Long term side effects Music looping hallucinations and tinnitus

Hello
I was prescribed 40 mg Propranolol to be taken when needed PRN in 2018 I some bad side effects while on the medication like severe night sweats, night terrors, shouting in sleep attacking my partner in sleep. I also got tinnitus I could could smell things that were not there. Acid reflux high sensitivity to sounds and music hallucinations.


I discovered these issues were from propranolol and not an antidepressant that I was tapering at time. My issue now is I still to these issues to this very day. I have issues even though I don’t take propranolol. The tinnitus has not left I have round three sounds and I still get disturbed sleep and attack while asleep. I have songs playing in my head constantly from when I wake up to when I go to bed. All different songs, easily triggered by hearing words or phrases. Today for example I received a phone call on my mobile and my brain kept looping it in my head none stop.

I have found multiple people that have the same issue and found medical articles that claim propranolol can induce Hallucinations. has any one ever experienced these long term and did they go away.

I have been to doctors but they blame my mental health and won’t listen. it’s that bad I can hardly function the music drains my energy eventually and simple tasks can take me a long time. I am trying to get doctor to refer me to a neurologist to find out what’s going on but they won’t even do that at the moment.

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Originally Posted by soulsearcher

My issue now is I still to these issues to this very day. I have issues even though I don’t take propranolol. The tinnitus has not left I have round three sounds and I still get disturbed sleep and attack while asleep. I have songs playing in my head constantly from when I wake up to when I go to bed. All different songs, easily triggered by hearing words or phrases. Today for example I received a phone call on my mobile and my brain kept looping it in my head none stop.

I have found multiple people that have the same issue and found medical articles that claim propranolol can induce Hallucinations. has any one ever experienced these long term and did they go away.

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Propranolol might have triggered the tinnitus, just about any medication may, everything from aspirin to zit (acne) preparations and so may herbal remedies. This can continue after the trigger is discontinued. But it is hard to make a case for it causing the other symptoms due to a lack of a mechanism that would account for them.

As I understand it you were taking 40mg as needed. How long did you take propranolol and how often would you take taken it per week?

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I have been to doctors but they blame my mental health and won’t listen.

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By "doctors" do you mean GPs, psychiatrists, or both?

Thank you for your reply

i don’t remember how often I was taking it but it was not once a day. only when needed as this is what the doctor said. I have seen many doctors including a psychiatrist and an audiologist and mental health teams. as it made my adhd very bad so had to get that treated.

I know there is many cases where it was proven that propranolol was the cause but one I read was reversed. I am not sure how they found that out. I had my hearing tested and I do have slight high frequency hearing loss now.

Propranolol is known to be ototoxic. It’s not so much the tinnitus that causes the issues as my brain can filter it out to some degree and I have tinnitus maskers. when my brain loops sounds that is hard to manage as I can’t filter the music. I have a appointment with a ear throat and nose tomorrow.

i Found the cause of my anxiety though this process but now the music is causing it as it’s that bad.

I can't comment on the propanolol (through ignorance) but I can tell you that I've had tinnitus for about 5 years. It scared me a lot at first but now, although it's still there, I only notice it when I look for it.
As for the music looping around in your head, that sounds like an "earworm", which is a lot less sinister than it sounds. I've just googled that to get the statistics, and apparently about 90% of us get this effect at least once a week. We just don't tend to talk about it much. One of life's minor nuisances. You've clearly become fixated on it but after a while you will find it just won't matter any more.

Thank you for your reply you are right at first my tinnitus was the same I can here around three sounds and most of the time I can filter it out especially during the day time. I do have hearing aid maskers which help if it gets bad. Ear worms (musical ear syndrome) every person at some point will get a song stuck in their head that’s totally normal. The longest I had the same song loop was six days.

I have sat with my head in my hands many times it has been that bad. This is not the same as tinnitus as usually it gets worse when the person tries to do something. Tonight I walked past someone’s house they had a Christmas song playing and I can still hear it now. Sometimes I can change the song and it may gave me a bit room to function. Apparently people with musical ear syndrome is rare.

I am in a group with only two hundred people in. it affects the elderly more. Stress makes it worse and louder usually it can be caused by high frequency hearing loss the brain then plays music or sounds to fill in the gap. It is not psychosis as the person would have to think that the music is in the environment which I know it’s not. It even wakes me up.

Don’t get me wrong I have had some very good days usually once a month I could function with zero anxiety and music was stepped back. I think this could be my stimulant medication maybe I managed to get some sleep sometimes I can get one hour of functioning where I might be able to do tasks then I struggle. without my stimulant I am even worse.
The strange thing is the very first time I got my adhd treated my head was total silence it was life changing but the medication helps the person with concentration I found the cause of my anxiety which is good

I don't like to hear you say you've been "sat with your head in your hands" because that will just give you more opportunity to dwell on your fears - and, as you say, "stress makes it worse". I think you should try to find something more active to do and to think about. Exercise, in particular, is always good for you as it will help you produce calming brain chemicals, and getting physically tired will help you sleep better. Don't give up!

Thank you are right. I am going to do group therapy with the NHS to try and lower stress soon. I even joined a gym but struggled and had to leave as the environment was too much. It never made me sleep any better either but lately I just have not had the energy to go.with being in so much chaos it’s difficult to do tasks for example I ordered a new carpet I had to decorate and it took me months instead of one day. I had to phone up and reschedule. I still have not finished it all I do now is do what I can. I definitely have developed bad patterns as I just don’t know how I am going to be or what I am going to get done.