Tobramycin Eye Drops & Tinnitus Safety Profile?

Hello,

My ophthalmologist first prescribed me Terramycin-Pulymyxin B ointment, but I am allergic to Tetracyclines so I cannot take it. I also need to stay away from Cinolones after have a severe adverse reaction to Levofloxacin/Tarivid last summer (Tendons), which I still have not recovered from.

So... last on the list is Tobramycin eye drops... yay, my tinnitus says hello.

Any advice? Experience with this?

 

No one? Is this safe to use with tinnitus?

Need to use it because of an on-going eye infection. 1 drop day and night for 7-8 days.

Please respond if you have any input. Thank you!

 

No, it's an aminoglycoside which causes REAL ototoxicity.

 

Is there any other alternatives/options out there for me? As both tetras and cinolones are out of the question.

Thank you so much for responding. Have not filled the perscription for Tobramycin... yet!

 

Unfortunately, when it comes to antibiotics, there's really no safe option.

I wouldn't take tobramycin or any other aminoglycoside. I'd go with tetracycline or AzaSite (drops of azithromycin). AzaSite seems the better alternative for you.

 

@Grand05 thank you so much for your fast reply

I guess tetracycline eye drops are out of the question as I am allergic to the tablets? Will ask my ophthalmologist on Monday if azasite can be used for eyelid infection - do you know?

 

Are you worried it will reach your cochlea from your eye?
Did you ask your doc about this?

 

Yes, I am very worried that it will make my tinnitus worse. I just spoke with him on the phone and repeated that I couldn’t take tetracycline or Cipro. Then he said «We are almost out of options here, but I guess you can take aminoglycosides. I am going to prescribe Vibeomycin».

Right there, on the phone, I did not have time to make the connection of what he prescribed. It was later on when I searched the med here + googled the leaflet that I understood this med could be extremely ototoxic.

And believe me - my tinnitus is supersensitive to drugs.

 

Stay away from it. It caused me a major spike and eye floaters.

 

@El BUZZ did your spike settle and eye floaters disappear?

 

My spike settled. New spike now for more than a month...
Floaters remained. Once they appear... It is what it is.

 

You've put Tobramycin drops into your eyes and you got a major tinnitus spike and eye floaters from it?

 

Tobramycin after years of reflection was the cause of my tinnitus. I used the eye drops, too much as I pushed to hard, literally five minutes later the tinnitus started. Never has gone away since.

That being said, I used too much by accident, it might be ok if you use the correct amount.

 

That's it, mate.

 

What were you trying to treat with those drops?

 

@Sarah101 thank you for sharing your experience with me. How would you rate your tinnitus today «x out of 10»?

 

Eye infection.

 

I'm a 1.5/10 but the first year was sucicidal bad. I didn't leave the house for nine months. I had to work very very hard to find a way to keep going.

 

@UrbanBubblegum -- The internet is filled with suggestions on home remedies or natural treatments for eye infections. Boric acid eye washes are usually on that list, and is what we've used with our kitties several times. BTW, it is not acidic, nor is it painful. Simple saline solutions are also commonly mentioned.

Many other kinds of herbal eye washes would also do the job. So many things to choose from; no need to use dangerous drugs. -- You might want to check out the link below. I've used this formula and after just a couple of days, felt like a dirty window covering my eyes had finally been cleaned. Others have cured themselves of just about every imaginable eye disease you can think of.

Dr. Christopher's Eye Wash | Get Well Stay Well At Home

 

I took tobramycin ointment 8 years ago to treat a contact lens related eye infection, and I did not experience any tinnitus problems.

The question you perhaps should research is how much of the drug actually enters the body/bloodstream via the eye. I think it is a very small amount, but I'm no doctor...

 

Also worth mentioning is that eye infections inherently cause eye floaters unless it is treated promptly. What happens is that the immune system attacks the gel (collagen) in the eyeball, breaking it down so that it loses transparency.

I also got severe floaters after my infection, and as you said they are permanent. Very risky surgery is required to fix the problem - usually not worth it unless the vision is much impaired.

So you may want to consider the possibility that the actual antibiotic is not to blame for the floaters. Some antibiotics such as Cipro have severe collagen toxicity however and can definitely cause floaters.

 

Also, pretty common, is the correlation vs causation fallacy.

 

Sorry but if for very risky you mean vitrectomy, that is absolutely wrong. It's a quite simple and safe intervention. Risky twenty years ago, not anymore. Vitrectomy Pars Plana is the exact name for the specific operation for floaters.
Also, I've had more eye infections. Haven't treated them with any tobramicyn related antibiotic and have developed zero floaters.

 

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your feedback, advice and experience. Please be nice and respectful towards each other

While most drugs can increase or cause tinnitus, we all react different.

My tinnitus is drug-induced and extremely sensitive to substances. Even vitamin D supplements cause spikes for me

The herbal route sounds interesting, but I cannot take tetracycline, cinolones and I am afraid of Tobramycin which limits my option to... nothing.

For now I have decided to use an eye mask which I warm in the micro and then I clean my eyelids with blephaclean.

Not sure what to do if this does not work though...

 

The clinic may not want to admit it, but any surgery that punctures the eyeball is risky. Especially today with increased antibiotic resistance, an infection could result in blindness. Also, there is a much higher risk of developing cataracts within 10 years after this kind of surgery.
Everyone's situation is indeed different, but my floaters came before I started the antibiotic treatments. I had the infection for about a week, thinking that it would resolve by itself, and then started seeing blobs moving around in my field of vision, followed by huge halos around the streetlights at night. It is the floaters that are scattering the incoming light, giving this somewhat cool looking optical effect.