Tinnitus from Propecia Hair Drug

Hi guys. I'm a 47 year old man from Norway who got tinnitus after stopping the hairloss drug Propecia after 16 years use.

Got tinnitus in my left ear a few weeks after stopping it, it's like a 3/10 I guess.

Also got some weird issues going on in the right ear with popping, fullness and hearing my own voice fom time to time, especially after I have been working out, think I may have some issue with my eustachian tube as well - THANK YOU Åropecia!

Going to the ENT on the 8 June. I'm also going on a flight in 3 weeks time and I'm a bit worried if it will make my problems worse.... Anyway have been a lurker in here since March and I thought it's time I registered.

 

Damn hairs. They're always trouble, whether on our heads or in our cochleas.

Welcome!

 

Thank you for sharing your story. I have been on Proscar/Propecia/Finasteride for about 8 years now...

 

Hello Rune,

Sorry to read that you got Tinnitus...

"Welcome" on this website anyway...

Regarding the flight, what you can do is buy a pair of anti-pressure earplugs (Pharmacy) and use them during taking off and landing... And also buy a pair of regular earplugs for the flight, in case the sound of the plane gets too strong for your ears...

All the Best

Christophe

 

One brand is called Earplanes.

There is a lot of discussion on this forum regarding handling flights. Many people suggest wearing Peltor ear muffs. I plan to wear earplane earplugs under my Peltor ear muffs...

 

I think it depends if the sound seems intolerable for you... Do you have severe H ?

 

I don't have H.

The only useful thing my ENT said to me was for me to try to protect my ears. It can get over 100 db (or even over 110 dB, in turboprop planes) during takeoff and landing inside of the cabin of an airplane. Makes sense to take try to protect your ears from that noise.

 

Thank you for the welcome guys. I was thinking of using Bose noisereducing headset for takeoff/landing + chewing gum, is this a good idea? or is anti pressure airplugs better?

 

If you search for "bose noise cancelling headphones" on this forum, you will see that some people think that it can cause tinnitus. My plan is to wear earplugs with my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. This way, my ears ought to be protected from the headphones, and the noise will be reduced by an additional 5 dB or so, in addition to the reduction provided by Bose headphones.

I am not sure why you want to take off your headphones after take-off. They are comfortable, they don't look goofy like Peltor muffs. Why not get all of the protection you can, for as long as you can?

 

How can noise cancelling headphones cause tinnitus? this sounds weird? and yes I did a search...didn't find much - hate those regular earplugs, they hurt my ears...

I thought the change of airpressure with take off/landing could possible make my tinnitus worse - up in the air the noise and pressure is usually not that bad, thats why I said take off/landing

 

First of all, I was going to use EarPlanes earplugs under Bose noise-cancelling headphones, not just regular earplugs. Sorry about the confusion.

It is also not very clear to me how Bose headphones could be bad for the ears.

Search for "cancelling headphones" (with quotation marks) and you will see a number of discussions about these headphones. Many people love them, but some report bad experiences. I believe that wearing any type of an earplug under them will be all that is needed to not have to worry about the negative experiences like
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...fter-using-noise-cancelling-headphones.10403/

 

Keep in mind that almost every drug and every treatment that had been reported as being effective for some t sufferers, has reports of it causing T. So I wouldn't worry too much about people's concerns about Bose headphones.

 

Was T listed as a side effect of propecia? I am glad I stopped taking it but it was the result of having some really bad side effects because of it. That drug is poison. I just shaved my head recently. Best move i ever did. Hang in there man...the beginning is the rough part. You will get through this.

 

It is my understanding that some people start experiencing tinnitus after they discontinue propecia. My hope is that if one does it gradually, the chance of it happening will be lower....

 

Yes not on the label but it is a official sideeffect...it sure is poison - I wish tinnitus was my only sideeffect from it....hope you have recovered from your sides..I crashed bad a few days after quitting, still having problems...

 

I did man...it was scary...one of the scariest times of my life. The doctor told me I was crazy and i suffered for weeks hoping i would get back to normal. Luckily I did but unfortunately i ended up getting T eventually but due to something else that could have been prevented with proper warning. I am sorry to hear you are having other issues but if there is one bright spot it is that I did get over my sides from propecia.

 

What happened, if you don't mind me asking?

I have been taking it for over 8 years now...

If you don't mind sharing this, what were your complaints?

 

Check propeciahelp.com - be very careful with that drug, I took it for 16 years almost without any sideeffects and got like 10 of'em when I quit

 

Thank you for the link. Did you quit because you developed a side effect? Do you think there might have been fewer side effects if you were to quit more gradually?

 

I don't really know, some have tried cutting down other just quit cold turkey...some get sideeffects and some do not....last month before I quit I took the pill every other day instead of every day...didn't help me...mentally I'm getting better, but a lot of shit has not improved I'm sorry to say.

And no I didn't quiet because I got a sideeffect, just gotten older and shaved my head

 

Thank you, @Rune B ...

 

Yeah i figured i would stay discrete at first but i had erectile dysfunction. I could not maintain or get an erection. I stopped taking it immediately after it happened. It was scary as hell. Had no feeling in the area and even had some pain but that was after i stopped. I asked my hair doc at the time for help and he told me its all in my head smh. This was coming from one of the best hair doctors in NYC! After about a week i regained my ability to function but then after a couple of days I lost it again and the cycle repeated for a while. No sensation to anything at all. It was a rollercoaster ride from hell. Really drove me crazy especially after all of the horror stories I read online. I eventually got things working again but it took a while. My main doctor explained to me that my hormones were probably out of wack and needed to re-adjust. They tested my blood and determined that I had low testosterone.* I would say that for the amount of time you have been taking it you should be ok but you really never know with these drugs. A friend of mine has taken it for years with no issues.

 

Thank you for the information, @Jomo . I was aware of the possible erectile dysfunction side effect when I began taking the drug. However, I am single and celibate (and plan to stay that way), so I would probably keep taking the drug, even if that side effect were to manifest itself. My job involves public speaking, and a shaved head happens to not be a good look for my particular face. I was planning to quit the drug upon my retirement...

I Might be experiencing "brain fog" as a result of this drug. Thus far it has been manageable.

 

How long where you on the drug before you quit? and how is your testosterone now?

 

7 months I believe. I havent tested my testosterone since that event but I can tell you I have had no issues performing. This happened almost 6 years ago

 

Hi all, I have a severe hissing and chirping tinnitus since 3 weeks aftet quiting propecia 6 years ago. Recenty I found that exist a Post Finasteride Syndrome that most persons having all the issues involved are not aware of its existence. Even a foundation was created back in 2016. Unfortunately up to date there is no cure for those who were affected.