Ramipril Has Massively Increased My Tinnitus :(

Hi all,


I’ve had Tinnitus for half my life now (I’m 32 and I’ve had it since I was 16)- It took me the first 5 years to come to terms with the fact that I’d never hear silence again, and then it just became part of me and I didn’t think about it very much (aside from taking hearing protection precautions)- until last week that is when my world has fallen apart.


My GP put me on Ramipril about a month ago to try and bring my BP down, and didn’t mention any of the side effects- I tolerated it well, but about a week ago I noticed that my tinnitus had been a lot louder than usual and I was hearing things I never heard before-it used to be that I’d only hear my T when it was quiet, now I can hear it ALL the time and it’s a horrible shrieking noise. At first I’d just thought, “Oh that’s odd, am sure it will settle down”- but when it didn’t, I thought- “I wonder if it’s anything to do with the Ramipril?”- I looked online and was absolutely horrified by all the stories and testimonies by people saying Ramipril had ruined their hearing. I don’t know what to do, I cant concentrate at work, I cant enjoy my own time, I feel so so miserable L


I’ve a lot of anxiety/ depression issues already, and this has just exponentially increased all the misery I feel- and has brought T to the forefront of my worry again. I phoned the doctor yesterday and said I wanted to come off the tablets because I’d read all the horror stories online, and he just said “yes, do that then, yes, they can cause tinnitus”- I thought why the **** didn’t you tell me that in the first place??!!??- you know my case history!!!!


I haven’t taken the tablets for the last 2 days now, but notice no difference with hugely elevated T- am really hoping that someone out there has had a similar experience, but that their Tinnitus settled down again eventually when they came off the Ramipril?- Do you think I have any hope that it will return to previous levels? L


Sorry for the massive long ramble,


Joe

 

Hi @Karen , thank you so much for taking the time to write to me! It's strange- up until this last week, I'd never seeked support with Tinnitus- i'd had it for so long that it was almost like a companion to me- especially as I only heard it when it was quiet! But this is just crazy- I consume a huge amount of Audio books and they're one of my main hobbies, and now I cant face putting the earphones on because of the racket my ears are making. I'm glad you're coping ok now! I'll try my very best to be patient and not freak out too much,

Best wishes,

Joe

 

@Karen Sorry to hear your story. Terrible how dr's don't warn about the side effects. Really distressing hearing this

 

@Karen
Thanks...I'm doing fine. I habituated pretty quickly. I always have that fear that it will get worse. When I hear stories like yours it upsets me. Like you said we have to move on. We also need to be careful in the future about what medications we take. I worry bout my son, he suffers from depression. Just started taking Lexapro. Low dose. That's all he needs is to get T. Well have a good night. Robert

 

Thanks @Karen , I'm hopeful it will start to settle down a bit fairly soon- the most distracting part is that now it's a high pitched screech that cuts through normal day-to-day sounds. I've looked out my old maskers that I had when I was 16 (wow, has it been so long!?!) and am wearing them now- helps a bit! It's weird though- since I've had my T from such a young age, i'd gotten so used to the normal quiet hiss that I heard at bed-time, and as weird as it sounds it was the one thing that remained constant in my life through all the low points. It was always there like a little familiar voice in my head, and I think if someone had said "we've invented a cure to take away T completely!" I'd have said "I'll have to think about it!" Now though, I wish I could go back in time a few weeks and stay completely away from BP meds! I'll have to do the same as you I think- focus on lifestyle changes,

Best wishes and take care,

Joe

 

really sorry to hear this, OP. i hope it settles down for you soon.

the more threads like this i see, the more determined i am to just not go to doctors, not take pills.... why are you being put on ACE inhibitors when you're 32?