1. Community
  2. Ears, nose, throat and mouth
  3. Tinnitus

Tinnitus and Antidepressants

Posted , 12 users are following.

Aitch
Aitch

I've suffered with Tinnitus for about 8 years. I have a sound in both ears similar to a dentists drill. Today I visited the doctors to tell him that I have had just enough of this horrific noise in my head. He told me that he would prescribe Fluoxetine (an Antidepressant). He thought that if I relaxed it may ease the complaint. I hope so, I don't know how much longer I can stand the noise. I'll keep in touch, to let you all know how I get on.

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Ask your Doctor to refer you to a specialist tinnitus nurse or clinic, yes the NHS really does have such things, they can teach you ways to help block it out, my missus went to see one biggrin
  • Aitch
    Aitch

    Posted

    I went to the tinnitus clinic a few years ago and was told that it was incurable. They gave me a sound mask that goes under the pillow on my bed to play music to drown out the sound of the tinnitus and basically told me to get used to it and get on with life. I don't think they know how loud this annoying complaint gets. Very frustrating. Thanks for the reply, nice to know people are reading these things.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Oh :[ Sorry to hear they didn't help sad My tinnitus used to sound like a full blown jungle (with crickets, grasshoppers and all and sundry bugs doing their chirping) but now it's almost gone, it's been cured by accident, lucky me eh cheesygrin
  • Stelar
    Stelar

    Posted

    I also have a sound of a dentist's drill in both ears. Its horrific. I've had it for 1.5 years and I'm totally disabled by it, how did you survive this for 8 years? What caused yours?

    There is no hope is there...

  • mikepeters471
    mikepeters471

    Posted

    I have had tinnitus for 8 years, it has been dreadful and difficult to manage. There is a newish progessive tinnitus management programme in the US (50 million tinnitus sufferers in US) developed by the dept of veterans affairs. It is quite technical but the info has helped me. see www.enetmd.com/content/tinnitus to read the articles from the handbook.

    there is hope....

  • Stelar
    Stelar

    Posted

    I give myself 10 years, if I'm still alive by then and things don't become better - suicide will be my option.
  • helenbourne3
    helenbourne3

    Posted

    Hi, yes there is hope. There are many ways to treat tinnitus. After assessment and investigation, the first step is correction of any hearing loss. Then there are many tinnitus treatments such as: sound therapy, counselling, CBT, tinnitus retraining therapy, medications (a surprisingly large number have been studied and some have been found to help), self-help and alternative treatments. Please see this long and pretty comprehensive article on tinnitus treatment:

    http://www.enetmd.com/content/tinnitus-treatment

    It was compiled by a UK doctor and covers most tinnitus treatments. The section on medication is detailed.

    Good luck and

    best wishes Helen

  • kate190
    kate190

    Posted

    I have had tinnitus for 3 years. Never stops. Started suddenly in middle of night. Terrible screaming and other sounds like a enormous fly in ears. I have it in both. I have been told I had horrible things, like rabies and encephalitis, lyme desase, stroke. I have none.. I did have bad case whiplash 2 days before this noise started. I have had surgery for bone in my neck they thought caused it. No it didn't. I have had all steroid shots in neck 6 different times, tried physical therapy, every pill I could take. I am now on Ativan because I can not sleep at all. I can even hear this over jet engine on plane. I have run out of doctors because they don't care about noise in ears. How bad could it be, they say.

    I am addicted to Ativan and that worries me. My ears hurt. They feel they are being pulled. can't move arms, push, pull. lift, lay down without terrible screaming bussing and noise like whoooooo, real irritating to say least. I can not cry laugh or do anything that requires throat movement. All doctors think I'm making this worse than it is. At the end of what I can take, with no help to come. Any masking noise has been tried. I'm new here. Thanks for letting me vent! No one who has never heard these noises could ever understand.

    • linda94951
      linda94951 kate190

      Posted

      Hi Kate, just reading about your Tinnitus - sounds just horrible! I don't have Tinnitus, but my mother has, so I was reading up how other people deal with it... and just wondering if you have been to your dentist about this. It struck me when you said about your ears hurting, and weakness in your arms. Well I had similar issues (minus the tinnitus) after getting my wisdom teeth out. It took me some time and many doctors to get it diagnosed as TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction) which is basically badly aligned teeth which causes jaw problems. It is common, but unless you have heard about it - you wouldn't know. I had issues with tingling fingers and back, headaches, feeling unwell, not able to lift my arms to even hang washing out. BUT I just read that it can also cause Tinnitus. It may be worth seeing an ear nose and throat specialist (ENT) or a good dentist. I ended up at a  Dental Prosthetist who measured how far I could open my mouth (which can be an issue) and he made me a mouth guard to align my bite. You may have looked into this, but anything is worth a try....hope you find some relief. New treatments for tinnitus are being looked into- as it affects a large number of people. Keep researching - all the best. Linda
  • Stelar
    Stelar

    Posted

    hi Kate190 please contact me

    you might be interested in what I have to say and we can exchange some notes. thanks.

    Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the Skype details as we do not publish personal contact details. If any user does wish to contact another user please use the private message service.

  • clive48
    clive48

    Posted

    Dear Aitch

    I too am a tinnitus sufferer for many years

    I was once told to actually concentrate on the tinnitus rather than try to forget it and it would help me forget it was there.

    Surprisingly after a while I did find I didn't notice it and it made life a lot better.

    It worked for me it would be nice if it worked for you as well.

    Clive

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.