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Tinnitus

Posted , 6 users are following.

amy75782
amy75782

Hi, I started experiencing ringing in my ears after taking amitriptyline. I stopped taking them and the ringing stopped after a few weeks. The ringing has now come back, well it's not high pitched just like a white noise kind of sound more in my left ear I think. It's not bad tinnitus like some people get, but I'm starting to focus on it. I now take citalopram. Could it be anxiety?

My GP checked my ears yesterday and said they looked fine. She said come back if it gets worse or more on one side. I suffer from getj anxiety and telling myself I will go deaf or have a brain tumour.

2 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Lockerby
    Lockerby amy75782

    Posted

    I would talk to an ENT. Do you have any loss of hearing in the ear? I have tinnitus too and it gets worse with anxiety, and Lexapro made mine worse. Anxiety can cause it yes, and if you pay attention to it it will just make matter worse. I sleep with a phone on and try to keep a earplug in that ear while there's louder noises around and in the shower. Loud noises make it worse.
  • arwen1972
    arwen1972 amy75782

    Posted

    Yes, anxiety can lead to tinnitus. You've done the right thing by talking to your doctor about it. If you don't notice an improvement or it becomes more of an issue, then I would go back to your GP and request an ENT referral.
  • chris47605
    chris47605 amy75782

    Posted

    Hi, 

    There is no such thing as silence. Everyone could here a ringing if they really concentrated on it, its just because your worried about it,  a part of your mind has registered the sound as dangerous so is always on the look out for it. 

    Don't worry it will pass when the anxiety subsides. Remember the noise is harmless. It wont get any worse and is completely normal. With time your brain will just stop noticing it again. In the mean time you need a mantra- when ever you have an anxious thought over it, just say to yourself in a compassionate and caring voice- 'its just anxiety', ' it will pass', 'it cant hurt me'.....or something else that helps calm you. These mantra's will help dilute the tinnitus and eventually you just wont notice it.

    Also, it might help to fall asleep to rain noise or music in the short term.

    Good Luck.

    • amy75782
      amy75782 chris47605

      Posted

      Hi Chris, thank you for the reply I really appreciate your advise.
  • barbara98940
    barbara98940 amy75782

    Posted

    I've had tinnitus for years. Monitor it to see if it gets worse. Note what is going on at the time e.g. my tinnitus gets worse when I'm tired or stressed. If it gets worse, do as your doctor suggests, and go back to them.
    • amy75782
      amy75782 barbara98940

      Posted

      Thank you. Does it ever go? Mine isn't proper ringing, sounds like white noise.
    • barbara98940
      barbara98940 amy75782

      Posted

      Mine isn't ringing either, it sounds Iike yours, it is like a high pitched screeching. In fact right now I can hear two tones in it.

      Think back to when it first started. Can you remember when you first noticed it? What was different in your life? Had you started new medication? Did you have other new symptoms? Were you particularly stressed? Does it coincide with other symptoms of an illness (for example, a cold, anxiety). This will help you work out if it is linked to something else. Often it isn't possible to work this out. If you can though, you can then take action to change or stop the thing that caused it - the 'trigger', with the result that the white noise (i.e. tinnitus) goes away. Often you can't think what caused it, then doing what people have suggested to stop your brain noticing it, works.

    • amy75782
      amy75782 barbara98940

      Posted

      It started when I went on to amitriptyline, I was only on them a week. It stopped after a couple of weeks. Went back on to citalopram and it's come back a couple of weeks later. I'm always stressed thinking I'm ill. Started getting dizzy spells yesterday too. Only saw the doctor on Wednesday can't go back so soon, I'm there once a week as it is.
    • chris47605
      chris47605 amy75782

      Posted

      hi Amy,

      Try not to get too worried about this, I know its hard because the fear keeps it in your mind constantly, and you might be thinking- 'what if this never goes' and catastrophising- it will pass, it really is only temporary. The likelyhood is that it is just anxiety. Like I said before- there is no such thing as silence, the brain has the ability to not hear things that it is used to, so most people will just not be able to hear the noices in their ears- everyone has them, this is the key thing to understand in overcoming tinnitus. If you have anxiety, you will be hypervigalent and therefore will be picking up on it. This is only temporary, it will last only as long as your anxiety lasts- and it cannot hurt you.

      If it continues the best solution is to find yourself a councelling psychologist to help you overcome the fear attached to the noise. Trust me there are easy  solutions to this problem if you look in the right places.

      I hope this has helped

      good luck

  • veronica94981
    veronica94981 amy75782

    Posted

    1.      auditory test to make sure that there is no schwannoma

    2.      craniosacral adjustment

    3.      electrolytes

    4.      Ring Relief Ear Drops, Homeopathic, 0.5 fl oz (15 ml)

  • amy75782
    amy75782

    Posted

    It's getting even worse. I can hear it all day now. It's just like if I've been im a noisy nightclub all the time.
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