Severe tinnitus from an antidepressant lasting over 2 months since stopping. Hell.

[mechmacabre]

hi everyone. i've been on and off antidepressants since 16, i am now 21 years old. i began taking nefazodone, an antidepressant which hasn't been marketed for a decade because of the rare incidence of severe liver dysfunction, but was suggested to me by my psychiatrist because of ongoing issues with various antidepressants precipitating and causing nausea, indigestion, and constipation. he thought since nefazodone would have no adverse effects with this (which it did anyway) it would be a good idea. i digress.

started in mid-june. one week later i notice a hiss in my ear and start to hear it every time i go in the car. july comes and i move to a new place just to notice that i have tinnitus as well as hyperacusis (hypersensitivity to sound). i begin to think that the hyperacusis is related to the medication, but i think that the tinnitus is caused by my ears being impacted with wax. get ears cleaned out. sound is exact same volume, and i began to freak out. quickly taper off the medication, as the sound has increased in volume since june.

now. as soon as i get off the med altogether the volume seems to spike even louder. psychiatrist tells me that it should go away in a week or two. gets even louder. I end up being hospitalized because i am determined to commit suicide to end the ringing.

i haven't taken a grain of the medication for 2 months, which is longer than I was ever on it to begin with, and the tinnitus is still there, a hiss that cuts through everything that I hear in every room, all day, every day, accompanied by a low ring around 950hz.

i am completely hopeless. i haven't exposed myself to loud sounds, and have had two audiograms, one in july and one a few weeks ago, showing very good hearing across low and high frequency ranges. but having read online numerous accounts of people taking SSRIs or TCAs for literally a week, and continuing to have tinnitus a year afterward...

i hear it in my dreams. it's all i think about. it's so unnerving. i've tried habituating to it but it's much too loud for me to be at piece with it. i was already suicidal before i got this and now i'm completely fucked mental-health wise.

this is so fucked. anyone have any suggestions? thank you very much.

 

[Ego Death]

As a fellow sufferer of tinnitus, as far as I can tell from the research I have done, tinnitus very rarely ever goes away completely. And please don't waste your money going to audiologists, ent's, and such they will happily take your money then tell you they have no fucking idea what causes it or how to get rid of it, and basically you have to suffer through it until you get used to it. I have had it for 6 plus years and it doesn't go away, BUT you do get used to it, to the point where you will not notice it until you remind yourself you have it. The best advice, and I know this is hard to hear, is just accept that you have it and start ignoring it. There is no real way around it, the sooner you accept this, the sooner you can start ignoring it. The medical establishment has not a clue how to treat tinnitus and you will get taken advantage of looking for a cure. Quite simply there isn't one. I was scared too when I first got it, but it does get better, it will get to the point where you can ignore it.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Go to an ENT doctor and have them check your ears and hearing.

 

[mechmacabre]

For some reason I forgot to mention something important: I have had two audiograms, one while still on the med and one 1 1/2 months after discontinuation, both of which came out fine, with no evidence of any hearing loss, and an ENT has checked my ears. the concern i still have is with the fact that audiograms are actually pretty simplistic; they only go up to 8000hz and can't really diagnose neurological abnormalities like some other tests can. I'm going to contact a neuro-otologist and try to get some more tests done.

thanks very much for the advice.

 

[littlepenguin]

riboflavinoid helps tinnitus

 

[T. Calderone]

I have had tinnitus for many years, blamed loud music via walkman. The constant screeching while in a quiet room is annoying. But trying to get sleep was absolute hell. I have needed to sleep with a fan going or some "white noise" to tune it out for more than 25 years. That was a liveable fix. I didn't realise until my son had many ear infections as a toddler and they took us into a soundproof room to test his hearing how bad it really is. I had been to a highly recommended ENT who couldn't find anything wrong because my hearing is "fine" The unwanted noises are something I've had to cope with. Maybe yours will go away on it's own. If it's still bothersome, seek help from a different doctor. With modern medicine, you might think that there are some treatments to at least reduce the symptoms. Wish you luck.