St John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum)

A friend of mine told me about this herbal remedy against depression and I wondered if it could be of help with tinnitus.

I've taken the recommended dose for depression for five days and I was excited about the reduction in volume it brought.

I'm sure that it was due to the Hypericum, however today I had a rough day and was kind of down cause I really thought that I had finally found something helpful.

I know that I should give this approach more time to evaluate things.

Has someone tried Hypericum Perforatum (i.e. St John's Wort) for tinnitus and can share some experiences on it?

 

There is a thread on this topic here which may help you - https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/st-johns-wort-for-depression.18326/

I tried it during the initial stages; it made my tinnitus worse (only a temp spike). Like the majority of these supplements, they will do nothing but reduce your bank balance. And for the people they do help, its highly anecdotal.

 

St John's Wort has many interactions with other drugs. Beware!

 

the evidence for SJW, at least as far as depression, is a lot stronger than most supplements have for anything. It's far from completely understood, which is sort of inescapable when dealing with plants that have ~dozens of different active compounds. But, a good number of the alkaloids and flavonoids in SJW have been identified and mapped:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12775192

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2234633/

There are other studies, as well. So, while I would strongly agree that the evidence for the efficiency of most supplements is poor/anecdotal, I don't feel that way about SJW.


When my mood really tanks, I do tend to add a consistent amount of St. John's Wort into my usual daily herbal cocktail, and I do think it's moderately helpful. Sometimes it seems to actually help tamp down the ringing, but that's a lot more hard to quantify than the other effects I notice.

Note that pharmaceutical SSRIs actually tend to downregulate 5-HT2 receptors over time. I don't know if anyone has done a long enough study on SJW to look for that same effect.

 

You may be right but I have been taking St John's Wort for many years and haven't noticed any adverse reactions with my Blood Pressure medicine or other meds that I take. However, I agree it is best to be prudent so one should have a word with their doctor before taking it. St John's Wort can be a good alternative to prescription antidepressants to help with tinnitus.

Michael

 

As someone says over here, SJW is basically a natural SSRI. But as far as I know, it's a lot weaker than chemical SSRIs. I have previous experience with two different SSRIs for depression, and in the 15 years since I've concluded that they probably did me no good. I AM using SJW now though, just to see if it has any help on my pretty severe depression and anxiety due to T.

 

So what the verdict on st johns wort? Is it safe for a tinnitus sufferer to take without increasing current tinnitus levels? Has anyone, or know of anyone, either getting their tinnitus or a permanent increase in volume from taking st johns wort? Thanks!

 

See the latest issue of Tinnitus Today magazine, which is currently online, published by the American Tinnitus Association. This issue's topic is meditations and tinnitus, and supplements, and SJW is included but only regarding its possible dangers, such as interference with RX drugs (page 23).

 

I started drinking some SJW sun tea this past week (pretty strong), and immediately noticed a bit of stimulation, accompanied by a somewhat subtle increase in tinnitus. By the next day, I was noticing a paradoxical sense of stimulation AND relaxation.

I experimented with different amounts of tea, and had both positive and uncomfortable effects. The main positive is that my energy increased, and which has continued. This is BIG for me because I have ME/CFS and Lyme. My cognitive function and ability to sleep both increased as well.

The main downside is that I at times felt a little too stimulated, but feel it’s from taking too much. But by last night I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. Also, my tinnitus has been noticeably subdued for the past 3-4 days (even when I had moments of feeling a bit too stimulated). So, brief tinnitus volume increase on day 1 (perhaps 2), and less volume since.

 

St John's Wort increases serotonin. It has to be avoided when taking most AD to avoid serotonin syndrome.
Also, there is an article in Cells Reports claiming that serotonin may worsen tinnitus.
https://news.ohsu.edu/2017/08/22/study-suggests-serotonin-may-worsen-tinnitus
Yet, there are studies showing that Amitriptyline and Sertraline may lower the volume. It's a jungle

 

@Chinmoku -- Good point. There's also a lot of contraindications for people taking various prescription medications. A frequent key factor is SJW's ability to quickly detoxify these drugs out of the body. Here's a link:

St John's Wort: Important interactions between St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) preparations and prescription medicines

 

This could be worth a shot, given my strong reaction to prescription drugs and looking for something I can tolerate better.

Has anyone found it helpful for hyperacusis as well as mood?

 

@Mister Muso

I have taken St John's Wort many times over the years and I'm currently using it. I have found it most helpful in reducing stress and anxiety that's associated with tinnitus when severe. I haven't noticed any adverse side effects.

Michael

 

@Mister Muso

I also take two types of blood pressure medicine and St John's Wort doesn't interfere with them. It is a good alternative to prescription antidepressants although it must be said, it is for mild stress and anxiety and can help with lifting one's mood.

 

curious, do you mind my asking what brand and dosage of St Johns Wort that you recommend? I have been thinking of trying this but know very little about it. thxs

 

HI @JudyM

I have taken different brands of St John's Wort over the years and never had a problem with them. It usually comes in two strengths and these are approximates: 150mg or 300mg capsules. Regarding dosage I follow the instructions on the bottle. Normally, it is one capsule taken twice a day although some brands recommend three times a day. I take the higher dose, from a company called SWANSON that I buy from ebay.

The dose is one 375mg capsule taken twice a day. It can be bought from most health food shops such as Holland & Barrett here in the UK and believe known as SWANSON in the USA. They have online stores too. St John's Wort can be bought from Amazon.

I have been advised by different doctors over the years, that it is a good alternative to prescription antidepressants because it is herbal and can help treat mild stress and anxiety. It is used a lot in Europe but should not be taken if someone is already taking a prescription antidepressant.

Hope this helps.

Michael

 

Hi @JudyM -- Different brands of St. John's Wort can vary widely in their composition, strength, and effectiveness. The way it impacts different people can vary widely as well. The best thing I would recommend is to start out relatively slowly, and gradually increase over a matter of days.

I've used SJW for many years, and harvest my own. I make my tincture from the flowers and buds of the SJW plant, whereas most commercial preparations use the entire plant, and are thus much less potent. Most say they've "standardized" their product to a certain percentage of hypericin (usually .3% if I recall correctly).

But it's not even known for certain whether this is the active ingredient that helps alleviate depression, anxiety, and other issues. There are several other ingredients that may be just as, or more important than hypericin. Or they may have to all work together synergistically (that would be my best guess). I've did a lot of research on SJW many years ago, and compiled a lot of the information I found, which I posted on another post. You can access it at the following link:

St. John's Wort Information Sheet

 

Hi, I've just felt obliged to write a little warning regarding SJW. I'm suffering from some anxiety and insomnia and used to take SJW without any problems for 2-3 months and I think it helped me get back on track. I did stop for several months but when my insomnia reappeared I've decided to start taking it again.

I only took 1 capsule (I think it's 300mg) in the morning and during the night I woke up with mild headache and some tinnitus which I really didn't know that it's called like that back then. It went on its own in the next day. I was sure that SJW wasn't the problem as I've taken it before but still I've waited for three days before taking another capsule. Again the same thing happened tinnitus started during the night and that was before 3 weeks and it didn't go away this time. Again it decreased a little bit on its own I stupidly decided to try a third time - same result - increase in volume.

I went to ENT and an otto-neurologist and they both said that my hearing is fine and they can't see anything wrong. My prescription was Ginkgo biloba which I've taken for several days but then read that it doesn't do much and stopped.

I feel very stupid now that I've learn what tinnitus is and that it's not harmless. It's mostly irritating and not very high volume but still a constant high frequency buzzing in my head. Feels like there is one buzzing in the right ear and another slightly different buzzing in both ears. Sometimes it goes down a little than it goes back up. I'm just wandering if that would still happen if I never took the second capsule or if the whole thing is just a coincidence and my anxiety and insomnia would have triggered the tinnitus anyway. I don't really know. To me it looks that SJW triggered it or at least made it stronger and I simply didn't noticed it before. So be careful.

 

Lane,

I've just started to take SJW, 400 mg per day in evening (capsules). Mostly to calm me down and to get a better sleep (I started to get up at around 3 am and not be able to sleep back again, but that was my problem even before the onset of tinnitus).
How long can SJW be taken without any concerns?

What about Valerian root? Can one get used to it with long term use? Can it be combined with SJW?
Thanks.

 

Hi @LanaK -- I assume this would be a very individual thing. I gave some SJW tincture to my sister and her husband at one point. It made a dramatic difference for her sense of well being, but it apparently seemed to cause a sense of irritation with her husband. Interestingly, she took it for about three years, and all of a sudden it didn't seem to work for her anymore (I can't remember why not).

I've heard that it's good to take breaks from herbs, so that they don't lose their effectiveness. But again, I think it's a real individual thing. But if you have any concerns about taking it longer-term, you might want to take it for 3 months or so, then take a month off. I would suggest trying to be as intuitive about it as possible. -- I've noticed my sleep is disrupted when I take Valerian Root, and tend to have strange dreams as well. But I seen no reason why the two can't be taken together for those that do well with both of them. -- Best...

 

There is research suggesting serotonin may worsen tinnitus. SJW increases serotonin, so this would be consistent with that. An alternative could be a gentler serotonin enhancer, like a precursor. Tryptophan could be good in this sense, it would not be as powerful as SJW but it would still enhance serotonin.

https://news.ohsu.edu/2017/08/22/study-suggests-serotonin-may-worsen-tinnitus

 

Valerian root enhances gaba. It's not as addictive as benzodiazepines but I would be wary of using it continuously for months and months.

 

Are they saying that it makes the tinnitus worse, i.e. louder, or the anxiety associated with tinnitus?

 

I'was taking it for 2 months and it seemed to me to be less effective after that time, so I stopped it and have taken SJW instead now for 4 days with hope to gain some more sleep again.
I still don't know how efficient it would be, but was thinking the same as you said: taking it for say 2 months, then try with valerian again.... to not get used to it

 

Louder I understand

 

@Chinmoku -- Which sounds like a good reason to start slowly with SJW supplementation; until a person can discern whether it's helping or possibly hurting. -- I'm currently experimenting with (liberally) applying SJW oil on my neck and ears before going to bed at night. I"m getting a subtle sense it might be helping, but I'll need more time to make a more accurate determination. -- I've read reports of tinnitus improvement from applying various essential to the ears as well.

 

But they are talking about SSRIs, not anything that increases serotonin.

Not many conclusions can be drawn from the article.

 

Has anyone experienced vivid dreams (like from typical SSRI's) while taking St. John's Wort?

 

No, but if I ever missed a dose from my SSRI, I would have very vidid dreams every time. So I definitely think there’s something to it.

 

I've been taking St John's Wort since the onset of tinnitus, after discontinuing both SSRIs I tried which possibly caused/worsened my tinnitus. I'm now wondering if it might be contributing to my problems...

Anyone else have any testimonials on St John's Wort?