Did Antidepressants Help You?

Hi, I've now had tinnitus for a little over 2 years. I was habituating quite well towards the end of the 1st year but then had to go on doxycycline and ended up with worse tinnitus. It gradually started to get worse over time until now. It's as if the doxy started a snowball effect. I've learnt I have to take it again and I am putting it off as much as I can.

My question is, has anyone resorted to antidepressants eventually.

I'm spiraling and I don't know how much more I can take of this. I had an abusive childhood and it continued into my adult years unfortunately. I need help as I've reached a point where I don't see any meaning to life anymore. I want to be happy again and not let the tinnitus take over. It's so damn loud.

 

I am so sorry you feel this way. Have you tried counseling or other forms of therapy? Possibly seeing a professional can be very helpful. Meds are great, but are not always needed. There are many forms of therapy available today. If you do have to take meds, then i wish you the best of luck.

At times I'd really love to take something to fully relax me, but I am very sensitive to meds and have had many side effects, so I try to stay away from it. If it works for you and helps you, then great..

 

HI @Abby

I am sorry to know that you are feeling this way and fully agree with the advice that @fishbone has giving you. Please seek some professional help as this is what is needed. Please click on the links below and read my posts, that may help you to make the decision on getting some professional help.

Hope that you start to feel better soon.
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/why-is-my-tinnitus-getting-worse-and-not-improving.25291/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-mental-health.21978/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/

 

Hi, I was given Doxy last year for my eyes. It didn’t make T worse but sertraline seems to have made my T very much worse. It’s very, very difficult to cope with as like yourself I seemed to have habituated quite well. I’m now extremely cautious of all meds. I find I can now sleep without temazepam, only took a couple but the aggravated T is very hard to bear. Please be careful.

 

@Abby

Can antidepressants and other medications help tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a complex condition that comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same. It can be: mild, moderate, severe or extremely severe. Because its intensity can vary considerably, it can be difficult to know what another person is going through. When it is mild or moderate, many people are able to habituate to it and carry on with their life doing everything that they want to and may not always need a referral to ENT or a hearing therapist for treatment.

Tinnitus starts to become a problem when it loud and intrusive. If this level of intensity is sustained for a period of time, life can become a very traumatic experience, especially for someone that is new to the condition. A person’s once peaceful world has suddenly been invaded by an unwanted interloper, and it can seem there is no end to the nightmare that has befallen upon them. Insomnia, stress and anxiety are common conditions affecting such a person, which can often make the tinnitus, seem louder and more intrusive. Stress makes tinnitus worse and tinnitus makes stress worse. So, the more relaxed someone is the less intrusive the tinnitus will appear to be and often making life more tolerable.

If your GP suggests taking an antidepressant or a sleeping draft then I advise you to consider it. However, for various reasons some people are averse to taking medications, and when it comes to antidepressants or sleeping tablets they vehemently oppose the idea and prefer to deal with the problem without assistance from prescription drugs. Admirable as this might seem, coping with intrusive tinnitus isn’t easy. The usual methods of keeping busy to distract one’s attention from the noise or masking it with another sound so that it can’t be heard often prove unsuccessful and at times exhausting, because tinnitus is quite resilient and will put up a fight.

Contrary to what some people believe, antidepressants or other medications to help cope with tinnitus, don’t have to be taken long term and can act as a safety net, helping to prevent a person becoming too down. Remember, the less stressed and relaxed we are, the less intrusive the tinnitus will appear to be. This can go a long way in helping a person to habituate to the condition with time.

Some medications can make tinnitus more intrusive and this has been said about antidepressants. However, in many cases the effects are usually temporary. As we are all different it wouldn’t be right to say everyone that takes AD will be adversely affected. My blood pressure medicine is listed as “can cause ringing in the ears”. I haven’t noticed any increase in my tinnitus and I have been taking it for quite some time.

Life can be problematic even at the best of times. With the added pressure of coping with intrusive tinnitus, may advice is to try and make things a easier on yourself. Talk to your doctor and if an antidepressant or other medications is advised then try it and give it time to work, at least six weeks.

Michael

 

You sound depressed but meds don’t have to be the only answer. Gather in any emotional support that you can. Hug

 

I understand what you mean. I have mild bipolar (in my opinion) and have found that Lamictal can help with my mood.

 

I was on lamictal for 2 years actually. Doctor told me I had cyclothymia which is mild bipolar. Turns out I was just in a very bad relationship. I stopped lamictal when I got out of it and I was doing so well until the tinnitus got worse. I'm just wondering how to ease my reaction to it. Plus can't figure out why it keeps getting worse. I'm not exposing myself to loud noise and not on any meds. Have done many tests and nothing came out abnormal.

 

Unfortunately therapy for tinnitus isn't covered by insurance here and there are no therapists who deal with this issue. Not to mention how expensive they are. One session is about $180 to $200. i once went to a "tinnitus specialist" and he charged me $550 just to tell me that yes I have tinnitus and to buy his TRT program which costs another $500. I didn't buy it, I felt so ripped off and played. He had promised he could help.

 

Thanks Michael, appreciate the links. I think I read on one about listening to some form of noise to mask it somewhat. That helped a lot before but it's gotten so loud that nothing masks it anymore and I can't increase the volume as I'm worried I'll cause more damage. I tried it last night again and it helped somewhat but still wake up feeling horrible and so unlucky.

 

Thanks Nanny, I've been reading that a lot didn't get affected by it but I seem to have been the 1% that did unfortunately. It wasn't so bad but my ears became super sensitive to noise after that and even going to the mall aggravated me. I have to go back on them again. I'm hoping this time it won't have the same reaction but trying to find ways to cope from now , just to be prepared.

 

The same thing happened to me, escitalopram made my tinnitus worse and since that day my ears are extremely sensitive and my tinnitus get worse by everyday sounds, and this was not the case before taking an ssri. The sad truth is that you can never trust doctors about this stuff, or other people, most people and doctors just follow the times, and we live in an era where medication is handed out way to easily, my doctor want to give me sertraline at the moment, despite knowing my history, and thats been the case with every doctor I had. But even if I need it, its not worth the risk, these meds are a game of russian roulette for people like us.

Depression is a nightmare, but what can we do? Risk our ears? Again? Try to get therapy instead of risking your health, at least, try everything else before you take drugs, and if you must take something, dont take the same medication wich caused you damage the last time. I think its sad to see people reducing the risks, even when you write about how medication made your ears worse, they dont take it all to serious, when its actually extremely serious, its about your one and only life. I dont know why some members keep filling these forums with the same cut and paste bullshit all the time, but all I have to say to you Abby is please be careful, and dont rush the decition out of desperation. Best wishes!

 

Can you ask your doctor if there’s any chance there might be another medication besides doxy that you can take and isn’t ototoxic? I always ask about any ototoxicity and then do my own research. Otherwise I won’t take it. But if you absolutely must, it’s another story I guess.

 

Not at all. I've tried a few different kinds but some made me feel like a zombie, some did nothing and one introduced a new tone that fortunately went away after I stopped taking it. I'm sticking with talk therapy.

 

I actually ended up taking the doxycycline but I took it with NAC as another memberhere recommended that. Thankfully my tinnitus didn’t get worse and I think the bacteria is gone. I was supposed to go for a test today but fell ill so had to postpone and getting another appointment will take a while. I will keep you all updated but basically the doxycycline didn’t make my tinnitus worse and I have a strong feeling it is because of the NAC

 

I am happy to hear that the medicine did not make it worse this time but in the future, pretty not just ask for a different kind of antibiotic?

I have been prescribed antidepressants but I have chosen not to take them due to a correlation between them and tinnitus. It feels very hopeless as I don't know of any antidepressant that does not also make tinnitus worse. So for now I'm giving up on this kind of medicine.

You have been very outspoken on this particular medicine. I was recently prescribed the exact same thing by my new doctor. Your informative posts influenced me not to take it and I just wanted to know that I really appreciated your forewarnings. I'm going to continue to be very cautious about what kinds of medicine I take. For now I've decided that I don't think my anxiety and depression are big enough to take this risk.

 

I can honestly say that antidepressant medication helped me out of a dark period in my life with tinnitus and Menieres and sever asthma.
I also lost my dad 2 years ago and mum a year in June.
I feel good after the last two devastating years and now reducing medication.
So far I have reduced 25mg of nortriptyline and when I know im sleeping ok and no worsening problems will come off the other 25mg.
My head tinnitus has not come back but my ears still the same so it is down to see if I can sleep with out them .
Love glynis

 

Antidepressants can most definitely help when applied correctly and also used with therapy (CBT). They aren't magic and "can" have some side effects though. Also keep in mind that you may have to go on/off of them to find the one that works best for you as they function differently and each person reacts differently to them.

 

I checked all antibiotics for that particular bacteria and doxycycline came with the least chance of side effects. It was either I live with the bacteria that will cause worse symptoms over time or take the doxy. I didn’t really have a choice, I’m so happy it didn’t make it worse. Wondering why it didn’t do the same last time or maybe because this time I am much more cautious with my ears than when I took doxy over a year ago.