What Do You Think of This Theory of How Wellbutrin (Bupropion) May Cause Tinnitus?

By the way, in some countries it is called Zyban. Anyways, I found a published medical article and it states

"the norepinephrine dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) bupropion may mimic a transient ischemic attack that may induce tinnitus, that is most likely due to DA-ergic enhancment."

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898164/

I believe the "DA" in DA-ergic enhancement stands for dopamine. I think ischemic means "a restriction in blood supply to tissues, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive)." (Got it from an article on Wikipedia on ischemia)

Would you agree or disagree with the article about this? If you agree, do you have any suggestions on what might help with tinnitus caused by a "transient ischemic attack"?

 

I can't say whether the theory is true or not. In addition, I found a quote from a woman who says her Wellbutrin tinnitus went away after ECT treatment but then came back later when she got Trintellix.

Source: https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/...ng-in-the-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-213665

I have heard good and bad things about ECT. Some people say it really helped them with depression while others say it made them lose some of their memory or cause tinnitus. I wish things weren't so complicated.

 

My tinnitus started when taking an increased dosage of Wellbutrin for the first time (going from 150mg XL to 300mg XL). This theory seems plausible. I don't know enough to speculate on the actual science there, but generally speaking, I'd guess that any drug or treatment is designed to affect your brain chemistry/function and dopamine/seratonin levels, could cause tinnitus or modify (positively or negatively) existing tinnitus.
The woman's ECT treatment result is very interesting. I'd love to know if there are more cases of ECT helping people with SSRI induced tinnitus. This is something that I would have wanted to try when my tinnitus first started and I was pretty shellshocked by it. However, at this point, I personally have no interest in trying medical treatments to stop my tinnitus. I feel like the brain is so complex and everyone is wired so differently, that what works for one persons tinnitus, could worsen another persons tinnitus. I think if my tinnitus was "endgame" level, I'd consider ECT or other approaches, but I'm sitting at 3-4 (sometimes 5) out of 10 on the severity scale, so I'm okay for now.

 

I believe my tinnitus was caused by wellbutrin. Took it for 13 years and developed T. I’ve been off it for two years I swear I got suicidal coming off of it but I was willing to do anything in hopes that t would stop. It’s been two years, still ringing. But I have habituated for the most part. This forum has helped me a lot. I had to come to personify my T. I think of it as a little cute bug that hangs around me all the time. It has no legs and can only fly and its wings make that noise. Maybe I need an antipsychotic now. LOL. But it was suggested to me by someone in the forum that I find a positive way of framing my T And this works for me. The problem now is, I really liked wellbutrin and my life was great for 13 years up until this. Now I’m thinking about going back on it. I figured since I’ve got T permanently already what’s the difference? I wonder if it can get worse? Does anyone know if it can get worse? I mean it’s pretty bad it’s pretty loud. Feedback would be great

 

I am so sorry to hear that Denise. I used to think i got tinnitus from Lexapro but now I am wondering if it was the Wellbutrin. Does your tinnitus sound like an insect flapping wings?

 

Thanks. It sounds like a tea kettle some days and others 1,000 crickets. But I just imagine it like a little flying thing with noisy wings that likes to invite its friends over some days and have a party. It’s basically hell sometimes, just trying to make it positive otherwise I’ll be back to trying to hit my head against a wall. That doesn’t work either.

 

The past couple of months I have taken a supplement called lithium orotate. Most of the times it seems to help calm me down. I only need a bit. Maybe 1 tablet a day and sometimes half a tablet works. I wonder if that would help you. I am so sorry you have to deal with this.

 

Knowing what I now know, I believe my tinnitus was actually started by Wellbutrin and not Lexapro like I had originally thought. I only took Welubutrin for probably 5 days but I think it was enough to cause my tinnitus during that time, especially now that I found out last year that I have dysautonomia which can include tachycardia. During regular times and stressful times I can have elevated levels of norepinephrine (which can cause high heart rate), and since Wellbutrin works to prevent uptake of that and dopamine, I think it caused too much norepinephrine in my system. I was unbelievably messed up and couldn't think straight. I have never been that bad before.

For those people whose tinnitus was caused by Wellbutrin, do you happen to have a higher than normal heart rate? I was just curious.

 

Just curious, to those people that got tinnitus from Wellbutrin, what is your normal heart rate while standing and do you have issues with anxiety or tachycardia? I was wondering if other people who got tinnitus from Wellbutrin might have high norepinephrine levels.