had noise in the room (a fan). I then looked up potential side effect for Cialis and the FDA did issue a warning for hearing loss and tinnitus. I’m also taking 15mg Meloxicam daily, an NSAID that can ALSO result in permanent hearing damage. There is no way for me to know which cause this issue but I’ve taken NSAIDs before (Naproxen) without noticing this side effect. That leads me to believe that it is the Cialis but I’m stopping them both for now. However, I need them to treat my injury! My understanding is that treatment for sudden tinnitus needs to be within the first 14 days. Is there any clinically proven treatment for this? I know corticosteroids are sometimes used, are these injected or oral? If they are injected, does this affect the rest of the body? Is it JUST effective locally?
I worry about the possible effects of a corticosteroid on my injury since it can supposedly affect soft tissue and organs. I also have low-normal testosterone and my understanding is that corticosteroids can affect function of adrenal glands, which could potentially adversely affect hormone problems. I read that if one has contraindications for corticosteroid use then it should not be used for this purpose. Doctors can’t know everything, an ENT doctor is not going to know how a corticosteroid might affect my other conditions. It seems like they will not be able to offer any treatment to actually reduce prevent permanent damage like they might have been able to if they could prescribe a corticosteroid like prednisolone. Is it even worth going to a doctor for this? What are they likely to do in my complicated case? I think they will just say to wait and see…
I would never risk permanent tinnitus just to take a non-essential medication!!!
that’s why it’s important to know if the tinnitus that you develop when you first start taking something if there’s a chance it’s going to become permanent, then obviously I would stop taking it immediately! I don’t want to risk it becoming prominent if it’s not a liife-saving saving medication. its more mportant to not have tinnitus for the rest of your life
is it generally considered that amitriptyline will cause permanent or reversible tinnitus?
Hi Harry:
It can cause either. I don’t know the percentages of each. But it can be reversible–so that is good news for some people.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor.
I was recently prescribed Nitrofurantoin 100 for a UTI. After 12 days (4 tablets of 100mg a day) i an hearing ringing noises.a month has passed and In the left ear was created.What’s the chances of it going away?
Thank you
Hi Hilary:
I don’t have any information on whether tinnitus caused by taking Nitrofurantoin is permanent or temporary. The information I have indicates that tinnitus is not a very common side effect from taking this drug, but unfortunately it does occur in some people.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I had taken Phentermine for about 5 weeks for weight loss. At about 4 weeks I developed tinnitus could Phentermine be the cause? Is it permanent? It is starting to drive me nuts. The noise isn’t 24/7 I do have short periods of time during the day that I don’t notice it, and then it gets loud again. Any suggestions?
Hi Mary:
Not many people report getting tinnitus from taking Phentermine, but a few do. You could be one of the few unlucky ones. I’d stop the drug and see whether your tinnitus fades away in a week or two.
Continue to ignore your tinnitus as much as possible. It is a good sign that you don’t hear it all the time. You may find that having some soft background music or other real sounds on helps take your mind off your tinnitus so it continues to fade away. The big thing is not to focus on your tinnitus. Focus on the loves of your life instead.
Cordially,
Neil
I still have the tinnitus. Some days it drives me nuts and other days it is hardly noticeable. It has been over two months. Should I see a doc. If yes, what type of doc?
Hi Mary:
The problem with going to a doctor is that few doctors know much if anything about tinnitus so they typically either prescribe drugs (which don’t do anything for your tinnitus), but just make it so you don’t worry about it, or they tell you to go home and learn to live with it. This isn’t exactly helpful when they do not tell you how you are supposed to do this (and they don’t know either).
Therefore, I don’t think you’ll get much help going to a doctor.
You might do better yourself in tracking down why it fluctuates so much. Do you see any pattern why it is bad on some days? On those days (or maybe the day before) is/was there some pattern–for example, eating certain foods, taking any OTC medications, extra stress/anxiety/depression, exposing your ears to louder sounds, etc.–anything that might influence your tinnitus to get louder.
I’m wondering if your tinnitus was related to the Phentermine at all. Looking back, do you still think that is the most likely cause?
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your responses. I will try to track the severity and when it happens. The only problem with that is that I get busy and forget. Maybe it wasn’t the phentermine, but if not I have no idea what may have started it.
Hi Mary:
Keeping track of your tinnitus should only be a once a day effort. You don’t want to track it more often than that or you’ll be thinking about it too much, and your brain will then focus on it and that is not what you want.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello again,
so, i took a shot of bicillin 1500000 IU. (i have to take a shot per week, don’t know for how long) and the ear pain is still there, the ringing comes and goes, it ring like 2 – 3 times per day and just for a few seconds, is that a good sign ? i still think it is from the other ABX i took a few weeks ago, those were : Azitromycin, Bactrim, Clindamycin, Ciprofloxacin and Minocyclin. I took those in combination for 4 months……now i only take the shot + samento oil and other suplements like goldenseal , milk thistle, ginko biloba, vit C, and so on…
Hi Alex:
If you have intermittent tinnitus, to me it is always a good sign because it’s not there 24/7. Your tinnitus could well of been from previous drugs you’ve taken but since you took about five different ones and all of which can cause tinnitus it’s hard to put the finger on which one was the likely one. I’d put my money on Ciprofloxacin as the most likely culprit, next would be Azithromycin, then Bactrim, then clindamycin and bringing up the rear would be the Minocycline.
Cordially,
Neil
thank you very much for the reply, the tinnitus is almost gone, but the ears are still sensitive to loud noise…i think it is a good idea to stay away from parties for a while….
Hello doctor,
I have tinnitus from citalopram for several years now. I went to a neurologist for another issue and he prescribed gabapentin. I am nervous about taking it due to my bad experience with citalopram. I find I am afraid of most drugs now. My General doctor recently gave me an Rx for vistaril and I am nervous about it too so haven’t taken. Have you heard anything about either of these drugs causing or making tinnitus worse. Thank you for any info you have.
Hi Theresa:
Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) can and does because tinnitus in some people. Hundreds and hundreds of people have reported to the FDA that taking Gabapentin caused their tinnitus. So both these drugs can and do cause tinnitus in some people.
I don’t blame you for being nervous about taking drugs. My policy is that you only take drugs as a last resort. When you’ve tried everything else including alternative medicine and nothing works. Unfortunately, doctors prescribe drugs as their first line of attack, and that leaves you open to all the ototoxic and other side effects.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I recently had my meniscus repaired and they put me on Percocet (5mg of hydrocodone/325mg acetaminophen) taking 2 every 6-8 hrs. My surgery was on a wedsneday and Saturday I started having ringing in my ears. It seem to start out in both ears then to one ear then to both ears again. Now it is only in my right ear. I had a hearing test and it came back fine.
I also have Afib and my doctor told me to take ecotrin (325mg)everyday which I have been doing for 5 years plus now. I am also on metropolol Succinate (50 mg) per day and propafenone (900mg) per day. I also have o.c.d and take 40 mg of Prozac and occasionally .05 mg of Klonopin per day. , also I have high cholesterol and take astorvastatin 40mg per day.
Yesterday I had ringing in both ears and today it’s a low pitch in my right ear. I am praying that it is not permanent because I feel I will not be able to take it. Is there any advice you can give me? Also what about marijuana or cbd drops in the ears? I am making an appointment with an ear specialist on Monday.
Thanks
Also to follow up I have stopped taking astovastatin and ecotrin ….do u feel this will be permanent
Sorry one more thing during surgery they gave me Fentanyl and propafol
Hi David:
Both Fentanyl and Propofol can cause tinnitus, but they are not reported to cause tinnitus near as often as the other drugs you are taking. So I wouldn’t think they are the culprits (but they are still a possibility).
Cordially,
Neil
Hi David:
Good to hear you got off the Ecotrin and Atorvastatin. That was definitely a step in the right direction in getting off some drugs.
It’s hard to say whether your tinnitus will be temporary and fade away once you are no longer taking the Percocet and it all gets out of your system, or whether it may prove to be permanent. In any event, the more to focus on other things and thereby totally ignore your tinnitus, the better off you’ll be.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi David:
You are taking a lot of drugs and all of them can cause tinnitus by themselves. Who knows what the combination you take can do. It could be that the Percocet was the last straw. Apart from the Propafenone, the rest of the drugs you are taking are reported to cause tinnitus in hundreds upon hundreds of people. So I’m not surprised you have tinnitus.
I have no experience with CBD drops in the ears. Seems to me getting off drugs, not adding more would be the way to go.
Cordially,
Neil
In your opinion would Klonopin cause tinnitus? What I have read thus far seems there is no real answer. My ringing is now a low pitch in my right ear. Hopefully that’s a good sign it is going away, but I’m very anxious and stressed that it will return.
Hi David:
Clonazepam (Klonopin) can cause tinnitus. There is no doubt about it. Hundreds and hundreds of people have reported this fact to the FDA. Whether it will affect you that way is unknown, but the risk is there.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello doctor ,
i’m about to do IV vitamin C, is it safe for the ears ? Can it cause problems ?
Thanks you very much !
Hi Alex:
As far as I know, high doses of vitamin C do not hurt our ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doc.
I was prescribed Finasteride to help lessen the effects of Hair Pattern Loss, and have been using it for almost 5 months now. I am 23 y’old and have never suffered of any systemic condition and or cardiovascular problems.
Yet I developed a pulsating tinnitus in my right year since a couple weeks. It isn’t constant. Sometimes is there, and will go away, sometimes it lasts until I compensate (I’m not native so i’m not sure this is the right term to describe the procedure: basically closing my nose and exhaling air with it to even out the pressure in my ears).
Can this be caused to finasteride in any way? I do get 1mg per day.
Thanks a lot for your time.
Hi Jamie:
I have a few reports of tinnitus from taking Finasteride, but no information whether any were pulsatile or not. At this point, I don’t see a connection between your taking Finasteride and your pulsating tinnitus–but there might be one.
You could always stop taking the Finasteride for 2 or 3 weeks and see whether this pulsating tinnitus goes away. If it does, that could be an indication this drug is the cause.
Cordially,
Neil
I have a similar question. I started taking finasteride for male pattern baldness earlier this year and over the summer I’ve developed a loud ringing in my left ear, mild ringing in my right ear. I wondered if the finasteride had something to do with it. ENT said I have some slight hearing loss in left ear which may be causing it. I’d like to try going off it to see what happens, but I’m not sure if I should wean off or cut cold turkey. A google search for finasteride and tinnitus gives several scary results. Apparently, tinnitus is a possibly permanent side effect?? Speak comforting words, doc!
Hi John:
It’s always possible that the Finasteride caused your tinnitus. tinnitus is listed as a side effect of Finasteride, although I don’t think it is all that common. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information indicating whether tinnitus from taking Finasteride is temporary or permanent. Nor do I have any information on whether quitting cold turkey is okay or not in this regard. I can tell you this though, I took Finasteride for more than a year and then quit cold turkey with no ototoxic side effects and it didn’t affect my tinnitus at all.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. I recently starting taking Benadryl 12.5 mg as a sleep aid plus melatonin. My T was fading but after 3 days it has now spiked. Could the Benadryl be the cause? I’m concerned I may have messed up a good trend….
Hi John:
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) has been reported to cause tinnitus in numbers of people. So it is possible that you are one of them. Why not try stopping the Benadryl and see if after a few days to a couple of weeks your tinnitus drops back to its old level. If so, you know that your ears are sensitive to Benadryl.
Cordially,
Neil
Experienced exactly the same thing but on the 4th day. What happened after you stopped takin the Benadryl? Did it fade away?
Thanks, Dr Bauman. Is diphenhydramine effect temporary if there is one?
Hi John:
I don’t have any information on this so I don’t know–but you can be hopeful that it will prove to be temporary–and you may be right.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. You were correct. My T dropped back and is fading again! Thank you so much for your advice. The doctors in my area are totally ignorant about tinnitus and it’s nice to know there is an expert who we can reach out to who understands the condition. There are so many meds that are ototoxic, and many can not be avoided. Does your book advise on the severity of ototoxic It’s?
Hi John:
I give each ototoxic drug a rating between 1 (low) and 5 (high). This is my own subjective rating, but if you don’t have a clue, its a good place to start. I also tell what I know of each drugs specific ototoxic effects. And if available some anecdotal reports that people have sent to me.
Taking it all together, you can come up with a reasonable risk factor. The new edition (4th) that will come out in a couple of years will give FAR more information, and will be in two volumes as it will be around 1,500 pages or so.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks. I’m coming off 7 weeks of Lexapro 5 mg. I’m taking it for anxiety over recently acquired tinnitus. I see theanine suggested for tinnitus anxiety. Is theanine otosafe? My T has faded quite a bit since coming off Xanax and lowering Lexapro, but it seems to have leveled out.
Thanks in advance for your sage advice.
Hi John:
As far as I know, L-theanine is not ototoxic. Just make sure you take L-theanine and not D-theanine. Don’t expect it will help your tinnitus, but it will help calm your anxiety down so you can better bear your tinnitus.
Furthermore, it is not something you want to take daily “forever” as it apparently quits working well if you do that. Better to cycle in and out of taking it. In other words just take it when you really need to, then give your body some days off it before you take it again. For example, you might want to take it for two weeks, then give your body a week or more off before taking it again.
So learn to ignore your tinnitus so you can habituate to it so it won’t bother you anymore.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello doctor,
is it OK to fly an airplane if you have ear problems ? Does wearing earplugs help or make it worse ?
THANK YOU !
Hi Alex:
What kind of ear problems? Don’t waste my time making me drag information out of you. Tell me what kind of ear problems you have so I can give an intelligent answer.
Cordially,
Neil
hello
i have tinnitus, does flying have any negative effect ? and also, is CBD oil safe for ears ?? thank you !!!
Hi Alex:
Normally, flying doesn’t bother your tinnitus–unless you have reactive tinnitus. But most people don’t. I’ve never had any problems with flying in regards to my tinnitus.
So far, I don’t have much information on CBD oil, but it is listed as causing ataxia and dizziness in some people.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. I recently tried l-theanine to reduce anxiety from my T. I’m coming off Lexapro and I’m hoping the theanine can work as a limited anxiety buster. Well, it has no effect, So I was wondering about gingko biloba. Is gingko otosafe?
Thanks again for your safe advise.
Hi John:
Ginkgo is not ototoxic as far as I know, but I don’t think it will help with anxiety as such. However, it may make a difference to your tinnitus and that could indirectly help reduce your anxiety.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. I’m taking the gingko…I hope it work.
Recently, my T is fluctuating daily even before gingko. One day it’s gone, then next, it’s back. How can one habituate to something so variable..
Thanks again for your help.
Hi John:
Well, I think it is great news that your tinnitus is fluctuating so much. To me this indicates that it is probably going away. So you may not have to habituate to it. But you habituate to it the same way as you would if it were always there–ignore it and focus on the loves of your life instead.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. I understand your attitude towards prescription drugs but sometimes natural just does not work. Can you please tell me which anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs show up the least in regards to affecting tinnitus? Thank you
Hi Sam:
I don’t know which drugs your doctor thinks will do the job. So often, drugs are prescribed off-label so I don’t know which drugs are on the “list” for these two conditions.
However, if you give me a list of all the drugs that might work in your case according to your doctor, I can certainly put them in the order of reported ototoxicity from best to worst.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Dr Bauman. This is the list of the drugs.
Xanax, Klonopin, Serapax, Mirtazapine, Lexapro, Zoloft and Doxepin
Hi Sam:
From most likely to cause tinnitus to least likely to cause tinnitus the drugs are:
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Escitalopram (Lexapro)
Mirtazapine
Oxazepam (Serapax)
Note that Oxazepam may not be prescribed as often, hence the fewer reports. Thus, I don’t know if it is in the “right” place in the above list. You can try it, but I think the safest bet for not causing tinnitus or making it worse would be Mirtazapine–given these choices.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Bauman, will drug induced tinnitus will eventually lead to hearing loss? thanks
Hi Dilan:
If tinnitus is the first ototoxic side effect you get, it may be a warning that continuing to take that drug or taking it in higher doses may cause additional ototoxic side effects including hearing loss.
Then again, tinnitus may be the only ototoxic side effect you may experience–and that’s it–it will not lead to hearing loss.
So the answer to you question is a definite “maybe”. It just depends. Thus I would tend to dump any drug that causes my tinnitus to get worse before it has a chance to take out my hearing too.
Note: tinnitus does not cause hearing loss, but hearing loss very often results in tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman
First thank you for this forum!
I was given Andriol Testocaps oral tablets to increase my level of testosterone, I took it for 40 Days (one pill morning and one evening)
I started to have ringing in my ears, went to check my ear and did the audiogram with the ENT, and dr. said ears are fine, no issues with ears.
i stoped taking those pills immeadiately after the 40th Day. but now its been 10 days and the tinnitus is not going away, in my case is it going to be permanent?
Thank you Doctor!
Thomas
Hi Thomas:
Taking Testosterone (Andriol) can indeed cause tinnitus. However, I do not have any information whether the resulting tinnitus is temporary or permanent. It can take more than 10 days for numbers of drugs so be patient. You can always be hopeful that it will fade away–especially if you totally ignore your tinnitus. On the other hand, if you focus on it and worry about it, the chances are good it will be permanent and can get worse. So focus on the loves of your life and forget about your tinnitus. And don’t take any more Andriol if you don’t want to make your tinnitus worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your prompt Response!
its outrageous that doctors who prescribe these medicines fail to warn their patients!
Lets hope for a cure Doctor! its not that easy…
Hi Dr. Bauman,
Thank you for answering so many questions, it is very generous of you.
Eight days ago while going to bed, a loud high pitched sound appeared in my head and wouldn’t go away. I had never experienced anything like this before. I had been taking Etidolac the week prior (about 200-400mg 5X that week). Prior to that, my Etidolac intake was about 200-400mg 1-2X per week with long breaks (for about the last two years). . . I was also drinking about two cups of coffee daily and taking 10mg Adderall XR, 3X weekly.
I had also recently done a three week spiritual retreat in which I consumed the substance 5-meo-dmt in moderate amounts about 19 of 23 days. There were several awakenings that were very taxing on the mind/body, yet it was also very relaxing at times, with little worries about life’s responsibilities. There was no ringing during that time. The ringing started three days after my last usage. Since the ringing started, I consumed 5-meo-dmt once more and the ringing got about 5X stronger. I will discontinue consuming it.
I was also consuming cannabis in moderation – so there were a variety of substances flowing through my body. I’ve discontinued all substances since the ringing started (except for 5-meo and cannibis one time each – they both increased the volume greatly).
I went to see an ENT yesterday. The audio test showed normal hearing in my left ear and moderate loss in my right ear (he said it was in the normal loss range for a 49 year old). The ringing is stronger on the right side of my head and part of me thinks that interfered with my ability to score well on the audio test. The Dr. blamed hearing loss in my right ear, yet was stumped why it suddenly appeared very intensely with no prior occurrences, loud noise exposure or injury.
The ringing intensity comes and goes. During the workday and in nature, it can settle down and at times disappear briefly. Yet my mind keeps checking to see if it is still there. I am trying to continue doing things I love. It gets louder when its quiet and I greatly miss doing Yoga and meditation with a quiet mind. I just don’t like it now. I have a lot of meditation and I’m practicing to be still and at peace within the sound. Yet it is very challenging. Ironically, it seems my ability to be very aware and present in the moment seems to make the sound more apparent.
My questions are:
1. What might be the most likely cause?
2. Do you think it is better to engage in more activities that will mask/distract from the sound? For example, riding my bicycle outdoors rather than yoga/meditating in quiet indoors.
3. Sometimes my mind goes into worrisome stories about the ringing – regret of the past and worrying it will never go away. I try to let go of those stories. If the ringing continues, do you think it may be beneficial to create a new story and relationship with it? – such as the sound is a connection to spirit and is comforting?
4. Do you think there is a decent chance it will fade away?
5. Do you think Reiki may help?
Thank you for any thoughts you may provide. It is appreciated.
Hi Roger:
1. Etodolac and Adderall can cause tinnitus in some people, but I don’t think it is all that common. So you can’t rule them out, but they are probably not the tinnitus culprits at this time.
It seems you’ve already pinpointed the culprits when you wrote, “(except for 5-meo and cannabis one time each – they both increased the volume greatly”. So it seems they are making your tinnitus worse, and may be the cause of your tinnitus in the first place.
I don’t have any ototoxic information on 5-meo-dmt so I can’t give you any specific information on it.
2. Doing things that require a fair amount of your cognitive “horsepower” are good activities. That way you focus on them and not on your tinnitus. And having real sounds around you helps keep the tinnitus from standing out from the quiet. Instead, it tends to get buried in the other sounds.
3. Focus on other things–not your tinnitus. See 2 above. You don’t want stories with tinnitus in them–that is just focusing on your tinnitus–which is the opposite of what you need to do.
4. If you stop taking all the mind-altering drugs, and stop focusing on it, there is a good chance. Or at least it will fade into the background and not bother you much, if at all.
5. I’ve never heard of Reiki helping people with tinnitus to get their tinnitus to go away.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your insights Neil. I’d like to share a follow up experience. Last night during meditation, the high pitched sound got very loud. It was a swirling mix of high frequency. I tried to use it as grounding and simply observe in stillness. I then turned on the below audio and there was an immediate shift. The sound in my head shifted to match the background static of this audio. Most “masking” audio seems to cover up or distract – yet this audio shifted a loud high pitched sound to a low volume hissing sound. I literally couldn’t tell if the hissing was coming from inside or outside my head.
Having the ability to shift the frequency from annoying high pitch to a gentle hissing is a game changer that gives so much relief. It’s not that big a deal now. Since last night, it has been mostly low volume hissing. A couple times the high pitch has creeped in and the audio knocks it down in seconds. I start high enough that I can hear the hissing, then slowly reduce it so I can barely hear the robot beeps. I believe this is back to where my baseline level was before the high pitch started. I’m sure I’ve always had a low baseline hiss, yet never noticed it. I find a low background hiss to be much less bothersome than a high pitch swirling siren and I’m much more able to let it go as “whatever” and get back to life (I’ve already gone a couple 30min. stretches without thinking about it and anxiety is reduced by 90%).
My plan is to listen to this audio periodically through the day in hopes my mind/brain will get reconditioned to the low background hiss and that the background high pitch fades away (which already seems to be happening).
The audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKo4jYDO9FQ
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and time with us on this forum. It is a loving thing to do and it is appreciated.
Hi Roger:
If the audio works for you–great. I listened to it and is it ever an irritating, horrible sound to me. Just shows how what works for one person doesn’t work for another. It’s made my tinnitus worse! I’ll not be listening to that again.
That is why you have to try various treatments and see what works for you. I’m glad you found something that really works well for you.
Whether you hear you tinnitus in one ear, the other ear, in both ears or in your head without reference to your ears doesn’t matter. Mine shifts around all the time.
Cordially,
Neil
hi doc, i developed tinnitus a month after using minoxidil. when i stopped it took a week for the tinnitus to clear then i resume the minoxidil in just a few hours the ringing returns. why is that when it took a month to developed?
and why most minoxidil users dont get tinnitus if its ototoxic? thanks
Hi Dilan:
With some drugs tinnitus comes on in minutes–as short as 7 minutes. With other drugs it takes a number of years. And for most drugs it is somewhere in between. Why? I don’t know specifically, but there are a lot of factors involved in tinnitus.
My information says that Minoxidil doesn’t cause tinnitus in many people–at least not many have reported it as having caused their tinnitus. You seem to be one of the “lucky” ones.
With most ototoxic drugs, only a relatively small percentage of people taking the drug get a given ototoxic side effect. Why? Again, I don’t know.
What I can tell you is that often whether you get ototoxic side effects or fly under the ototoxic radar has to do with three factors. First, some drugs are more ototoxic than others, so taking a drug that is mildly ototoxic reduces your risk of getting those side effects as compared to taking a drug that is severely ototoxic.
Second, dosage is a major factor. If you take a low dose, often you fly under the ototoxic radar. But if you increase the dose above that “magic threshold”–the ototoxic radar picks it up and wham–you are hit with various ototoxic side effects. So the trick is to stay below that magic threshold. The reason I call it a magic threshold is because it probably varies with each person and you don’t know where it is. You only find it by trial and error.
Third, the longer you take a drug, the greater the risk of ototoxic side effects showing up. For example, taking the Minoxidil for only 2 weeks didn’t give you tinnitus, but taking it for 4 weeks did.
Now as to why it took a month to get tinnitus the first time and then stopped for a week and your tinnitus went away, then you started again, it only took a few hours, here’s what I think may be a factor. Let’s say that it takes a month for the drug to build up in your body to levels that cause tinnitus. When you stopped, your levels dropped to below that magic threshold within a week so you tinnitus went away. When you started taking it again, you were just below that magic threshold and adding the drug in quickly put you above the magic threshold and there is your tinnitus back again.
Note that just because you stop taking a drug doesn’t mean your tinnitus will stop. In your case it did after a week. You may find that others taking the same drug get permanent tinnitus. That’s the way it is and I don’t know all the factors of why that occurs.
It can even happen with the same person. One man took a drug that caused tinnitus. He stopped taking it and in a few days his tinnitus went away. So he assumed that this would happen in the future. So he took the drug again and got tinnitus. However, when he stopped, to his horror he found that he now had permanent tinnitus.
There’s still just so many uncertainties and unknowns regarding ototoxicity and our ears. That is why you have to be so careful and only take drugs when you really, REALLY need them if you want to avoid side effects.
Cordially,
Neil
thank you so much Doc you’ve been such a great help. ototoxic drugs are really scary stuff and tinnitus it brings.
Thank you so much for this site.
I have had tinnitus for about a year now, which I was just habituating to. But three weeks ago I developed a lower and much more noticable ringing, which is driving me crazy. My doctor wasn’t of much help, but after getting on the internet I knew it had to be the vimovo I had been taking for five weeks. I immidately stopped taking it, hoping I was one of the lucky ones and it would disappear. Which it did. After three days the new, and to me intolerable sound was gone. I was extremely happy. But it came back, and has been back now for two days on and off. I’m now on the 9th day of being vimovo-free.
I’m currently also on Neo-mercazole, Mirtazapine, Myanserinchloride and up until 9 days ago on Pranolol. I started weaning myself off of the Mirtazapine and Myanserinchloride on the day the tinnitus came back. So what I was wondering is if it’s possible to get tinnitus as a “withdrawal” symptom? And if I should then wean myself off it slower?
I was anxious to come off of all the drugs I have been taking (apart from the neo-merc. , which I need for my thyroid disorder) as soon as I found out about ototoxicity – but abviously not if it’s going to make my tinnitus worse…
Thank you in advance!
Hi Anna:
Taking Naproxen (Vimovo) causes tinnitus in hundreds upon hundreds of people. The good news is that some/many of those people find their tinnitus goes away a couple of weeks after stopping taking it. However, some people get permanent tinnitus from even just taking one dose of this drug.
One of the nasty side effects of Mirtazapine is that when you stop taking it, you can get horrible tinnitus. So you need to taper down slowly. Mianserin is very similar to Mirtazapine and thus may also cause tinnitus when you stop taking this drug, so it may be wise to taper off this drug slowly too.
The Carbimazole (Neo-Mercazole) and Propranolol (Pranolol) probably aren’t the culprits (but there’s always a chance).
You are on the right track.
Cordially,
Neil
A lot of things to be cautious of then, But it’s really great to know what the likely culprits are, thank you.
Do you know whether the tinnitus accompanying the weaning off of Mianserine and Mirtazapine is likely to be permanent or temporary?
Hi Anna:
I don’t have any specific data on that, but if you learn to ignore your tinnitus there is a good chance it will fade into the background so hours will go by without your being aware you have tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. It’s been a few weeks since I posted here. My tinnitus is till fluctuating but now I have zero tinnitus followed by bad tinnitus followed by zero tinnitus. Every other day fluctuating. Not sure what this all means. I guess this is a good sign? I find it hard to habituate because of the fluctuations
Hi John:
I take fluctuating tinnitus as a good sign. See if you can correlate the bad tinnitus days with anything–but alternating each day is definitely weird.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Bauman, I am grateful to have found this site. I have hide tinnitus since 2017 and had my first substantial spike a few months ago. 10 days ago I was prescribed Doxycycline for a tick bite. After 5 100mg doses I noticed my tinnitus was affected by it. The T increased in volume and a new sound appeared. I stopped the Doxy and am now facing a tough decision. Do I start taking Amoxicillon or not? I am worried it too will make my tinnitus worse. There is a natural herbal route I can take for the tick bite but my doc really recommends the antibiotics. I’d appreciate your opinion.
Hi Jon:
For your information I have about twice the reports of getting tinnitus from those taking Amoxicillin than from those taking Doxycycline. So your chances of making your tinnitus worse with Amoxicillin are about double–BUT since it is a different class of drug, you may not be as sensitive to it. There is no way to know apart from trying it.
Personally, I’d try the natural herbal route if it has a good chance of success and avoid making your tinnitus worse–not to mention avoiding all the other ototoxic side effects both of these drugs have. Does it have as good a chance as taking one of the antibiotics? If so, I’d go for it.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Bauman,
Thank you for the opportunity of inquiring advice. It is encouraging to see that you consistently provide help to anyone asking for it.
Unfortunately I too acquired tinnitus roughly half a year ago. I am absolutely certain that is has been caused by the use of Cialis, although I did not use it frequently and in relatively low doses.
I understand that it is almost impossible to say anything about the perseverance of this condition. However, do you have experience with cases of PDE5 inhibitor induced tinnitus that are resolved or diminished? Moreover, is there a theoretical possibility that it might worsen?
In addition, I have a slight pain/uncomfortable sensation in my inner ear that is almost constantly present, also some sounds are now more uncomfortable to hear. Is this usual and do you have any experience with such cases that might have been resolved?
I can practically feel the change/damage to my ears, I am just hoping somehow this might be healed, although I understand that this is not usual and it would be more likely it already occurred within half a year, if it would.
Thank you and best regards,
Tristan
Hi Tristan:
Tadalafil (Cialis) and related drugs such as Sildenafil (Viagra) and Vardenafil (Levitra) can cause hearing loss and tinnitus among other ototoxic side effects. My information that hearing loss is about twice as commonly reported than is tinnitus.
I don’t have any information regarding the permanence of the resulting tinnitus. However, if your tinnitus accompanies any resulting hearing loss, you can expect the tinnitus to last as long as your hearing loss–so if your hearing loss proves to be permanent, you could expect your tinnitus would be permanent too.
I don’t see that theoretically your tinnitus should get worse if you no longer take this drug–at least not from this cause.
One of the ototoxic side effects reported for this drug are ear pain/discomfort–so you come by it honestly. I don’t have any information on how long it might last.
If you hear sounds sharper/louder than normal, this is called hyperacusis. A few cases have been reported for Sildenafil, so I wouldn’t be surprised that the same would also eventually be reported for Tadalafil. Hopefully, this would eventually fade away as your ears heal as much as they can.
However, since this all happened 6 months ago and these various ototoxic side effects haven’t faded away, unfortunately, it would seem that they will prove to be permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your elaborate response.
I only remain with the question if you know if there is anything that can still be done, besides maintaining a positive coping strategy?
In addition, I endure headaches quite frequently. Is that common and is there anything that can be done about that? Could it be part of my brain adjusting to the damage in my ears, after which it might fade away?
Thanks again.
Best regards,
Tristan
Hi Tristan:
I don’t think there is anything you can do now after all this time to “fix” your ear problems. But you can learn how to best cope with them.
My expertise is in ears, not headaches so can’t really help you there.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, Dr. Neil. I took multiple and by multiple I mean 8 or 9 maybe 10 aspirin this morning for a toothache. About 6 hours later my head started killing me and my ears were ringing horribly bad. Mind me I do not take this medicine a lot. Very rarely. But I felt I needed it. So does it matter how often I take it or not will my tinnitus go away?
Hi Coleton:
That’s a lot of aspirin to take at a time. You shouldn’t be taking more than about 2 aspirin every 4 hours or so.
You risk your stomach bleeding when you take so much. And as you know, that much aspirin can give you screaming tinnitus, and also hearing loss.
The good news is that when you stop taking Aspirin, in a couple of days your tinnitus should go away and any lost hearing return. There are no guarantees, but this is typically what will happen.
Cordially,
Neil
One more question. What’s the chance my stomach is bleeding and how serious would that be?
And how will I know if my stomach is bleeding?
Hi Coleton:
Those are questions to ask your medical doctor. I’m not a medical doctor and its outside of my areas of expertise.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Bauman, my doctor prescribed Mobic which I am scared to take. I know all NSAID are bad for tinnitus but are some safer than others? Thank you for all your help.
Hi Sam:
I put out a special report showing the relative ototoxicity of all the NSAIDs by their various classes. For example, Melokicam (Mobic) is the most ototoxic of the Oxicams, so any others in this class would likely be better choices. You can get this report at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/the-relative-ototoxicity-of-non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory-drugs/. This report breaks the NSAIDs into 7 different classes so you can see the least ototoxic drugs by class.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Dr. It is bad enough that so many drugs cause or make tinnitus worse. But know I’m reading about drugs that can cause tinnitus when you stop taking them!? How and why on earth does this happen? It’s too much.
Hi Sam:
I think that typically if you get tinnitus from stopping taking a drug, it was likely a psychotropic drug and you stopped cold turkey or tapered off it too fast–within a month or so. A slow taper over a year or so will probably not result in tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil