Tinnitus Due to Meds (Lexapro)?

Hello all, my name is Megan and I've recently started suffering with tinnitus.

I have always had anxiety, and on 12/7/2016, I had the worst panic attack of my life. I was prescribed Vistaril, which seemed to help me.

On 1/08, I went to the doctor who prescribed me with Lexapro. Just 5mg. At this point I had my anxiety under control, and maybe the Lexapro wasn't necessary but she advised I still take it. On 01/31, at around 3am, I suddenly felt a horrible ringing in my ears. I had no idea what it could have been. I then googled ear ringing due to Lexapro and have found I am not the only one that has gotten tinnitus due to Lexapro. I immediately stopped Lexapro. I was on it for only 3 weeks, and haven't had any withdrawal symptoms since the dose was so low.

I am still hearing the ringing in my ears. I can tell you it is literally driving me insane. It has not helped with my anxiety. I cry over it every night. I long for the days where silence wasn't unbearable. I feel so helpless and lost. I fear that this is permanent. I called the doc that prescribed me Lexapro, and she said she doesn't think it's from the meds. I have never had any hearing problems before this. I just turned 27 a few days ago. I certainly can't live with this noise for the rest of my life!

I am scheduled to go to the doc on Tues to get new meds, but I am afraid that any new med will make my tinnitus worse, which I fear so badly, typing this it is scaring me to death. Wed. I have an appt with an ENT, and hope they can help me. Maybe it is something wrong in my ears and now it is just coming up. But it seems like a coincidence with just having started the Lexapro.

If I knew this was a side effect, and that I would get it, I would have NEVER started the Lexapro.

Even going out in public is hard for me right now, as the ringing is messing with outside sounds and is getting me dizzy.

I just want this to go away. Will it ever? How can 5mg of a pill for 3 weeks do this to me? I am hoping it is temporary.

I asked my boyfriend and he apparently has always had ringing in his ears. He said to try to pretend it isn't there.. but its just not that simple.

I need kind words and maybe success stories to help me overcome this. I am so sick of feeling overwhelmed constantly, and when I go to get meds to get help... this happens.

I have been against any med or drug my entire life. This is my first ever prescription for anything.

Since the ringing in my ears began, Ive been constantly worrying over it. Googling it. Trying to find remedies. So far, I've tried ring relief, lipo flavonoids, and cleaning my ears with witch hazel + peroxide solution. Nothing has helped.

I'm thankful for finding this forum, and appreciate everyone's responses in advance.

 

Good that you have an appointment with an ENT, but don't get your hopes too high. They are often not very helpful when it comes to Tinnitus.
Still, they can help you start the diagnosis. Some causes are fixable. It sounds like you can't think of any trauma, so that's already positive.

If it really was induced by the drug, then there's a chance it will go away as the drug leaves your system. You can never really know with Tinnitus... it's so unpredictable.

Good luck.

 

Hi Megan,

Welcome to the site!

My first piece of advice for you is to take back control! Based on your post, it seems that things right now are spinning wildly out of orbit.

When you go to the ENT, make sure he or she gives you a hearing test after looking inside your ears/sinus cavity.

Hopefully, the ringing will go away as quickly as it started. However, know that it is not the end of the world since your boyfriend has it also. Good luck!

 

Hello all, thanks so much for your responses. I will take into account at the Ent what to ask for.

I went to my psych doc today to get new anxiety meds. My doctor actually didn't know tinnitus was a side effect. She didn't even know what tinnitus was. She literally got on google and then web MD in front of me to learn about it!! She only read about T for a minute and then gave me new meds. It would be nice if she seemed like she cared. She isn't the one that has to live with T.

She told me I must have sensitive ears. I did have a few ear infections when I was younger, but it was no big deal. It wasn't ever a problem. Just a few ear drops and I was on my way.

I researched for hours and hours, and gathered a small list of the best meds that wouldn't affect tinnitus. I did my work. Still, she didn't prescribe me anything off of my list.

She said some of the pills are addictive. Obviously, but I do not have an addictive personality. I get nervous when I take ibuprofen for god sake.

She still prescribed me with Elavil 25 mg at night for a week. I am terrified of taking any new meds, and the anti anxiety stress relief meds I got OTC seem to be helping me. So, I'm not taking these new prescribed meds until at least tomorrow when I see what the deal is with the ENT.

Luckily, this place does TRT. If anything, I will do that.

My ears are a tiny bit lower, and seems to only be in my right ear now. Hopefully that means its going away?

Best wishes to you all.

 

and...

"I know nothing about this condition, but I'll tell you what's the likely cause for you"

Unfortunately, your case isn't that uncommon: I was sent to a psychiatrist after my onset, specifically to help me with Tinnitus, only to find out that she also didn't know what Tinnitus was. And she was experienced (read "she looked old enough to have a lot of experience"), so you'd think she would have come across this condition either during her practice or through reading and education, but no...
Very disappointing, but it goes to show how little awareness there is (even in the "right circles").

 

So true! It's so upsetting. I'm just baffled as to how she has never seen this side effect before. Or let alone even heard of it.

I forgot to mention she started looking up Meniere's. I don't think I have that, and I think she was giving me meds based on if I had Meniere's. All she was doing was scaring me into thinking I have something worse than I probably have. I had to tell her twice to look up Tinnitus, not Meniere's. The first time she ignored me!

Just crazy.

 

In which countries do u all live...medicine education without knowing T..

My brother studies medicine at university and learned about T recently, he told me they learned how debilitating it can be. As if we didnt know that.

 

Your story reminds me of mine because after I saw the first T-ignorant psychiatrist, I got sent to another one who did know about T, and guess what he prescribed to me?
Lexapro.
I asked "but what are the side effects of this drug?" and he answered me "oh, almost nothing, it's very safe to take".
When I got home and started reading up on it, I found out about the laundry list of the risks and side effects and decided to not take it.

 

HI MEGAN, I've been having the same problem aftter taking lexapro 10 mg for 28 eight days. Everything was going well till one day I woke up with this buzzing noise in both of my ears along with hipercussis. I've stop taking the medication for a month and 1 week now hipercussis has faded away but I still have the tinnitus. I've been looking for someone with a similar experience but I wasn't able to find young people like me ( 24 years old). I'm really scared that this might be permanent but I'm still hopeful that it will fade away. So my question is how is it going so far? And sorry I'm Braziliam so my English is not the best.

 

Hello! I want to let you know that if your tinnitus is due to Lexapro, it WILL go away. I had mine for almost two months and after about a month it slowly started to fade away and then I heard nothing at all. Some random days I hear a little humming but it only lasts seconds. But mine has gone away.

About a week in, I got steroids at the ear doctor and that REALLY made it go down.

I also feel that caffeine may have had something to do with it. I now stay as far away from caffeine as I can.

I wish you the best of luck and please know that it will get better.

 

Thank you so much Megan you gave me a lot of hope. Really thank you so much.

 

Hey Megan, that is fantastic. What steroids did you take? Is there a specific brand and why did the ENT give them to you?

 

I am on 20mg of Lexapro for 4 months and it does help with my anxiety ,but now I have tinnitus. Will this go away and how long does it take?

 

Hi. The best way would be to wean yourself off the dosage if possible since for some meds cold turkey can cause more problems. Then wait for 2 weeks for the medicine to exit your system. Stress and noise are linked to tinnitus so in this time try relaxing things like a spa/massage day and avoid things like going to the movie theater.

Report back to us how you feel!

 

Talk to your doc about considering another option. If Lexapro was the cause of your T, there is a chance (but not guarantees) that your T will go away after you discontinue usage.

 

Thank you Greg CA and Red. I still have the T but worse when I am tired or stressed.I will mention it to my psych. In January or call him earlier.The Lexapro has difinetly helped with my anxiety so I do not want to stop taken it. I am still wondering if it will go away or become lessened.Please reply if anyone has good feed back for me.God Bless.

 

I started taking Lexapro around 2008. It helped with my anxiety and depression. I started getting tinnitus after being on Lexapro for a few years. I got off of Lexapro in roughly 2014 due to other side effects. The tinnitus did not go away. mine for almost two months and after about a month it slowly started to fade away and then I heard nothing at all. Some random days I hear a little humming but it only lasts seconds. But mine has gone away.

About a week in, I got steroids at the ear doctor and that REALLY made it go down.

I also feel that caffeine may have had something to do with it. I now stay as far away from caffeine as I can.

I wish you the best of luck and please know that it will get better.

 

Hi I still have tinnitus after 5 mo of taken lexapro 20 mg. Will it go away? Please only positive experiences. The med has helped with the anxiety so I do not want to stop taken it.

 

Hi all,

I began taking Lexapro 5mg on Nov 4th, and two days later I woke up to a shrilling ring in my left ear. I stopped the medication one day after that... so about 4 doses of Lexapro... my ear is ringing a month later, which leads me to believe it wasn't the Lexapro...

I went to an ENT who ruled out hearing loss, but then attributed it to "some people just get tinnitus". I'm not happy with this conclusion. How do I go to bed one night and wake up with my body being changed forever? Any help / suggestions / success stories would be wonderful.

Thank you all...

 

Don't think for a second that it couldn't be the meds. It could be, and it probably was (based on what you have written). It sucks to go to bed one day and then wake up to a totally new reality.

How did the ENT rule out hearing loss?

 

I met with an audiologist at the ENT office, they completed the normal put me in a room and hear beeps, checked pressure in my wars, etc. Still ringing as i type this the ENT just told me that it happens to some people, but im not honestly satisfied with that answer...