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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 5:16:02
Does anyone else experience a humming or ringing in your ears as a side effect of your meds (especially Effexor or Cymbalta)? I have this with Effexor and now with Cymbalta but never with SSRIs.
I've read some old posts and have found it mentioned by people on some other a/ds, Zoloft, I think and maybe some others.
It doesn't go away with time since I was on Effexor for years and still had it the whole time. It seems to be very dose-related. AT 75mg it was unbearable. AT 37.5 mg it was annoying but tolerable.
I am wondering if anyone has a clue what causes it and more importantly, what you did about it? Did you ever find anything that helped it?
Please help/advise.
Marsha
Posted by King Vultan on September 10, 2004, at 7:42:34
In reply to Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 5:16:02
> Does anyone else experience a humming or ringing in your ears as a side effect of your meds (especially Effexor or Cymbalta)? I have this with Effexor and now with Cymbalta but never with SSRIs.
>
> I've read some old posts and have found it mentioned by people on some other a/ds, Zoloft, I think and maybe some others.
>
> It doesn't go away with time since I was on Effexor for years and still had it the whole time. It seems to be very dose-related. AT 75mg it was unbearable. AT 37.5 mg it was annoying but tolerable.
>
> I am wondering if anyone has a clue what causes it and more importantly, what you did about it? Did you ever find anything that helped it?
>
> Please help/advise.
>
> MarshaI have minor tinnitus, particularly in my left ear, and the only AD that ever made it noticeably worse for me was Wellbutrin, which is a common side effect of that particular drug. I was on Effexor numerous times and can't say I really noticed that it had any effect on the problem, good or bad. The drug that did have a definite positive effect for me was nortriptyline, which you will see mentioned here and there as a possible treatment at various web sites devoted to tinnitus. As far as exactly what is going on with these drugs and their effects on tinnitus, I'm afraid I don't have a good explanation.
Todd
Posted by awatts on September 10, 2004, at 9:21:40
In reply to Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 5:16:02
> Does anyone else experience a humming or ringing in your ears as a side effect of your meds (especially Effexor or Cymbalta)? I have this with Effexor and now with Cymbalta but never with SSRIs.
>
> I've read some old posts and have found it mentioned by people on some other a/ds, Zoloft, I think and maybe some others.
>
> It doesn't go away with time since I was on Effexor for years and still had it the whole time. It seems to be very dose-related. AT 75mg it was unbearable. AT 37.5 mg it was annoying but tolerable.
>
> I am wondering if anyone has a clue what causes it and more importantly, what you did about it? Did you ever find anything that helped it?
>
> Please help/advise.
>
> MarshaI was on Effexor and then Effexor XR. I had moderate tinnitus, but it very slowly went away. It took at least 2 months - maybe 3 - for the tinnitus to be completely gone. My final dossage was 150mg of Effexor XR. I also took 0.5mg of Clonazepam twice a day.
Posted by sooshi on September 10, 2004, at 16:14:59
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by awatts on September 10, 2004, at 9:21:40
I have had tinnitus ever since starting Effexor XR 5 years ago. It is very loud, BUT....I have damage to my inner ears from untreated ear infections as a child, which has affected my hearing, so I wonder if that has something to do with it too??? I take 350mg.
Posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 18:52:41
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by King Vultan on September 10, 2004, at 7:42:34
> > Does anyone else experience a humming or ringing in your ears as a side effect of your meds (especially Effexor or Cymbalta)? I have this with Effexor and now with Cymbalta but never with SSRIs.
> >
> > I've read some old posts and have found it mentioned by people on some other a/ds, Zoloft, I think and maybe some others.
> >
> > It doesn't go away with time since I was on Effexor for years and still had it the whole time. It seems to be very dose-related. AT 75mg it was unbearable. AT 37.5 mg it was annoying but tolerable.
> >
> > I am wondering if anyone has a clue what causes it and more importantly, what you did about it? Did you ever find anything that helped it?
> >
> > Please help/advise.
> >
> > Marsha
>
> I have minor tinnitus, particularly in my left ear, and the only AD that ever made it noticeably worse for me was Wellbutrin, which is a common side effect of that particular drug. I was on Effexor numerous times and can't say I really noticed that it had any effect on the problem, good or bad. The drug that did have a definite positive effect for me was nortriptyline, which you will see mentioned here and there as a possible treatment at various web sites devoted to tinnitus. As far as exactly what is going on with these drugs and their effects on tinnitus, I'm afraid I don't have a good explanation.
>
> Todd
That's weird. Mine is mostly in the left ear, too. And my nasal congestion is mostly on the left. I asked my PCP provider about it and she said it's almost impossible to diagnose a cause for it in most cases.Nortriptyline was one of the drugs that my new pdoc asked me if I'd ever tried. I had complained about the tinnitus on Effexor so maybe that was why he was asking me. It really scares me to think that Cymbalta might turn out to be a great drug for me depression wise and then I might not be able to take it because of the tinnitus. Although if it truly works great I guess I'd live with the tinnitus and just try never to be anywhere quiet.
Do you have a white noise machine for your bedroom? I have an old, really basic one from Hammacher Schlemmer and I couldn't go to sleep at night if I didn't have that to mask the ringing. IT really helps a lot.
Marsha
Posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 18:57:06
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a, posted by sooshi on September 10, 2004, at 16:14:59
> I have had tinnitus ever since starting Effexor XR 5 years ago. It is very loud, BUT....I have damage to my inner ears from untreated ear infections as a child, which has affected my hearing, so I wonder if that has something to do with it too??? I take 350mg.
I read that most people with tinnitus have some degree of hearing loss so it probably does have something to do with it. Your post made me remember that I had a lot of ear infections as a kid, too. I've even had doctors look in my ears and ask me if I'd had a lot of infections. My doctor said that because of the location of the auditory nerve it's really easy for CNS meds to affect it.I found that my tinnitus on the Effexor was very dose dependent. Maybe if you lowered your dose slightly the tinnitus would get better?
Posted by King Vultan on September 10, 2004, at 20:41:50
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE? » King Vultan, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 18:52:41
> > >
>
> Do you have a white noise machine for your bedroom? I have an old, really basic one from Hammacher Schlemmer and I couldn't go to sleep at night if I didn't have that to mask the ringing. IT really helps a lot.
>
> Marsha
Mine was never quite bad enough that it interfered with me going to sleep, and I've also learned to just live with it over the years. However, I must say that even though I'm in a fairly quiet room right now, I'm not even sure I can hear it, and I should be able to relatively easily. When I was looking into this last year, I think I read that MAOIs can also have a positive effect on tinnitus. Come to think of it, I really don't seem to have been noticing the problem much for probably six months now, about the length of time I've been on MAOIs. The exception was a month or two ago when I was going through a Nardil withdrawal and experienced quite a bit of weird tinnitus, very similar to what I've experienced on Effexor withdrawals.Todd
Posted by Tai Chi on September 11, 2004, at 7:19:50
In reply to Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 5:16:02
Dear 4WD,
I have suffered from tinnitus for years. I have found that certain antidepressants (Buspar, Effexor, Nardil) exacerbate it. Primarily, the tinnitus is in my right ear. After searching on the web, I found an extremely useful article which talks about a cognitive method for dealing with this condition. I highly recommend this technique. It has worked well for me, regardless of the level of the ear ringing.
Check out the following URL: http://www.earaces.com/TRT.htm
Best of luck,
John
Posted by Mariposa on September 11, 2004, at 19:23:39
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by Tai Chi on September 11, 2004, at 7:19:50
Yes, from Lexapro.
Posted by 4WD on September 11, 2004, at 20:05:44
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by Tai Chi on September 11, 2004, at 7:19:50
Thanks for the link. I gather the idea is learn to think of it in a positive as opposed to a negative way.
I don't even know if I can call it tinnitus. It feels/sounds like my brain is swollen and humming or roaring. There is a feeling of increased pressure in my head too.
Posted by sooshi on September 11, 2004, at 20:27:23
In reply to Re: Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a » sooshi, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 18:57:06
ooohh, I'm doing so well right now, I'd be scared to lower my dose!! I guess I've just learned to live with the noise, although I must say that being in a quiet room or outside when it's really quiet, it's OBNOXIOUS inside my head! I have to sleep with a fan or sound machine and have music on otherwise at all times. Man, that sounds pretty bad. Oh well...guess I've gotten used to it. Hopefully it will be just a passing side effect for you, or at least dose related...check with your pdoc.
Good luck with Cymbalta...I might be trying it someday,
Sooshi
Posted by BJM on September 12, 2004, at 14:27:38
In reply to Does anyone have tinnitus (ringing ears) as a SE?, posted by 4WD on September 10, 2004, at 5:16:02
I ended up with tinnitus ever since I first took Prozac over 10 years ago. Back then no one ever told me that it could be a side effect. Its never totally gone away but tends to get worse when I am overtired. It fades a little bit if I'm not taking Prozac. I think I've become more accustomed to it now but it definetly has affected how well I can hear. If anyone has any known remedies for it please let me know.
BJM
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