Microdosing Psilocybin Triggered My Persistent, Loud Tinnitus

Hi Folks,

I’m Amy. I’ve had ringing in my ears intermittently throughout my life, a few moments at a time. Nothing persistent or chronic though. I always passed those moments off as the wives-tales suggesting it meant someone was singing my praises (or talking about me), or they were ‘angels’ whispers’. Pleasant thoughts to wave away an unpleasant thing with. I never felt the need to take the ringing seriously because the moments were so few and far between.

Things have changed though. I recently started microdosing Psilocybin for trauma related issues. While it has helped in many ways, it seems to have triggered persistent, loud, tinnitus in both ears, that is almost unbearable. I’ve stopped the microdosing and am now in search of answers on how to deal with the tinnitus.

That’s how I found this forum.

 

Thanks for adding this data point, and sorry you had to produce it personally. This is interesting because I've personally spoken with several people, who with regular microdosing have brought their tinnitus levels down, but also others who like yourself have experienced a worsening.

Let's hope any switch that can be flipped one way can one day be flipped back.

 

Sorry that you have had a negative reaction to microdosing. I've been microdosing Psilocybin on and off for the last few months and it hasn't changed my tinnitus at all. I have been doing what's called the Stamet's stack with Niacin and Lion's Mane.

Do you have any idea how large your microdose was?

 

My experience is in line with @Amy Rosenthal.

I took a series of large Psilocybin doses to manage an intractable headache condition. In the process, it also cleared up my tinnitus.

But there are some things to keep in mind:

- The DIRECT effects of Psilocybin include auditory hallucinations like tinnitus. When under the influence, the ringing was always extra loud for me. It wasn't unpleasant, it was just loud.

- I think that focusing on the sound during "tripping" actually reduced my sensitivity to it. When the effects of the Psilocybin wore off, the sound faded off into the background. It seems like the louder it got during the trip, the greater the silence after it passed.

- Microdosing with tinnitus must be miserable, because every dose has always exacerbated the ringing for me, no matter the size.

- Macrodosing and meditating on the sound to control/reduce it is not easy. It is super psychologically challenging.

 

Would you say your tinnitus is completely gone?

Can you please share some additional details, when you got it, how, how long it took to go away etc.

 

@Lukee, is it completely gone? That's a tough question. If I am in a completely silent room, I can recall it if I concentrate hard enough. But if my attention wanders, it is gone again. When I meditate, I recall it on purpose and use it for meditation. I know that may sound nuts to you, but I think that amplifying it and concentrating on it during Psilocybin sessions is what got it under control.

 

I'd really like to see your audiogram though, to see if you're like some of us with noise-induced hearing loss or any other pathology (bone conduction results would be a nice to have).

 

I have actually never had an audiogram done. I did have an ENT examine my ear back when it started, but they did not see anything physically wrong with my ear.

Refractory hemicrania continua is a tough situation. To be honest, I was not interested in pursuing remedies for tinnitus back then. I don't know how to put this delicately, but the pain was my number one priority and I was not interested in "life" at all under those conditions. Maybe I would have felt differently had the pain resolved and left me with tinnitus alone.

I work at a Psilocybin retreat that is focused on pain management. My observations regarding Psilocybin and nerve damage/pain have been pretty consistent. With therapy, meditation, and multiple Psilocybin sessions, you can raise the threshold of perception on specific sensations. With the neuroplasticity stimulated by Psilocybin or other substances with similar properties like Ketamine, you can make that change more easier and more permanent.

The similarities between pain management and managing tinnitus are super interesting. "Masking" is used for severe pain conditions also, but in the form of a spinal stimulator. The stimulator "paints" over the pain with a slight tingly sensation, similar to the use of white noise to mask tinnitus.

I don't think that I have any pathology in my ear, and I don't seem to have any hearing loss. But now you have me curious about checking for differences between my normal and affected sides.

If you are wondering if this would work for someone with physical damage, then I don't have a clear answer. From my experience observing people with physical trauma (missing limbs, nerve damage, or concussion), it seems to indicate that it does. The nerves are producing a signal, that signal is uncomfortable, and you need to become flexible enough to put it below your threshold of perception.