What Medications Are Bad for Tinnitus?

[JodieStephens]

I tried looking through the forums... What medications are bad for tinnitus? What would happen if you overdose?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Check out:

 

[Bill Bauer]

@JodieStephens If something is NOT on that list, you can be sure that it is safe. If something Is on the list it does not necessarily mean that there is a very high chance that you will get T if you take that drug.

You can substitute the name of the drug you are interested in instead of XXX below to get some interesting statistics
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/XXX/tinnitus/

For example, check out
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/tinnitus/

Some of the drugs listed in that ototoxic brochure seem to cause T only for a very small fraction of people. Of course keep in mind that what you get at ehealthme.com is the fraction of the people who reported side effects who reported T as a side effect. The fraction of everyone who took the drug who got T is even smaller. The fraction who got T for life is even lower...

 

[JodieStephens]

@JodieStephens If something is NOT on that list, you can be sure that it is safe. If something Is on the list it does not necessarily mean that there is a very high chance that you will get T if you take that drug.

You can substitute the name of the drug you are interested in instead of XXX below to get some interesting statistics
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/XXX/tinnitus/

For example, check out
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/tinnitus/

Some of the drugs listed in that ototoxic brochure seem to cause T only for a very small fraction of people. Of course keep in mind that what you get at ehealthme.com is the fraction of the people who reported side effects who reported T as a side effect. The fraction of everyone who took the drug who got T is even smaller. The fraction who got T for life is even lower...

Thank you... Hopefully I can find the right combination of medications that will help me cope with lack of sleep from T

 

[Bill Bauer]

Thank you... Hopefully I can find the right combination of medications that will help me cope with lack of sleep from T

Amitriptyline helped me sleep back when my T was very loud. It is non-addictive and when I took 7-8 mg of it, I didn't feel drowsy the next day. I believe it appears on the list of ototoxic medications. However, that other link proves that it is reasonably safe. Also, in large doses it has been used to Treat tinnitus.

There is evidence that amitriptyline can be used to Treat tinnitus.
"The subjective complaints of the patients in the amitriptyline group decreased, and the "present" symptoms
resulted in fewer complaints. The severity of tinnitus decreased in the amitriptyline group by means of subjective and audio-
metric methods. In the placebo group, no significant change was observed. The success of treatment was 95% in the
amitriptyline group and 12% in the placebo group. Amitriptyline therapy was concluded to be effective."

As is true for most T treatments (e.g., rTMS, HBOT, etc.) some people end up with louder tinnitus...

My guess is that the benefits (ability to sleep with a high probability, and possibly even fading T [although 10mg is lower than the dosage used to treat T]) outweigh the cost (very small probability of T getting worse). But you are right, there are reports like
http://journals.sagepub.com.sci-hub.io/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881107082126
(note that the authors make it clear that the case they are describing is unusual)

 

[JodieStephens]

Amitriptyline helped me sleep back when my T was very loud. It is non-addictive and when I took 7-8 mg of it, I didn't feel drowsy the next day. I believe it appears on the list of ototoxic medications. However, that other link proves that it is reasonably safe. Also, in large doses it has been used to Treat tinnitus.

ill mention it to my doctor, currently I'm already on bupropion and resperidone

 

[Pleasure_Paulie]

The truth of the matter is that very few medications are truly otototoxic - that it, will cause permanent physical auditory damage. However many medications can cause a "spike" that will often settle after discontinuation of the medication. Tinnitus and Sudden hearing loss is so common it's also often difficult to pin point the exact cause as well.

 

[Alue]

Amitriptyline helped me sleep back when my T was very loud. It is non-addictive and when I took 7-8 mg of it, I didn't feel drowsy the next day. I believe it appears on the list of ototoxic medications. However, that other link proves that it is reasonably safe. Also, in large doses it has been used to Treat tinnitus.

I would recommend caution with large dosages of amitriptyline. Tricyclics have a narrow therapeutic index.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I would recommend caution with large dosages of amitriptyline. Tricyclics have a narrow therapeutic index.

I agree. I am sorry that it sounded like I was advising one to use amitriptyline to try to cure T. I just meant to convey that even though it appears on those ototoxic lists, there is a good chance that one can use it safely to help one sleep.