Antibiotics? Tinnitus Spikes?

I keep reading about people who are taking Augmentin, Amoxicillin and so forth. Or speaking of non-ototoxic pills. And then speaking of spikes. So I'm a little confused here. Could someone please clarify:

1. I'm assuming folks still taking these either because they still they have an infection or are still in the stage of infection? Is there another reason to keep taking antibiotics?

2. My Primary prescribed me Amoxicillin when he realized my inner ear was red. Amoxicillin is similar to Augmentin or the partial make up of Augmentin. From what I read it is non-ototoxic, meaning it doesn't really harm my body otherwise to take, but my ringing in the ears started even before going on the medication, so I'm trying to figure out the talk about all of this. What am I missing regarding non-ototoxic and further antibiotics that maybe I should be aware of? And of course the associated spikes being mentioned.

Thanks.

 

I think antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. I've never heard of other uses.

Some antibiotics are known to be ototoxic, so it's important to talk to your doctor about it, but also to research it on your own (don't just blindly trust doctors: do your own research). Ototoxicity isn't the only thing to worry about: for any meds you intend on taking, I suggest reading carefully about the side effects. We pay particularly attention to ototoxicity in here for obvious reasons, but there are many other side effects to look out for. Read about them and make your decision with data in hand.

 

Hi all,

In March I was suffering from frequent urination which for me is normally a sign of a UTI so while I was on holiday in Portugal in April I was given some antibiotics I had never had before, to take 2 sachets in water over 2 days. Short term relief (no impact on my tinnitus).

By end of May my symptoms had returned along with an intermittent ache on the left side of my groin so my urologist initially put me on Ofloxacin before I flagged to him that I had Ehlers-Danos syndromes (hyper mobility).

I was then switched to Doxycycline which I reluctantly took but by day 4 I was suffering from severe diarrhoea and a sharp intermittent stabbing pain in my left ear (which is where my tinnitus is worst) so I was stopped on those and moved to Trimethoprim (only slight worsening of my tinnitus at this stage). I only managed day 3 of these as the diarrhoea continued and I started to feel a pressure feeling in my head and both ears.

Now I get mild intermittent ear pain in either ear at various points in the day. Ironically since stopping, my urinary symptoms have vastly improved but my tinnitus has gradually worsened in my left ear to the point that I hear it most of the day and I have to listen to masking sounds in order to sleep. This is frustrating as until recently my tinnitus which I have had since 2013 rarely bothered me unless I had a sinus infection or neck issues.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I will never take Doxycycline again. Do you think this worsening is permanent?

 

Hello,

I started the antibiotic Doxycycline yesterday evening, 200 mg and follow up days 100 mg twice daily for 10 days.

Today after taking the third dose my tinnitus seems to have spiked pretty significantly.

I hate to stop taking it because it seems very effective but I am worried things will get worse with my tinnitus and it is weekend so I can't contact my doctor.

I read anecdotal and often conflicting stories about this antibiotic on the forum but overall it seems it has a pretty safe profile.

Any more experiences with spikes while on this drug? Most if not all I've read seem temporary.

Thanks in advance.

 

I've taken Doxycycline at least 2 times in the past with no issues at all. I just took it again and a lower dose than the last 2 times and it gave me slight dizziness a couple hours after each pill but nothing too bad. Then after exactly one week of taking the pill my tinnitus got louder than it's ever been, accompanied by fullness in my left ear. I also got extremely dizzy from certain tonal sounds.

I stopped taking it about 5 days ago and the ringing has reduced as well as the dizziness. My doctor told me this is rare to happen and that every person he's seen it happen to has resolved after a couple of weeks. I'm hoping he's right about that. It was extremely scary and I'll be very wary to take any antibiotic again in the future unless it's life or death.

 

Yes, I’m with you Randy. It has really put me off!

 

You got your tinnitus from Doxycycline as well? So it never went away at all?

I'm about 6 days from stopping it now and the ringing seems to be somewhat quieter today and I mostly have fullness in my left ear. I think I may have some fluid buildup in the left ear so maybe that happened as a coincidence and made the Doxycycline symptoms worse, or maybe the Doxycycline made it inflamed and caused some of the fluid buildup. Hard to say.

 

Antibiotics are what gave me tinnitus. I was sleeping in a noisy environment, had a bad cold, and was using earplugs. I suspect the antibiotics were what created the tinnitus, and having my nose blocked up and earplugs in created enough pressure to screw things up. I went back to my "doctor" several times about this, only to be told not to worry about a little ringing in my ears, it would go away after I finished the antibiotics. That was 20 years ago, it's still there.

 

No I didn’t get my tinnitus from Doxycycline, but a recent encounter with Doxycycline caused my tinnitus to spike and it took a good 3 months to calm down.

Then in November I went to a loud club and my new earplugs didn’t fit properly and protect me as they should, so that spiked my tinnitus again, and then most recently using the new AirPods Pro 2 spiked my tinnitus again so I’ve had to return them. This condition is relentless!

 

I have both tinnitus and MEM. I’m supposed to be put on Doxycycline for 10 days for Lyme disease. Sounds like a bad idea, for someone who’s already suffering from these conditions in my ears?

Another options are Phenoxymethylpenicillin and Amoxicillin. But I don’t know if they are less effective for Lyme.

Anyhow, what would you guys do? I really don’t want the ringing or the spasms in my ears to get worse, especially if it can get permanent from these meds?

 

Amoxicillin is not less effective for Lyme from my research. Actually Doxycycline doesn't kill Lyme, it disrupts their reproduction, so you take it long enough (28 days) to eradicate it all by not allowing it to multiply. Amoxicillin (14 days) kills Lyme by disrupting the cell membranes.

 

I am sorry you have Lyme, along with tinnitus and MEM.

I was diagnosed with Lyme and several coinfections in 2017, which I have since eradicated except for Borrelia (as per ArminLabs) with the use of traditional Chinese herbs (following Buhner protocol).

I tried Doxycycline and Phenoxymethylpenicillin at the start, which did nothing for my air hunger and heart symptoms. I recall my tinnitus didn't like the Doxycycline, alongside IV nutrients, so I stopped.

You're not going to eradicate Borrelia in 10 days with Doxycycline.

You need to address all different life cycles of the infection in order to get on top of it.

If you want to pursue mainstream treatment, then have a look at Marty Ross.

Otherwise, find yourself a knowledgeable Lyme literate naturopath, who is familiar with Buhner protocol (or buy his book and treat it yourself).