Poll: GERD PPI Medication and Tinnitus

Health problems don't take a break when you have tinnitus!

GERD has been known to cause hearing loss and tinnitus on its own. This makes it tricky when looking at the ototoxicity of PPI drugs because we don't truly know if GERD is causing it or the drugs themselves.

I wanted to do a poll to see what anecdotal reports we have regarding these drugs. When voting please specify which drug you are referring to in the comments. Also as indicated below, short term use would be less than a month and long term use would be more than a month.

Some interesting reading material about this subject:

1) Prospective Study of Gastroesophageal Reflux, Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors and H2-Receptor Antagonists, and Risk of Hearing Loss

"GERD symptoms are associated with higher risk of hearing loss in women, but use of PPIs and H2-RAs are not independently associated with the risk."

2) Tinnitus Today - Summer 2018 (PDF)

This is from the ATA where they have a "TOP 20" for tinnitus causing drugs. I find this list to be deceiving because a couple of the medications, like benzos, only results in tinnitus if you abuse them or take them improperly. This makes me question the authenticity of this list. Also, the Q&A at the bottom is heavily influenced by Neil Bauman, who is the CEO of Center for Hearing Loss Help. This organization has been discussed here many times so I am not going to get into it here, but they have been problematic in the past.

3) Tinnitus Talk: Omeprazole

Lastly, this is a post from Dr. Nagler where he says the following:

 

Anybody?

 

I stopped taking Omeprazole when I got tinnitus. Prior to that I took it for like a decade. GERD is an issue on both sides of my family. So I can’t answer the survey, but maybe it contributed to me developing tinnitus.

Here’s another article I don’t know if you’ve seen:

Possible Effects of Proton Pump Inhibitors on Hearing Loss Development

 

I have had GERD for my entire life and have been on Nexium daily for years. I don't think it ever had any impact on my tinnitus/hyperacusis. If so, it's very minor and I cannot go without the medication.

 

Between Prilosec and Nexium, I went with Nexium. What is your dosage?

 

I saw this study, but it doesn't seem to be very conclusive. They basically end it with theories as to why it may affect hearing, but there is no concrete evidence directly to PPI.

 

For the most part, I take 20 mg of Nexium daily. I've been higher, and even unsuccessfully tried to wean lower. I have a condition in my esophagus so I have to take it.

 

My family also has a history of GERD issues so I hope I don’t have to be on it long term. Trying to change my diet around too to see if it helps.

 

I know this post is a little old, but my acid reflux has been killing me the last few months so I was searching around to see if anyone had posted on it. I actually think there's a link between my tinnitus and my gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) — they're my two main health problems.

As far as the poll goes, I believe Prilosec spikes my tinnitus. It is, however, very effective in reducing acid reflux. I've been on and off of it for years. At some point during my tinnitus journey I read that PPIs effect tinnitus, which is why I didn't constantly stay on Prilosec, but now I can't seem to find much of a link (in fact, I saw one study that said PPIs may help tinnitus [1]).

More recently I've read that there are very negative side effects to being on PPIs long term (kidney problems, bone problems, dementia). Doctors didn't know this 12 years ago, which is when I last saw a GI (he basically told me I'd need to be on PPIs for life to control the reflux). I've been debating going again, though I'm in the middle of trying to lose weight, so I'm thinking of waiting until I progress further before talking them (since I know that would be the main recommendation).

[1] Tinnitus in patients on therapy with PPI and in PPI non–users.

 

I took Lansoprazole for 6 years and never had tinnitus. Then I quit taking it after my tinnitus onset but that had zero impact on the tinnitus.