by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man asked:
Could you tell me if my sleeping pills, Amitriptyline, are ototoxic? I’ve become very concerned because my hearing loss was caused by prescription medicines after treatment for prostate cancer. The otolaryngologist kept on insisting it was coincidence, but then I did find out that the medicines, in fact, can cause hearing loss, although not for everybody. The effect was very gradual and not very noticeable until it was too late.
Yes, Amitriptyline can be quite ototoxic to some people. Most complaints I receive concern loud tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline, although some people have also reported problems with distorted hearing and hyperacusis. If you notice any of these kinds of problems, it is quite possible that Amitriptyline is the culprit.
Many doctors try to shift the blame for ear problems away from the drugs they prescribe. If a given drug gave every last person a hearing loss, then the doctors would have to admit that drug was the culprit, but when a drug only causes hearing loss in 10% or 1% or 0.1% of the people they see, they ignore it and say it must have been a coincidence. However, you now know that tinnitus (and other ear problems) do happen to numbers of people who take Amitriptyline.
To learn which drugs are (or can be) ototoxic, see “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed“. This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 877 drugs, 35 herbs and 148 chemicals.
I have experienced extreme hearing loss over the last 20 years. No one could tell me why. I’ve been on Amitriptyline for 25 years. This article has stunned me. I’ve been losing about 15% of the hearing I have left each year. I’m a pastor and use to do a lot counseling. Now I’m struggling to save my career. Never in a million years would I have stayed on this drug. I have asked doctors and pharmacist about this for the last 7 or 8 years.
I am so sorry to hear this. No drug should be taken for years on end. They are a band aid, not a solution. Big pharma you know
I am so sorry! I understand completely!!! I took this drug for years, and my hearing loss is making it difficult to participate in siciety. They should warn you about side effects and monitor them.
I took amytryptline for 2 weeks 10 mg then for 1 week and a half 20 mg
Then i felt tinnitus and headache in so had to stop for by reducing dose for 4 days ito 10 mg
This is the 5th day now after stopping and tinnitus is still there with headache !!!
I believe Amytryptline is causing me ear problems too. I’ve been taking it for about 2 months now and although I don’t have tinnitus, I suddenly have this muffled hearing, as though my ears are slightly blocked or covered. I’m taking it for neck pain, although after reading these comments,
I might try to find an alternative for the pain. It 💯 started after taking these drugs.
Hi Charlie:
Amitriptyline is an antidepressant, not a pain killer. It can indeed cause an ear-blocked sensation and hearing loss/hearing disorder that would result in muffled hearing.
Since you have neck pain, have you considered chiropractic? Depending on the cause of the pain, that would be my first choice, not drugs.
Cordially,
Neil
I have taken 10mg amitriptylene for a 6 nights, clarithromycin (5pills of 500mg) and desloratidine 3 nights. I got tinnitus 2 days ago. Do you think it will get better? Was taking them fir sinusitis. Wouod you think its amitriptylene or the antibiotic?
Hi Claire:
My money would be on the Amitriptyline as the cause of your tinnitus, although both Clarithromycin and Desloratadine can also cause tinnitus.
If it was the Amitriptyline, there is a reasonable chance your tinnitus will go away within 2 weeks or so after stopping this drug.
If it was due to the Clarithromycin, the tinnitus may prove to be permanent. There’s no way to tell at this point.
If it was due to the Desloratadine, I have no information relating to the permanency of any resulting tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
In a low dose it’s also good for neurological pain relief, I’m on it as a result of covid causing Encephalitis , and it’s helped my pain quite a lot!
hi doctor,
I have developed hyperacusis, tinnitus with no underlying medical conditions apart from anxiety from another medicalcondition. I was prescribed Amitryiptline 10mg around the time I first experienced the loudness. I am now not sure if I had started the endep just a couple of days ago or after the loudness had started. Could even a 2-3 days of this medication cause Hyperacusis and Tinnitus?
It helps me get a restful sleep, so i am worried to stop taking the medication.
Hi CD:
Amitriptyline can cause tinnitus and hyperacusis. I’ve heard from people that developed tinnitus the next day from just taking one 10 mg pill. So yes, such side effects can result in just 2 or 3 days.
The good news is that tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline can completely go away in a couple of weeks after you stop taking it, but hearing loss from taking this drug can be permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi when did this go? I am 4 weeks after a 2 week dosage of 10mg with terrible headache and pulsating -never had this ever before.
Hi Rod:
I’m not so sure that the Amitriptyline caused your hearing loss. Amitriptyline is known to cause loud tinnitus, but not massive hearing loss. I’ve only heard two reports of hearing loss caused by this drug.
Why do you suspect the Amitriptyline and not some other cause? I’m not saying that the Amitriptyline couldn’t cause your hearing loss, just that it doesn’t seem all that likely?
Regards
Neil
Will the effect of medicine go away if i stop using it
Hi Warisony:
Some people find that their tinnitus goes away after they stop taking Amitriptyline. This indicates that at least some side effects may be temporary. But other people find their side effects seem to be permanent.
There is no way to tell in advance whether any side effects you have will be temporary or permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
I am taking 20 mg of amitriptyline for about 5 weeks now and I just started lound noise in my ears. Can I stop taking it without tapering since it is low dose?
Hi Husain:
I’m not a medical doctor, so can’t answer this authoritatively–you should run it by your doctor, but my feeling is that it probably would be ok.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks alot Neil.
I visited two doctors and both said I can stop it immediately, I had just one night of disturbed sleep but next day I was fine.
As for the loud noises, both did not know if the tinnitus will go away, they said it is like 50/50, though both agreed that nothing can be done except waiting.
I have MS and I finally gave in to my doctors suggestion of taking Cymbalta because my leg pain was so bad. I took it for a couple of years, but I started having really bad side effects. It took me almost a year to taper off that evil drug. I had to go through a compound pharmacist to take one bead out every week. Even doing a slow tapering. I still had brain zaps. I am so lucky that I am going to the best MS doctor in the US, but for some reason they refused to believe that I was had brain zap or withdrawal symptoms.
I also have arthritis of my hips and in my tail bone. My pain doctor put me on the lowest dosage there is of Amitriptyline and it completely stopped my brain zaps.
My ears have been ringing for years, nothing too loud, just annoying. Now they are so loud that it is almost too much to bear.
I have had a hearing test and I do have hearing loss.
I do not take Amitriptyline for depression, nor did I take Cymbalta for depression.
I am terrified to go through withddrawl again. It was pure hell. I do not know what to do. The tinnitus is so loud.
If I stop taking the Amitriptyline, would St. John’s wort help me with the withdraw while I taper?
Sorry this is so long.
Please help!
Hi Cindy:
If you had severe withdrawal symptoms, that indicates you were tapering too fast. When you are doing a taper and withdrawal symptoms begin to appear, you need to stop tapering at that point and maintain that dosage until the symptoms go away, then continue on your taper again, likely using a slower taper rate for the rest of the taper.
How long have you been on the Amitriptyline? Since you do not have depression, I’d be hesitant to take St. John’s Wort as it is an anti-depressant. But having said that, I don’t know whether taking it while you taper off Amitriptyline is a good idea or not. I’ve never come across such a situation so can’t give you any real answer.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Cindy. I was prescribed amitriptyline for a pain as well. Not for depression. I was on it 8 years and failed 3 times to get off. It’s hard. But what my dr ended up suggesting was that I switch to Lexapro instead and then try to get off of that. They work similarly but Lexapro doesn’t linger in your system as long.
I am finally off the amitriptyline (very recently) and on the lexapro now. But it’s improved my quality of life in a few ways since the side effects of amitriptyline got so bad for me.
I wish you luck. I’ve only recently discovered that these drugs are the source of my hearing issues, so now I am gettinf off em for that reason too..
If I could turn back time I’d find a different drug!
No Dr should prescribe a medication that has side effects of ringing in your ears. I took Amitriptyline for two months. Horrible Tinnitus now.
Hi Lisa:
I agree–but if you did that, you’d eliminate most of the drugs that doctors typically prescribe. I have listed 904 generic drugs that have tinnitus reported as a side effect. The good news is that many of them don’t commonly result in getting tinnitus.
In order to reduce your risk of getting tinnitus from taking any drug, follow my 3 rules of thumb.
1. Take the least ototoxic drug that will do the job.
2. Take the lowest dose that will do the job.
3. Take the drug for the shortest possible time.
When you do that, you will often fly under the ototoxic radar and not get tinnitus and other ototoxic side effects.
Cordially,
Neil
hello,
i currently have tinnitus or pulsatile tinnitus. I hear loud ring in ear and sometimes its a whoosing sound. i was prescribed amitrytoline but i don’t want the tinnitus to get worse. will it?
i haven’t tried the amitryptoline yet and im not sure what is causing the tinnitus. both ears feel clogged but the right ear is where i am hearing the noises. My jaw also hurts.
Hi Carmen:
If your ears are clogged, then the tinnitus could be in response to that. If so, when your ears return to normal, the tinnitus should go away. If your jaw is “out” of proper alignment (Temporomandibular joint problems), that could also cause temporary tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Carmen:
Hundreds of people have reported tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline. For some the tinnitus is temporary and goes away in the weeks after they stop taking the Amitriptyline.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil , Vancouver BC Canada I just started Amitriptyline 10 mg for my tinitis 10 x worse , I lost my hearing last July due to a bacteria virus,my new neurologist wants to increase me to 30 mg
,but I want to tell everyone , I was at my wits end , I finally slept ..it stopped long enough to quietlost connections.
Hi Jan:
I grew up just outside of Vancouver, in Port Moody.
If Amitriptyline is causing your tinnitus to get bad, you need to find another drug. Increasing the dose is just asking for more trouble.
Cordially,
Neil
I have actually been prescribed amitriptyline for my tinnitus and was told I need to be on it 6 to 8 weeks to see if it will help. Now I am concerned my tinnitus will be worse after reading these comments and all of your information. I am desperate to sleep when I do not sleep the tinnitus is worse and the amitriptyline has been helping me sleep. What can I use to help me sleep as it is the only escape from tinnitus I got in without it my tinnitus is much worse. Thank you
Hi Charlotte:
I have the same information that it takes 6 to 8 weeks for it to have an effect on your tinnitus. Unfortunately, that effect could be worse tinnitus.
The Clinical Practice Guideline: Tinnitus states, “Antidepressants are not recommended for treating tinnitus” since they “failed to demonstrate a preponderance of benefit over harm”.
You always want to be careful when taking Amitriptyline as a good number of people get loud tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline.
There are many other ways to successfully deal with your tinnitus apart from drugs. You can find these explained in my book “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” at https://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/
Cordially,
Neil
Is it possible to develope tinnitus after only one 25mg pill? I broke it and took every day only 3mg for 6 days and yesterday night I noticed that my ears are ringing slightly. I don’t knkw what to do. Should I keep taking the Amitriptilyne? I got it for chronic migraine. But I definitely don’t want to get a permanent tinnitus. Is it just coincidence? It was only one 25mg pill… took me 6 days to take …
Thanks !
Hi Yael:
I don’t have any information that indicates that just one pill would cause tinnitus–especially broken down over 6 days. It might be possible, but I’d say the chances are pretty slim. And there are indications that tinnitus from Amitriptyline isn’t always permanent. So I’d just watch it and be careful.
Cordially,
Neil
Any change since then ?
About 6 months ago I had a hearing test and the result surprised the doctor as being so acute for someone of my age (65). My medicine regime didn’t change until a few weeks after my hearing test when I was prescribed amatritptyline. Within 2 days I had severe tinnitus and my hearing went fuzzy. After taking the drug for 5 days I was told to stop taking it. I was referred to the hearing clinic and tests showed a marked decrease on my hearing to the extent that I now need hearing aids. I realise how bad my hearing is now when I take my hearing aids out and it feels like my ears have been plugged. No one seems to know if this is permanent or maybe will fix itself over time. I’ve had the hearing aids now for 3 months. Just my little story. Jim
Hi Jim:
You are not alone. Hundreds of people have reported hearing loss and/or tinnitus from taking this drug. Sometimes the tinnitus is temporary and goes away when you stop taking this drug. Other people are not so lucky.
Since it is now more than three months since you stopped taking the Amitriptyline, I’m quite sure your hearing loss is permanent.
It is common to feel that your hearing is muffled or plugged when you take your hearing aids out. It happens to me too. That just shows how much hearing you have lost.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. neil,
My doctor has prescribed an anti-histamine drug called periactin which is part of the Tricyclic family of drugs. Do you think that this can cause hearing loss? I have not taken it yet but I want to be cautious because I saw it listed in your book. Thanks
Dr. Neil,
I am taking amitriptyline temporarily for pain (probably a 4-month course). I also have congenital “cookie bite” hearing loss. My tinnitus does seem louder lately, but I can tolerate it if it is temporary. Do you know if it goes away once one is off the medication?
Thanks.
Hi Kim:
For some people, at least, the tinnitus goes back to its old level (or goes away) a couple of weeks after you stop taking it. So there is a good chance the same will happen in your case–but there are no guarantees.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil, Oddly, when I take Amatriptyline, the high frequency tinnitus I experience seems to lessen. Any thought about this from you Sir?
Thank You, Judy
Hi Judy:
Amitriptyline is an anti-depressant. When you are depressed, you often hear your tinnitus louder, so if the Amitriptyline helps you, you may perceive your tinnitus as softer and not as intrusive.
But make no mistake, Amitriptyline can and does make tinnitus worse for hundreds and hundreds of people, not to mention cause even more people to lose some hearing. And losing hearing very often results in tinnitus. So you still want to be cautious about this drug.
Cordially,
Neil
Are there any safe antidepressants for people with tinnitus?
Hi Carole:
All the antidepressants that doctors prescribe are ototoxic. If you want an antidepressant that is not ototoxic, you need to look outside of the “drug box”. My choice is the herbal St. John’s Wort. Just me sure that it says on the bottle “Standardized to” and then shows a percentage such as 0.5 – 0.7% (somewhere in that range) and then the word Hypericin (which is the active ingredient. If it doesn’t say this, who knows what you are getting? You can get St. John’s Wort at almost any drugstore, health food store or online. You do not need a prescription.
Numerous studies have shown that St. John’s Wort works as well as the standard antidepressants for mild to moderate depression.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil, I have been taking amitriptyline at a low dose 10mg for sleep for about 5 years. I just recently have noticed a problem with tinnitus in the last few months. A nurse friend of mine brought it to my attention that it could be the medication but when I asked my doctor he said no. I want to stop taking the medicine to see if that is the problem. Since it is such a low dose, do you think I will have a problem with withdrawal symptoms?
Hi Janet:
You’ve been on the Amitriptyline for a long time? Do you really need it to help you sleep? Getting off psychotropic drugs after they have made changes to your brain can be a very slow process. If it were me, I think I’d taper off very slowly–even if it is a low dose.
If you choose to stop cold turkey and find you have withdrawal symptoms, that would be an indication you need to go back on at your full dose and then taper off very slowly over a period of 6 to 12 months to give your body a chance to adapt.
Amitriptyline can and does cause tinnitus in some people. I’ve heard from a number of people that have gotten tinnitus after taking Amitriptyline–some after a number of years. I think your doctor is wrong and your nurse probably right.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been on amitriplyline for around 8 years I now have a pulstate titunus in my one ear it’s getting so loud I am taking 50 mg , only caused a few weeks ago when doctor increased my medication
Hi Teresa:
If I were you, I’d drop the dosage back to were it was before as it didn’t cause problems before. I think your doctor needs to find a different drug at this point or you could be left with permanent tinnitus as a result.
Cordially,
Neil
If Amitriptyline is the cause of the tinnitus I am currently experiencing, how long will it take for the ringing to taper off and stop? Or is it permanent? I’ve been taking it for a few months now and recently started experiencing the ringing in my ears. It started after a bout with the flu (or a respiratory infection, not sure which. I had a temp of 101 for 3-days). I have stopped taking Amitriptyline but am still experiencing the ringing.
Hi Christine:
I don’t have any specific information on exactly how long it takes for tinnitus to go away after stopping taking Amitriptyline, assuming the tinnitus was caused by taking Amitriptyline. I would expect that you tinnitus would be significantly improved within three weeks.
It’s always possible that your tinnitus is the result of the flu virus, rather than the Amitriptyline.
Cordially,
Neil
My ENT surgeon has prescribed me amitriptyline to stop my tinnitus and he said it is due to water in my ears. I have taken it for 16 days and I do not see any change in fact it much louder now and I feel fatigued and weak. Please suggest if I shall stop taking it. I can live with my ear ringing but the side effects of this drug are very bad.
Hi Abdul:
Amitriptyline is known to cause very loud tinnitus in numbers of people. Fortunately, typically, the tinnitus is temporary, meaning that when you stop taking the drug, your tinnitus should drop back to its old level within two weeks.
If it were me, I’d stop taking the Amitriptyline since you are obviously sensitive to this drug’s side effects.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been on amitriptyline for almost a month. The ringing in my ears are very loud. My medicine is for along time will the ringing go away when I’m on this medicine?
Hi Amber:
I rather doubt you tinnitus will go away while you are on the Amitriptyline, so you ether need to decide to put up with it, or change drugs. Another possibility is to reduce the dose. You may find that a lower dose will not cause tinnitus. See if you can cut your dose in half and if it makes your tinnitus quieter or it goes away. That works for some people. Run it by your doctor of course.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
15 years ago I had a hearing test and diagnosed with some hearing loss in the higher frequencies. I also had some minor tinnitus that hasn’t bother me until now.
More recently, I’d been taking 30mg of Amitriptyline to help as a pain relief for a chronic pain condition. After taking this for 10 months and having some improvement I experienced a relapse. Another option was to try an extended run of ibuprofen to see if that had any effect. Having not used ibuprofen much before I was taking 400mg, 3 times a day.
On day 12 of a 14 day course I woke up to ringing in my ears that have not gone away since. This was mid October. I stopped the ibuprofen immediately and during December I came off the Amitriptyline after reading on this site that it also has links to tinnitus. I tapered the withdrawal over 3 weeks. But so far no benefit. If anything the ringing has got worse since the first week.
Any thoughts on which of these 2 drugs is mostly likely to have caused my tinnitus and does it sound permanent? Could there be an improvement after a while of not being on Amitriptyline ?
Hi Frank:
My money is on the Ibuprofen as causing your tinnitus. While it is true that both of these drugs cause tinnitus in many people (and hearing loss and other ear side effects too), I have about twice as many reports from people taking Iburprofen than from taking Amitriptyline. Besides, you took the Amitriptyline for 10 months without any tinnitus, but got the tinnitus after only 10 days on the Ibuprofen.
Actually, numbers of people report getting tinnitus after a week or two on Ibuprofen–so that’s another clue that the Ibuprofen is likely the culprit in your case.
Tinnitus from taking Ibuprofen can be temporary or permanent–and you don’t know which class you’ll be in at this point. You can hope it will be the former. And if you work to that end–meaning you don’t consider your tinnitus as a threat in any way to your well-being, and thus totally ignore it and focus on the loves of your life, your tinnitus has a good chance of fading into the background and not bothering you even if it is there. Hours may go by without your even being aware you have tinnitus. That’s the way it is with my tinnitus.
For example, I’ve been working away at my desk and wasn’t aware of my tinnitus at all until I began to answer you questions. Now, since I am thinking about tinnitus, my tinnitus is there hissing away at me quite loudly too I might add. But the good news is that when I turn to something else, in a few minutes it will fade back into the background and I won’t be aware if it for some more hours–unless today is the day that every man and his dog ask me about their tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Neil,
I have tried Amtripyline 25 mg for just 2 nights to see if it helps with sleep. I’m also on Zoloft 100mg and have been for a long time. I started having tinnitus in my left ear which has never had tinnitus before while I was taking this medication. It’s hard for me to believe that it could affect me that quickly but could it? And if so, would you imagine the tinnitus will go away soon since I only took the medication for 2 nights. Also, at the same time I was trying the Amitriptyline for a couple evenings, I developed an earache in my left ear. I saw my GP today and she said my eardrum looks perfectly healthy. She removed some wax and saw that I was a little red behind where the wax had been. She gave me a prescription for neomicin/polymyxin and hydrocortisone drops but I’m afraid to use them. I decided for now, instead of using those drops, I would just use 50/50 white vinegar and alcohol drops. My ear also feels full but I have a lot of issues with my eustachian tube on that side so that may be why. It was good to know that she saw no sign of inner ear infection. I would very much appreciate your advice with this. Thank you.
Hi Shirley:
You can get tinnitus from some drugs right from the very first pill. Others take longer. So I’m not surprised that your tinnitus got worse after you took Amitriptyline for 2 days.
Another side effect of taking Amitriptyline is ear pain–such as you got. In fact, numerous people report tinnitus and ear pain from taking this drug (and lots of other ototoxic side effects as well).
You do well not to take the Neomycin/Polymyxin B since there is nothing wrong with your ear and Neomycin is very ototoxic. Polymyxin B is also ototoxic but not as bad as Neomycin. I’m almost certain it is the side effect of Amitriptyline.
Believe it or not, another side effect of Amitriptyline is Eustachian Tube dysfunction. Numbers of people have reported this side effect to the FDA’s database. I’m not saying that your Eustachian tube problems are from the Amitriptyline, but it could have made it worse than otherwise.
So many drugs can mess up your ears in so many different ways. That is why you want to use natural means for controlling issues rather than harsh drugs. For example, the herbal St. John’s Wort works as well as antidepressant drugs for most cases of depression and yet is not ototoxic. That would be my choice–and my wife has taken it for years when she needs it without ototoxic, or any, side effects.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
Thank you for your comments. Since I’ve never had tinnitus before in my left ear and I came off the Amitriptyline quickly, do you think there is a good chance the tinnitus will go away. I have had tinnitus in my right ear for a long time but my left has always been OK. I’m very worried. I’m adjusting to a cochlear implant in my right ear and the last thing I need is to be worried that something bad has happened to my better ear. I hope I’ve done nothing to cause hearing loss in my better ear and that all of this will calm down.
Hi Shirley:
You can always be hopeful that your tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline will fade away soon. I can’t guarantee it of course, but if you don’t treat it as something that will affect your well-being in any way, it can fade away. If you worry about it and treat it as something significant, then it can take on a life of its own and persist. The best way to think of tinnitus is to think of it as a totally meaningless, useless backgound sound that is safe to ignore–then ignore it.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you. Best advice I could hope for.
Dear Dr Neil,
I don’t know if your able to help me. I was on 375mg Venaflaxin for 6 years and came off in February. However ever since I have been unable to tolerate loud noise and have only left my home twice. I also have daily chronic headaches. The neurologist and pain consultant has suggested going back on Venaflaxin to see if this has caused my noise intolerende but I do not want to do this as it caused such damage to me. I am thinking of trying Amitriptyline do you think this would helpmwith my noise intolerende?
Any advice would be really really appreciated. Thank you
Katrina
Hi Katrina:
I assume you mean the drug Venlafaxine. Venlafaxine is known to cause sound intolerance (hyperacusis) in numbers of people. If you need professional help in dealing with your hyperacusis, seek out a tinnitus and hyperacusis center. The treatment takes time (probably a couple of years) and effort on your part, but in the end it is worth it to have normal hearing again.
Taking another drug is not the answer. It will just cause you other problems and not get rid of your hyperacusis.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr Neil
I had T & H for almost 13 years due to noise expossure and I had spykes time to time after playing in noisy gigs, etc, they always faded away after a while (weeks or a couple of months at latest).
My ears were feeling weird lately and I had an appointment at the dentist for cleaning with the ultra sound machine..
Went to the dentist and it was quite noisy but when I went out of the dentist, came home and my T or H did not change at all surprisly.
After an hour I decided to take a microdoose of magic mushrooms (psilocibin) as I had them in a box for a while and a friend of mine got relief in his T and I read before in some studies that could potentially help people suffering of this terrible symptom.
Maybe was bad idea do it right after the dentist??!
I never took any hallucinogens before, not into drugs really, but all I’ve read and heard about microodosing sounded promising so I gave It a go..
I took 0.4 of psilocibyn and went for a walk, after 30 min I started having snow vision ( had it once a couple of years ago in one spyke) and feeling typsi but nothing special.
I went home and when I’ve checked my ears I felt they were ringing so loud and with new sounds (multitonal)!! so I started panicking, I went down stairs again and just walked trying to calm down.
It was the worst day of my life, I knew I messed everything up and couldn’t do anything to change it!!
Doing some research on internet I found out that allucinigens in general make your senses heighten so I guess that having H already It could just make it worse, but even tho I thought once the toxin was out of my body everything would be back to normal but this was about 3 weeks 17 days ago..
Do you think this could be permanent?
Hi Rafa:
What do you mean your “ears were feeling weird lately”? Was this from some excessive noise exposure? Maybe your ears were getting ready to hear tinnitus again. Then the ultrasonic cleaning could have pushed your ears a bit more and finally the magic mushrooms. So it might not have been only the magic mushrooms that made your tinnitus worse.
From all the abuse your ears have received over the years, eventually that can result in permanent tinnitus. I can’t say it will be permanent, but its certainly a possibility.
The thing to do now is to stop focusing on, and worrying about your tinnitus and beating yourself up over the magic mushroom episode. Focus instead on getting your tinnitus under control. The way to do that is to first accept that tinnitus is not a threat to your well-being in any way, then focus on the loves of your life and by doing so, you are ignoring your tinnitus. This gives your limbic system permission to let your tinnitus fade into the background where it will not bother you, even if it is there.
If you worry about your tinnitus, and thus focus on it, this can never happen. So you and your attitudes towards it are a major part of bringing your tinnitus under control again.
Cordially,
Neil
Have you ever heard of anyone who was taking amtrip for 9 yrs who got tinnitus and then stopped taking it and their tinnitus went away…or do you think for this lenght of time it may be permanent? or is it the luck of the draw???
My tinnitus stated a while ago but was pretty low and I mentioned it the dr who then told me to get my ears checked. But 2 days ago it started getting very very loud . I started Quinapril as well about 4 weeks ago.
Life is starting to feel alittle unbearable!
Hi Karen:
Are you saying you took Amitriptyline for 9 years, then got tinnitus, then stopped the Amitriptyline and your tinnitus went away? I’ve never heard that scenario before, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
But you can take Amitriptyline for years before you get tinnitus from it. I don’t have enough information to indicate whether it can then go away, or whether it will prove to be permanent.
It’s also possible that your louder tinnitus could be the result of taking both Amitriptyline and Quinapril together. There is very little information on how combinations of drugs affect tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil ,
I am Shawn and I have developed tinnitus mild one ( like I can hear it in morning when I wake up ) and then at night when I sleep since 2 weeks of quitting amitriptyline for 1 month.
Some times it gets spiked up , I am not on any medication and have not used any antidepressants .
Ist been 1.5 months now , but my tinnitus is till there .
Can you tell me if its going to wean off ?
Thanks
Hi Shawn:
It’s hard to say whether it will go away or not. But the good news is that for some people their tinnitus goes away. So you can be hopeful that it may happen with you too. In the meantime, focus on the loves of your life and thereby totally ignore your tinnitus and let it fade into the background.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks Dr Neil , do you think its part of the withdrawal process ?
As I have the issue after the drug cessed in my body .
I never had it while I was on it.
I have other withdrawal symptoms as well.
All started 2 weeks after i stopped the drug.
I read that tinnitus is part of withdrawal
I’m in the same situation. Did your tinnitus go away?
I developed tinnitus four months ago after taking medicines for treating prostrate enlargement. However, due to the temporary impotence I took 25mg of kamagra once a week for about three months. Which of these is or are the culprit for my tinnitus?
Hi Mucunguzi:
What drugs did you take for treating your enlarged prostate? I can’t help you if I don’t know the names of the drugs you took. I’ll take a stab at it though–if you took Tamsulosin (Flomax) it could have caused your tinnitus. (It causes hearing loss too.) Kamagra, brand of the drug sildenafil is even more ototoxic and causes hearing loss and tinnitus in hundreds and hundreds of people.
Cordially,
Neil
if you stop taking the amitriptyline will the tinnitus go away?!
I only just started taking 10mg amitriptyline and immediately developed tinnitus.
if the tinnitus is reversible I guess I would continue taking the amitriptyline to see if it works for it’s intended purpose , but if it’s not reversible I want to stop immediately in the hope that it’s not too late. Thank you!
Hi Harry:
if you get tinnitus after you to start the amitriptyline and you stop taking it and your tinnitus goes away, you don’t want to try it again. One person did that, I can’t remember what drug it was, but he took the drug I got tinnitus so he stopped the drug and his tinnitus went away. So he thought well I’ll take the drug because I know that as soon as I stop at the tinnitus will go away again. Imagine his horror when he did that, and then discovered that his tinnitus was now permanent.
The better part of valor is if you get tinnitus from a drug and you stop taking it and the tinnitus goes away, don’t take the drug again and expect the same thing will happen again. It may, but then again it may not.
Cordially,
Neil
I started taking 10mg amitriptyline and immediately developed constant tinnitus. It took me 11 days to realise the connection, and I stopped taking it. It’s a week later and the tinnitus remains.
Could a brief course of corticosteroid reverse the tinnitus caused by ototoxicity?
Hi Harry:
Sometimes tinnitus resulting from taking amitriptyline goes away on its own. But you need to give it at least two weeks to see if that is going to happen. I’m not aware of steroid use specifically helping tinnitus. It’s possible it might, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Cordially,
Neil
Did it go away?
But dr Neil , its been 2 months and its not gone , I would say it has got better and its reduced to one ear for me , intitially the ringin was n both the ear but now its more prevalent in the right ear ?
the left ear also rings but not much as right and I actually have to close my left ear to hear the one on the left .
Where as with the right ear its there a slow murmur only prevalanet in queit places and as u mentioned only when I think of it.
what i feel helps is no sugar and coffee (sugar spikes it up for me )
Dr Neil ,
My tinnitus started few days aftr I stopped Amitriptyline .
It was intially in both the ears , but now the one of the left has calmed down or come back to normal but the one on the right is still roaring .
The one on the left ( u can hear it only when i keep my finger inside my ear)
and the one on the right ear I can hear when i’m in a quiet room or when I think of tinnitus .
Spikes happen on the right only
Sugar , loud noice .
U think the one on the right will also fade away like the one on the left?
Looks like withdrawal from Amitriptyline ( I quit cold Turkey) is causing this.
Hi Doctor,,I have been taking on average 35mg of Amitriptyline for ten months after developing chronin insomnia due to my Tinnitus..Since stopping 10 days ago my T has gotten louder and more intrusive..Will my T go back to a bearable level as the drug fades away or can I expect this new level to remain.
Hi Kevin:
Good question. I don’t have a good answer for you though. Only time will tell. But you can be hopeful that your tinnitus will drop to its old level in time.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil ,
Can tinnitus be a result of withdrawal from Antidepressnts , TCA
( Amitriptyline ) , people say once the drug is out of your body and withdrawal is done , when ur body hits homeostasis , Tinnitus goes away?
Mine is less in the beginning once i stopped the drug , then it got more , now its reducing ?
does it gradually fade off ?
Hi Christian:
I don’t know whether it is true for all antidepressants, but it is certainly true for the Benzodiazepine class of drugs. I do not have any information that specifically applies to Amitriptyline.
If it were true that tinnitus goes away when the drug is out of your body, then no one would have permanent tinnitus resulting from taking drugs. Try and tell that to the hundreds of thousands of people who have found that is not true.
It does not follow that taking away the thing that triggered tinnitus in the first place means that tinnitus will stop. For some drugs this is generally true (think Aspirin), but for other drugs, you can get tinnitus from the very first pill you take, and you now can have permanent tinnitus.
Since in your case with Amitriptyline, you tinnitus got less, then increased and now is reducing again, I take this as a good sign that your tinnitus will most likely disappear in time, or at least fade into the background so it no longer bothers you.
But in order for this to happen you have to learn to ignore your tinnitus and not think bad things about it. Just treat it as a totally useless, unimportant background sound and this gives your limbic system permission to let it fade into the background where it will not be a problem.
I’ve had tinnitus for more than 65 years now, but it is no big deal. It is just “there”. And hours go by without my even being aware I have tinnitus. But whenever I think about it, wham, there it is. Like right now for instance. When I began writing this reply to you, suddenly my tinnitus is there in both ears–ringing away. Now, here’s the good news. Within 5 minutes of my going on to some other subject, I won’t even be aware I have tinnitus. That’s how habituated I am to my tinnitus. So whether I can hear my tinnitus or not makes no difference. As I said, it’s just no big deal. You can learn to do the same if your tinnitus doesn’t entirely fade away.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
A year ago I was pregnant with my first child and being prepared for early delivery because my baby was running small. It was a very stressful time. Sunday night I was cleaning my ear with a Qtip and accidentally pushed it in too far in my left ear. I felt some pain, followed by my ear sucking in and a ring for about 15 seconds. Then it went away. A couple days later on Tuesday, I received my first antenatal steroid injection and then the second injection on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, I went in for my first Jaw physical therapy because I do have some clicking when I eat. When I went home after physical therapy I noticed a noise in my left ear. It wasn’t really a ring, but rather more like a soft siren, cyclical sound. I freaked out because it was something I never experienced before and I thought I did damage with the Qtip. Four days later, I developed a very high pitch whistle sound in my right ear. I don’t understand what happened. There are so many variables that occurred that week. The ringing still persists today. I read on one site that pressure/force against the ear drum can mimic a gun shot sound and damage the cochlea. Do you think this is what happened? If so, how did my right ear start ringing if it wasn’t harmed with the Qtip? Furthermore, every doctor I speak with claims that the steroid injection is not ototoxic. Could the jaw work have ignited the issue? I’ve read a lot of your post and your feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Renee:
Like you say, you had many variables. The Q-tip episode could have caused the tinnitus–and did–for 15 seconds, but it doesn’t explain the different tinnitus on the opposite side. So I doubt the Q-tip episode is you current culprit. Furthermore, I don’t really think it caused any permanent damage to your inner ear.
Steroids such as Prednisone are indeed ototoxic, in spite of your doctor’s erroneous beliefs. Doctors use prednisone for sudden hearing loss and it seems to work many times, but that does not preclude it causing damage in some people. So it appears to be both good and bad–probably depending on the person.
Personally, I think the culprit is your jaw being out of proper alignment. That could explain tinnitus in either ear and the tinnitus beginning after your physiotherapy on your jaw. Once your jaw is properly aligned (and maybe your neck needs aligning too), and the tension goes out of the associated muscles, hopefully your tinnitus will fade away.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your feedback, Neil. Sorry one last question. The injection I received was either dexamethasone or betamethasone in the hip region. Do you think that could travel up to the ear and cause ototoxicity?
Hi Renee:
It’s always possible, but I don’t know how likely that scenario would be. I wouldn’t expect Betamethasone to do this as compared to Dexamethasone which has many times the ototoxic reports as Betamethasone has.
If you see a connection between the injection (assuming it was Dexamethasone) and your resulting ear problems, then that could be the culprit.
Cordially,
Neil
I called the doctor and I did receive a betamethasone, not dexamethasone shot in my hip region. As I mentioned earlier, the tinnitus started the day after the second betamethasone injection, but also the day I had jaw physical therapy for the first time. I first noticed it in my left ear and then it started with a vengeance in my right ear four days later. This was almost a year ago and I would say that my right ear is calming down and my left ear is still acting up, if not getting worse. For the last few months, I notice a pinging sound in my left ear. In the morning, my ears are very quiet and progressively worsen throughout the day. I also notice that my tinnitus is reactive to fan-like noises. My hearing is between -5 and 10 decibels between 0.125 kz – 20khz, with the exception of 16 -18 kHz notch between 25- 35 db. My OAEs are absent only at 8khz and 10khz (highest frequency tested). Do you think the notch could be the result of betamethasone ototoxicity? I was also pregnant when the tinnitus started and under an extreme amount of stress/anxiety. The anxiety continues to be an issue today. Is it possible the tinnitus was anxiety induced and will go away once I calm down? Could it also be related to adrenal fatigue from the shot and excess cortisol production?
Hi Renee:
I doubt your tinnitus is a result of the Betamethasone.
I still think your tinnitus is related to your jaw/TMD and/or your neck being out of proper alignment. In support of this is the fact that your tinnitus starts out very quiet in the morning and gets progressively louder as the day wears on.
What I think may be happening is that when you lay down to sleep, you take the pressure off your neck and jaw and as these muscles relax your tinnitus level drops. That is why it is lowest in the morning. Then, as you go through the day–talking and chewing and moving your head, your tinnitus gets louder as the muscles and tendons, etc. pull on the jaw and/or vertebrae, causing your tinnitus to get louder again.
Anxiety causes your muscles to tighten and that pulls on the neck vertebrae which in turn “pinches” the auditory nerve which in turn results in tinnitus. So learning to relax and calm down helps your tinnitus calm down too.
If I were worried about ear problems related to my neck/jaw, I’d go to an upper cervical chiropractor, not a conventional chiropractor. These special kind of chiropractors specializs in the upper cervical spine (UCS). They are able to work wonders for certain ailments and they are very gentle–not the bone cracker kind. They focus mostly on your top two vertebra (C1 (Atlas) & C2 (Axis). If this joint is “off” then you could have some of the symptoms you are experiencing.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, it’s Renee from the the previous thread. I read your comments regarding vaccine ototoxicity and I realized I had the inactivated flu and tdap shots (for the first time) a couple weeks before developing tinnitus. To be precise, 16 days after the shots in my left ear and 19 days after the shots in my right ear. I didn’t sense any hearing loss and a month after getting tinnitus an audiogram revealed symmetrical, normal hearing up to 20khz with the exception of a 30 db notch from 16-18khz. I also had an absent DPOAE at 8khz. I never had my hearing tested prior to tinnitus so hard to compare pre and post shots. I don’t remember what arm received the shots. I was pregnant and also got a betamethasone injection (in the hip, not the ears) to mature my baby’s lungs 14 days after the vaccines. I read that betamethasone impairs immune system function. I haven’t been sick in almost three years and teach high school, so I don’t believe I had a weakened immune system, but perhaps the betamethasone suppressed it just enough for the virus to sneak in and impact my ears? Or maybe the trace amounts of antibiotics in the vaccines were the culprit? As I mentioned before, I did have jaw physical therapy the day the tinnitus started in my left ear. I saw an upper cervical (NUCCA) chiropractor for a few months and I’m not sure if it was helping. I wanted to get your feedback on the shots before continuing the NUCCA route, as it is very expensive. Based on what you know about the shots and my situation (no perceived hearing loss, normal audiogram after shots) do you still believe my jaw is the culprit? Any other feedback you can provide will be helpful.
Hi Renee:
Almost everyone that writes to me about their flu shot side effects get both hearing loss and tinnitus. Only one or two mention they got tinnitus but not hearing loss. And the symptoms can show up the same day, the next day or two weeks later like you experienced. So it is possible that your tinnitus is related to the flu and other vaccine shots you had, but I don’t know how likely it is in your case.
Also, Betamethasone has also been reported to cause tinnitus is a few people, so that is also another possibility.
So could the jaw adjustment. But if you have been having a number of NUCCA treatments without any success, I think it is probably not worth continuing.
So you have several possibilities and no sure way of determining which one was the culprit, or if there was some other factor we haven’t considered yet.
Cordially,
Neil
The only other cause I can think of is anxiety during a very stressful pregnancy. Now the anxiety continues because of the tinnitus. What is the likelihood that anxiety-induced tinnitus can go away?
Hi Renee:
Anxiety-induced tinnitus can go away WHEN you get rid of your anxiety over your tinnitus. You need to realize that tinnitus is NOT a threat to your well-being in any way, shape or form. When you do that–and your limbic systems sees that you live like it is not a threat, then this gives it permission to let your tinnitus begin to fade into the background where it no longer bothers you and indeed, you may go hours or days without even being aware you have tinnitus.
Chapters 16 and 17 in my tinnitus book teach you how to do this. You can get it at https://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil: Just started experiencing tinnitus about 3 weeks ago. The morning it started was following a very unusual night of a bad sinus headache that I sometimes get in spring. It was the beginning of a mild sinus infection I treated with Levaquin for 10 days. Now back up: Prior to this bad headache I was taking 15 mg of Amitriptyline for about 3 months for sleep and easing GI issues, and I was taking 1500 mg of Xifaxan for 6 weeks for the same GI issues. I’ll call this a triple whammy: Amitriptyline, Xifaxan and sinus issues all at the same time that tinnitus started, and has not gone away after 3 weeks off everything. Naturally I’m concerned it may be permanent, but I do wonder about the timing of that first really bad headache, then tinnitus and sinus infection. My ENT has seen me and says that my ears look clear–but I still sometimes feel sinus pressure in my eye sockets and get mild headaches/sneezing. In your experience, could sinus issues/headaches cause tinnitus? I wonder if I should see a different type of doctor other than ENT like maybe neurologist? Looking for any input and thanks for this blog–it is very informative. Best, Clay
Hi Clay:
Why did you leave out Levofloxacin (Levaquin) out of the list of possibilities? Numbers of people have told me about their getting tinnitus after taking Levofloxacin and hundreds and hundreds have reported this to the FDA as well. So that would be my first choice of a culprit.
In your case, I don’t think it was the Amitriptyline, and I doubt it was that Rifaximin (Xifaxan). And since you’ve had these headaches before without tinnitus, I also doubt it was the headaches.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the fast response and thought provoking input Neil. I actually did not take the Levaquin until AFTER the tinnitus had started. I was taking 15 mg of Amitriptyline and 1500 mg of Xifaxan when it started. What I failed to mention was that I was also taking CBD oil as well. I have been dealing with some pretty annoying GI issues for a couple years and my nutritionist suggested I try it to calm things down. The internet is the “wild west” and people post all sorts of things, but I am now finding some posts suggesting a possible correlation of Tinnitus and CBD oil. Any thoughts on CBD oil? I am still taking it so I wonder if I should stop it as well….? Thanks again, Clay
Hi Clay:
I don’t have any information that CBD oil can cause tinnitus. At this point, my gut feeling is that it probably doesn’t cause tinnitus, or if it does, it is not very common.
As your your Amitriptyline, you were taking a low dose so I wonder whether it was high enough to cause your tinnitus–maybe you are quite sensitive to Amitriptyline.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doctor,
Has it been established the minimum dose that can cause or worsen tinnitus when taking amitriptyline?
I am taking 20 to 30 mg of amitriptyline daily to help me with sleep for 3 months now. Lately my ears feel clogged and I am thinking to stop it.
Hi Eid:
I don’t think anyone has studied this, so I don’t think there is a set dividing line. And even if there were, some people are more sensitive to drugs than others so their dividing line could be different from everyone else.
The only information I have is that one man had taken Amitriptyline at doses of 10, 20 and 30 for 2 weeks each, but when he took his first 40 mg pill, he had hearing loss and tinnitus.
So I’d stay on 20 mg or below for better odds.
Two things you have to consider–the dosage, and how long you take it. So to give yourself the best odds of not having ototoxic side effects, take the smallest dose you can that will do the job and take the drug for the shortest time you can.
Cordially,
Neil
I have otosclorosis. Profoundly deaf in left and bear minimal in right require hearing aid. I have MS. My neurologist just put me on amitriptyline. I cannot afford to risk taking something that could possibly make my hearing Worse. I’ve only got one year left that I can hear out of, and I can barely hear out of that, I can’t afford to risk losing what little I’ve got. Is it worth the risk of me taking this medication
Hi Danni:
Why do you need an antidepressant just because you have otosclerosis and MS. I don’t see the connection. There are other natural ways to help depression such as taking St. John’s Wort for example.
But if you want to take the Amitriptyline, a low dose will probably fly under the ototoxic radar and not produce any ototoxic symptoms. At least it reduces the risk you will have problems with your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil
I have tinnitus for about 4 months, I took only one 10 mg amitryptyline tablet,and experience massive tinnitus spike,next day and night tinnitus was very low,and now super loud again,with new noises.Can 1 tablet caused all of theses?
Hi Beata:
It seems very likely that your initial tinnitus spike was due to the Amitriptyline, but I don’t know whether you can blame your current tinnitus on it, but anything is possible. Can you think of any other possibilities apart from the Amitriptyline?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil
I am a very anxious person, don’t like taking any tablets,and my therapist said to me that one dose shouldn’t cause any problems. My sleeping is very bad, and suffer with jaw and face pain, I am just exhausted.I am planning to start Mirtazapine,hopefully wil be better choice than amitryptyline. Beata
Hi Beata:
Anxiety can certainly make your tinnitus worse, or cause it in the first place. So you should begin a program to get your anxiety under control.
What’s this about jaw and facial pain? That can be connected to tinnitus as well. How long has this been going on? If nerves are irritated by being pinched in your vertebrae, that can result in tinnitus as well as things like your facial and jaw pain.
Yes, as far as ototoxicity goes, switching to Mirtazapine from Amitriptyline should be a step in the right direction.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi my name is frank. I live in Australia. I have read a lot of people’s comments on tinnitus. I too have tinnitus. I have been on Endep for pain for 10 years 25mg a night. it also makes me sleep. do you think after a long time use of Endep it has caused tinnitus and how can I taper off thanks
Hi Frank:
Amitriptyline (Endep) can certainly cause tinnitus, even after you have been on it for a number of years. You may find that your tinnitus goes away once you get off this drug. It has happened to some who have been on it–but none as long as you have of which I know, but you can be hopeful that it might drop in volume so it doesn’t bother you.
I’d ask your doctor how to taper off this drug. If it seems too fast to you, then do it much slower. A safe taper rate is a 10% reduction on the descending balance per month. If no side effects show up at that rate, you could try going faster, using 3 week, 2 week or 1 week intervals. The trick is to go slow enough that you don’t get any withdrawal symptoms (or very minor ones that you can easily handle). So you have to see how fast you can taper without withdrawal side effects occurring.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I’m Ilias.
I took amitriptyline for 3 months, like 15 mg per night, because of some sleeping trouble. Acoording to the doctor it was a low dose, that i can stoop safely anytime without any risk of withdrawal syptoms.
So i stopped taking it after 3 month of the treatment.
Less than 10 days later I started having serious insomnia.
The 16th night after the withdrawal , still having insomnia, with some sort of flashes (not sure if they were hot flashes or pressure flashes). I refer back to the doctor who told me to restart (amitriptyline) with 10mg per night, which I did basicaly 17 night after the first withdrawal. But by the fifth day i start having tinnitus (with feeling unwell dizziness, and headache). The Doctor said that it couldn’t be caused by the drug so ask me to keep taking the medicine.
The tinnitus did not disappear, and by the third week I started having constipation problems. It feels so unpleasant that I had to stop the treatment wihin 5 to 6 week after the showing up of tinnitus.
Now, its been 5 month and I still have tinnitus associated with an unwell feeling.
Doses it make any sens?
Is really 15 or 10 mg of amitriptilyne are a low and safe doses?
Hi Ilias:
I’m not sure I agree with your Dr. that stopping a psychotropic drugs “cold turkey” such as Amitriptyline after you’ve been on it for three months is a safe thing to do.
Your Dr. is totally ignorant about the side effects of Amitriptyline if he thinks that tinnitus cannot be caused by taking this drug, because it can. It’s mentioned in the physicians desk reference, the nurses drug handbook for two common sources. Furthermore hundreds upon hundreds of people have reported it to the FDA’s database, so getting tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline does happen.
The good news is that for some people at least, the tinnitus can be temporary. Unfortunately, it can also be permanent, which seems to be what’s happened in your case.
What you said makes perfect sense to me.
10 mg of Amitriptyline is probably a low dose, but not necessarily a safe dose. For example a lady wrote to me and said, “I took only one 10 mg Amitriptyline tablet and experienced a massive tinnitus spike the drop down to a low level a day or two later”. This shows that even one 10 mg pill can result in tinnitus.
I’m curious when you say that you have a “unwell feeling”, can you describe that a little more clearly? The side effect of some drugs is that you just feel “off”. This can be due to your balance system being somewhat damaged by the drug.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil – I took amitriptyline for 20 days 10 mg for headaches and got ear pain and clogged ears after few days of stopping using it and tinnitus after three weeks of stoppage. Is it possible to get it after three weeks after discontinuing the drug? My doctor says its not logical. However, I also had ear wax developed. I cleaned out now. Not sure if my tinitus is due to ear wax or amitrypline. In either way is there is any hope for me that it will go away?
Hi Anusha:
Two of the side effects of Amitriptyline are ear pain and clogged ears, not to mention hearing loss, tinnitus and a host of balance problems, etc. Another side effect of Amitriptyline is ear wax.
It may not seem logical, but tinnitus can develop after stopping taking a drug. I don’t have any specific information that it happens with Amitriptyline, but it certainly happens with drugs such as the benzodiazepines, so it may be possible with Amitriptyline.
If you cleaned all wax out of your ears, you should not have tinnitus from that cause. You can get tinnitus when wax clogs your ear canals so normal sounds can’t get through, giving you a resultant hearing loss and tinnitus is one consequence of that. But when you clean out your ears, hearing returns to normal and the tinnitus should disappear.
I’d expect your tinnitus will fade away. Some people that get tinnitus from taking Amitriptyline report their tinnitus fades away or disappears in two weeks or so.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much Neil. And regarding the clogged ears, is there a possibility that it might get cleared?
Hi Anusha:
If your ears are clogged because of Eustachian tube dysfunction due to taking Amitriptyline, then when you no longer take this drug, and some time goes by, I’d expect your clogged ear feeling to return to normal.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I suffer from tinnitus, I have had it for years not sure if it’s from lots of concerts and loud music or a bad ear infection I hand many many years ago. It has been manageable up until about the beginning of January when I had an anxiety attack. I went to doctor and they put me on Effexor for anxiety well after about a week I got off of it because my vision was blurry and the ringing/high pitch buzz got worse, so doctor put me on Wellbutrin well the ringing didn’t get any better and I researched that amitriptyline was used to help treat and reduce tinnitus so doctor prescribed this, I have not taken it as of yet after reading side effects and all of these stories of worse tinnitus. I am thinking I should not take it as it may make it worse. I just would be happy to get the tinnitus back to where it was tolerable and not noticeable as much. Any suggestions?
Hi Angie:
Anything that reduces your hearing such as exposing your ears to loud noise at concerts, or hearing loss from middle ear infections can result in tinnitus. But so can anxiety–which was likely the trigger of your current louder tinnitus.
Throwing drugs at tinnitus can just make your tinnitus worse, not better. Effexor, Wellbutrin and Amitriptyline can all make your tinnitus worse. None of these drugs are approved by the FDA for treating tinnitus as they have not been proven to work for tinnitus. At this time, there are NO drugs approved to treat tinnitus.
The first thing I’d do is get your anxiety under control. Once you do that, you may find that your tinnitus drops in volume too. I’d suggest using a counselor to help you deal with your anxiety–not drugs–which as you’ve already seen, don’t work for you anyway.
You may find that certain supplements may help your tinnitus. If you are low on magnesium or zinc, that can cause louder tinnitus so you can try taking these two minerals daily and see whether that makes a difference to your tinnitus. One person told me that for them, the secret was low magnesium.
Another thing you can try is the herbal Ginkgo biloba. Just make sure you take enough. The therapeutic level is 480 mg per day. The best formula I’ve found is Arches Tinnitus Formula which you can get at https://www.tinnitusformula.com/store/arches-tinnitus-formula/. Take it for 3 months before you decide whether it is working for you or not as herbals don’t necessarily produce quick changes.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Angie:
The more drugs you try/take, the greater the increase in risk of making your tinnitus worse, not better.
Rather that just trying drug after drug for anxiety, seek out a good counselor who can teach you how to successfully deal with your anxiety without relying on drugs. And breathing exercises are great too.
There are effective treatments for tinnitus that can help you deal with it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works well. It can be tailored to both deal with anxiety and tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil
I started Amitriptyline 9 nights ago for nerve pain and gradually increased the dose from 5mg, 10mg for 7 nights and then 15mg for 2 nights and for the last 2 nights of the 9 I’ve had extremely loud ringing in both ears.
I’ve had tinnitus on and off for 3 years but mainly in my right ear and usually only and just a pulse noise. Pretty sure the medication has caused the ringing so as it’s such short duration and low dose would it be safe to just stop taking it?
Many thanks
Hi Samantha:
If you had stayed at a low dose–say 5 mg, you might not have gotten the worse tinnitus.
Since you’ve only taken it for 9 days, I think probably you can just stop it without getting negative side effects, but you might want to run it by your doctor–just to be sure.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for responding Neil.
I’ve reduced back to 10mg and aim to drop again to 5mg for a few nights to see if tinnitus improves.
It’s a super difficult situation as Amitriptyline is the recommended medication for my nerve issue….
Also, I think it makes me more anxious.
I’ll keep you posted!
Oh and my ears feel blocked and or clogged, can that be linked to the medication and tinnitus?
Many thanks
Samantha
Hi Samantha:
It may take a couple of weeks before you notice any change in your tinnitus–you have to give it time to see if it will drop down or not. It may be faster than that for some people.
That’s a problem with so many psychotropic drugs–you get more anxious and often that is what you are being treated for–so why take them?
And yes, blocked ears and Eustachian tube dysfunction are two ototoxic side effects of this drug.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank again for responding Neil.
I’ll keep you posted.
Best regards
Samantha
Hi Neil,
I had been on Zoloft for 11 years and because of so many side effects (namely the bruxism side effect was so bad), my doctor switched me to Amitriptylene thinking it would be better. I have now been completely off Zoloft for 2 weeks and have slowly raised Amitriptylene from 5mg to 25mg over a period of a month – so very slowly to try to abate side effects! The tinnitus just started about 2 weeks after stopping the zoloft. I have VERY much improved in the bruxism at night from the SSRI so that has been a LIFE SAVER, but I am now experiencing tinnitus in both ears. It is somewhat mild, but a high pitch sound all the time. I am trying not to get too upset about it as I know that makes it worse. I have quite a severe anxiety/depression disorder…one that landed me in the hospital 10 years ago so I am scared to death of not taking anything. Amitriptylene was also recommended for me for pain control for TMJ disorder, so I think it is helping that too! Do you think tinnitus could be from withdrawal from Zoloft (and does that go away?) or from going on the Amitriptylene? And does that go away with time?
thank you so much!
…one more thing! This has all started a week ago…and right at the time my husband came down with Covid. Do you think that has anything to do with it? Do viruses cause tinnitus? I know…so many variables…thank you for taking your time to help me.
Amber
Hi Amber:
Ototoxic side effects are often dose dependent. You have a “magic” threshold for drug dosage and if you stay below that level, ototoxic side effects such as tinnitus don’t show up. But when you go above that level–wherever it is–that’s why I call it a “magic” threshold–side effects show up.
So what I’m saying is that maybe the Amitriptyline dose at 5 or 10 mg was below your “magic” threshold and the 15 or 20 or 25 were above it. So reducing your dose to just below your threshold would give you the maximum benefit of the drug without causing tinnitus. This is something to consider.
What level of Amitriptyline were you taking at the two week point of stopping the Zoloft? That might be where you exceeded your threshold level for Amitriptyline. At least it could be a starting point for experimenting to see where your “magic” threshold is.
I don’t know whether your tinnitus is a result of going off the Zoloft, or the increasing dose of Amitriptyline or a combination of both. However, my gut feeling is that it was increasing the Amitriptyline above your threshold.
The other possibility is your increasing anxiety over your husband’s Covid. Anxiety alone can cause tinnitus That is why it is so important to keep your anxiety under control especially since you are already predisposed to anxiety/depression.
Viruses can result in tinnitus in some people, probably more due to accompanying the hearing loss that viruses can cause.
As you know, there are several variables to consider so it’s hard to be sure exactly what caused your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil and other who read this.
I already had slight tinnitus, but after taking only 5mg of amitriptalyne for 5 days, that tinnitus is not much louder.
Must be the amitriptalyne. I’ve stopped taking it, hoping it will go
away .
Thank you dr. Neil for providing information to all the people, and wish all the best to all the people having problems with tinnitus
Did it go away ?
Hi Dr Neil I just took my first dose of amitriptyline last night and when I woke up this morning I was mostly deaf in my left ear and then the ringing started about 2 hours later and it’s continuing to get louder and louder I need some advice as I’m scared to loose my hearing completely
Hi Devin:
Well, the first thing is don’t take any more of this drug and report to your doctor so he knows what you have done and why.
The good news is that give it a few days to two weeks or so, and often you’ll find that your tinnitus goes away and hopefully your hearing returns.
If you don’t take any more Amitriptyline, I don’t think your hearing will get worse.
Cordially,
Neil
I changed over from amitriplyline to
Mirtazapine 15 mg 18 months ago after my amitriplyline could have caused pulstate tinnitus in my left ear . I take it for sleep as I have insomnia is this a better alternative
Hi Teresa:
As far as my data goes, that is definitely a step in the right direction. I’d say you’ve reduced your risk of tinnitus by about 50% by changing from Amitriptyline to Mirtazepine on the average.
So all things being equal, I’d say it was a better choice.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil and other who read this.
From the end of this April I had begun suffering from pulsatile tinnitus in both ears , that began loud and ended to a low volume I could live with.
I was worried during this period , and my brother set me an appointment on 22 of May with his psychiatric friend.
The psychiatric lied to me and said the Amitriptilyne does not cause tinnitus.
He said ” dont look at the Adverse effect and don’t google it”.
I almost put the amitriptilyne in the trash bin, but at the end, after weeks of poor sleep, I decided to take the 25Amitriptilyne.
I took it with the Oxazepam as he ordered.
After 6 hours I woke up to a screaming tinnitus in my left ear, in the days later I felt it all over my head , that part ended.
But now I have pulsatile tinnitus much worse, louder , more prominent, faster,
different sound, more electric, more influenced by what I eat and my anxiety.
It is now almost 2 months after I took the medication.
I miss my old tinnitus. I didn’t hear it most of the day.
I am worried that this will last for years.
Hi Hanan:
Amitriptyline certainly isn’t the worst drug for causing tinnitus, but hundreds and hundreds of people have reported to the FDA of getting tinnitus or worse tinnitus after taking this drug. So how a doctor can say Amitriptyline doesn’t cause tinnitus is unbelievable. Doctors sure are ignorant of the side effects of the drugs prescribe. I say for the most part, they are willing ignorant.
How long had you been taking the Oxazepam. It, too, can cause tinnitus–but there are not near as many reports for it as for the Amitriptyline.
And who knows how the two drugs act together synergistically.
As you probably know, pulsatile tinnitus is caused by blood flow issues. Anxiety ramps up your blood pressure and you may then hear pulsatile tinnitus. So calming down can have the opposite effect as you have found.
A better solution that taking drugs is learning how to calm down. Diet, exercise and breathing exercises are all things that can make a big difference. If I were you, I’d practice these and other calming techniques and forget about the drugs.
The good news is that when they stop the Amitriptyline, numbers of people have found that their ear problems go away within 2 weeks.
Cordially,
Neil