Tinnitus Caused by Wellbutrin — WHY Does Medication Cause Tinnitus?

I've had tinnitus for 4.5 months from Wellbutrin, but have no idea WHY, and frankly, why does it seem like no one is asking this question? My question pertains more for medications not involved in chemotherapy, which I think may have a more obvious answer: cellular damage. But for an NDRI? Or even SSRIs for some people (I had no issues with SSRIs aurally)?

I guess if we knew why, we'd be well on our way to a cure. The only things I always find that try to answer the WHY question are hypotheses/studies on noise-induced hearing loss or Meniere's, but I assure you, I have neither. Is there any research that was done on trying to answer this question? If so, I would love to skim through it. Any links would be welcome.

 

One of its side effects can be jaw clenching/bruxism and neck stiffness. Which are one of causes of sensorineural tinnitus.

 

Thanks for your post! I just read your story. I wanted to know what your tinnitus sounded like, namely, how you perceived it. Was it a constant pitch? Did it fluctuate at all?

 

@cls does yours fluctuate?

 

Hi Shaqz,

Sorry for the insanely late response. I must've not gotten notified of your original reply.

Yes, it does fluctuate, almost spasmic in nature. I have very bizarre symptoms. It's completely pattern-less (e.g. I can't predict when each event happens), but has a few notable characteristics:

- random 14khz-14.5khz pings. Once every minute or so, I'll get split-second pings (maybe 100ms at most? Don't know, haven't measured) that jump up to about 14khz. When this happens, I can physically feel the sensation (or at least my brain must be perceiving it as a physical sensation). Following the ping, tinnitus drops back to a random tone that is much quieter and much lower.

- random "sizzling" sensation. I get short, intermittent periods of silence (about 5-10 seconds). Then all of a sudden, the tinnitus starts and invokes a feeling that I find hard to describe other than "sizzling". This sensation I can feel as well.

- random pitch flutter. Once every few minutes, I'll get this flutter where the pitch changes from slightly higher to slightly lower to slightly higher. Hard to describe, but it is fluttering in nature (though not the same fluttering I see most people describe here)

- bad posture adds a secondary layer of tinnitus that is very shrill and ever-so-slightly painful. @Arahant 's strategies have helped mitigate this secondary tinnitus, but I am also seeing a professional RMT and chiropractor bi-weekly on top of self-stretching and self-massage.

- it feels spatially separate from noise-induced tinnitus. I went to a trivia night 6 months ago and while it wasn't too loud, I did have some mild ringing from the clapping and cheering; however, what's strange is that it felt like that ringing was spatially separated from the above. I question if my condition is neurological or physical in nature.

If I had to describe a pattern of any kind at all, it's probably like those stereotypical electrical arcs you see in video games and movies where the wire falls into water and you see the electricity come out of it in a random fashion.

Because of all of this, it has been hard to habituate, as even in loud environments, I can still feel the pitch changes and sometimes hear the pings. I'm a little over one year in since I ceased taking Wellbutrin XL 150mg.

 

Hi @cls, how are you getting on?

If you don't mind me asking, what dose of Wellbutrin were you on and for how long? And did you have any issues with hearing prior?