Antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOs, TCAs, TeCAs)

Good stuff. Glad your tinnitus improved. Did the drug affect your mood, or your tinnitus, positively or negatively?

 

My tinnitus is more stable now. It's hard for me to articulate, but it's not wildly fluctuating like last year. Sitting in meetings with essentially the undulating sound of an ambulance was very tough to cope with. It's still there though.

I think the drug had some effect, but not sure. They said it would slowly improve mood, rather than have an acute impact. I was making other lifestyle changes at the time as well, which definitely helped the tinnitus. Less intrustive tinnitus = better mood. I think it's one of the safer antidepressants.

 

Nice to see you Drone

Just FYI, I tapered off Mitrazepine very slowly last year and the withdrawal was awful -- Tinnitus and especially Hyperacusis really spiked, and I felt very unwell. But it all passed pretty quickly and I haven't been back on it since. No more weight gain!!

Just thought I'd let you know in case the same happens to you and you wondered what on Earth was happening like I did!

 

I take Frontin (Xanax) when needed, very sparingly. It reduces the shrillness and the volume of my tinnitus in 30 minutes, but unfortunately just for a couple of hours. Did nothing for my sleeping issues though which I started to take it for.

 

Nice to see you, too, Tanni.

I don't check the site every day anymore, but I do check every now and then.

I'm anticipating a spike of some sort, or general heightening. But I'm also looking forward to having my diet and hunger more under control.

 

Which AD is it?

 

How much weight did you gain? I gained a few stone when they stuck me on one of these drugs for a headache, had only just managed to lose it.

 

Wanted to add a Cymbalta data point. Bare in mind that my case of severe hyperacusis/tinnitus is unknown and likely immune system based; serotonin is known to interact with the immune system so take what you want from this. I tried it for 6 weeks.

The first week, I was a bit calmer. After that, it was all downhill. My condition progressively got worse. I have stopped and it is slowly improving again.

Another note: Cymbalta withdrawal is very real. I was only on it for six weeks, tapered for a week, then stopped. I had withdrawal symptoms and brain zaps for 3 weeks. Moreover, my hyperacusis and irritability was way up.

I don't regret trying it -- it could help some people. If you are thinking of trying it, know what you may be getting yourself into. My psychiatrist downplayed the withdrawal, as always.

 

Did you try other SSRIs like Paroxetine?

 

Good question. I actually am probably going to try Lexapro next. Although, since I'm on an upswing, I'm not looking to have another setback. I have a fear that serotonin was the thing making my problems worse since I've read that serotonin can stimulate activity in the DCN in rodents.

I sometimes wonder if nortriptyline would be beneficial. I haven't looked into Paroxetine.

 

Mirtazapine/Remeron. 30mg. It did come with a warning about how this should not be given to people who have suicidal thoughts, but it's not an SSRI.

About a stone. It's affected my hunger more than anything. I can go from finishing a meal and feeling stuffed to feeling very hungry quite quickly. I don't think it's good to be on these drugs for a long time, but I'm finding it's easy enough to take.

 

Thanks. Yeah that’s exactly what I had on nortriptyline.

Anyone else tried an antidepressant that’s good for sleep without being killer for weight gain?

 

I've read on different forums, Paxil (Paroxetine) being beneficial in very low dosages (5mg) for some. Mind you these are anecdotal. Have you tried any TCA's?

 

I have tried it and of course it didn't solve the hearing problem but I felt better. It was when my hyperacusis was severe, really really bad.

 

At some point I was taking an antipsychotic (quetiapine) as an attempt to calm my furious tinnitus. I noticed that even at ridicolously low dosages, where the antipsychotic effect would not show (no dopamine action) like 0.125mg (half a 0.25 pill which is an extremely low dosage), it would make me sleep a lot. Some people experience weight gain on that medication but it is not a given, and the low dosage might help avoiding this. At that dosage rather than as an antipsychotic it acts more as an antihistamine and perhaps anticholinergic drug. At 0.25 it was good in that it would make me pay less attention to tinnitus, but it would trigger tinnitus in my good ear on the negative side, so I stopped. Otherwise even the very low dosage 0.125 would help me sleep well at night and didn't increase my appetite (which would have been good as I need to get weight).

 

Does anyone have any experience with Effexor and tinnitus? Did it make your tinnitus worse? I am not to sure if it’s making my tinnitus worse or it’s a lingering effect from when I smiled weed for the first time in three years. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I looked into this for another forum member and discovered Quetiapine has a very high affinity for the alpha 2 adrenergic receptor. I have a hunch this is why it's such a good sedative (alpha 2 agonists are given to sedate animals very quickly) at low doses.

I have no idea the implications of this (for tinnitus or otherwise) but I do often see it touted as just an anti-histamine at low doses and this doesn't seem to be the whole picture.

 

Most anecdotal evidence on here when it comes to ADs and tinnitus tends to be negative. Among the AD's Effexor tends to be at the bottom of the totem pole. But remember it's anecdotal and people's experience vary; for some they work for others they don't. And if it works then people don't have an ax to grind so you won't see them here and/or any other forum. And remember ADs take a while to work. How long have you been on it? And what dosage? If it feels like it's making it worse than talk to your doctor. The only thing that smoking weed should do is give you a spike, which should settle down the next day. Personally, I see ADs as a last resort. And if I did take them I would give the older class of ADs (TCA's) a try over the SSRIs and SNRIs (Effexor). I would also start on the bare minimum dosage. PM if you need anything. I hope all is well.

 

Thanks for the reply! Yes I still don’t know if the tinnitus is getting louder from this medication or if my anxiety is getting worse and I notice it more. It feels like it is getting louder because I am noticing it more. But I am also feeling better for my depression. My tinnitus got to the point where I would not notice it for days, it was amazing. I have been on this medication for four days now. Yesterday at my moms house it seemed like my tinnitus disappeared for a good hour the silence put me in a panic attack cause I thought the tinnitus was going to come back with a vengeance. You said Effexor is one of the worst for tinnitus sufferers? My psychiatrist keeps recommending me anti depressants that are bad for tinnitus. I was on Cymbalta and it worked wonders for my tinnitus but messed up everything else. Lexapro made my tinnitus horrible.

 

Everything is anecdotal-meaning it's based on user experience my good friend . There is no scientific evidence to stay one AD is better or worse than the other for tinnitus. When it comes to Effexor it doesn't come up as much as, lets say, amitriptyline in terms of helping people. This doesn't necessarily mean Effexor is bad, as there plenty of people whose tinnitus was the result of amitriptyline and/or it made it worse. So I wouldn't get bogged down on what might be perceived to be a good or a bad AD for tinnitus; again there is nothing-no scientific evidence to say one is better or worse-it's all anecdotal. Experiences we share allows us to make better judgment but honestly no one knows what might work or not. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa. Does that make sense?

If Cymbalta did wonders for your tinnitus and you've had moments with Effexor where you've had silence, and it seems to help your depression... well... there are people on here that would give up God knows what to have moments like that. With only 4 days in, it sounds like you're worried of the unknown-where is it (tinnitus), will get worse, how long is the silence going to last and etc. Anxiety will make everything worse, whether it's tinnitus or you have back pain. Maybe give it more time? You sound smart and experienced I am sure you will use good judgment-let us know how it goes .

 

I am considering giving medication another try primarily for anxiety/depression. I do not really care about tinnitus anymore and have habituated to it without any noise masking. However, the mental aspect of hearing loss is something I struggle with.

I have tried Zoloft for 4 months but that didn't really do anything. I also tried Lexapro but felt it made my anxiety worse and dropped it after 4 weeks. I've had my fair share of therapy and these "acceptance" methods, yeah they can help sometime but a shitty situation remains shitty no matter how much you accept it in my opinion. It just makes suffering of the shit more tolerable.

I have had no luck with CBD oil so far, and my only other options are either Mindfulness or another form of medication, maybe SNRI's. Can anyone advise me based on their experience for anxiety/depression related to hearing loss?

 

I'm feeling the same. It was devastating to lose hearing, something that had been with me since I was born. I haven't been able to live with myself for unwittingly allowing it to happen. I very much feel your pain, my depression and anxiety has been unrelenting.

First I was on low dose amitriptyline just for sleeping purposes (did nothing for depression). Then when I completely broke down mentally, my Doc wanted me to try Prozac. I decided against it because I didn't want to risk the tinnitus getting any worse, plus the list of side effects looked vile. I asked to try Clonazepam despite all the risks associated with benzos and it's been a life saver. I take 0.5mg when I get up and it really helps ratchet down the anxiety that I wake up with every morning. It doesn't directly help with depression, but relieving the crippling anxiety has helped me to start to move on and rebuild my life.

 

Anyway, after careful reading of this thread for the most part, I am probably not going to go down the antidepressant route once again. Seems more risk than it's worth, especially if there are treatments being researched and being worked on that we can potentially see within the next 3-5 years.

I will keep focusing on mindfulness and acceptance to minimise the mental suffering up until the day the cure for this shit comes. Not ideal, but I didn't need medication to get over the issue mentally the first time around.

 

I'm in an identical situation. My hearing loss is much more depressing than my tinnitus. I've been on Celexa for about a week now and it's helping. So far, I haven't had any side effects but it's a low dosage (5mg). I may move up to 10mg daily.

 

Got some kind of loudness record now after 10 days on Mirtazapine which could be due to drug or stress that led to me to take it. I think the drug.

 

I know there’s loads of posts about Prozac but I have just taken one and feel awful, tinnitus is screaming and I’m so spaced out. What are people’s thoughts on taking it?

 

Taking Prozac was the worst decision of my life. I rue the day my doctor ever mentioned it.

 

Thanks I do really want to take an antidepressant to help my anxiety and stress but I’m so scared of them worsening things.

 

I have been on it for years and am still on it, but I am gradually trying to get myself off of it. It changed me and led to me getting tinnitus in combination with another drug.

Are you doing everything else to try to reliave stress and anxiety, eg exercise and good diet? In the end it's your decision on whether to take it or not, I'm just giving my personal experience.

 

Thanks - I only took it for two days but felt awful and I’ve been left with a headache that won’t shift (four days in now). Wouldn’t take it again. It made me feel spaced out and just horrible.