Citalopram and Tinnitus.....anyone get over it?

[stress]

Hi All, First post here.

I started taking 10mg two weeks ago and have suffered all types of Side Effects. Most of these are starting to dissipate and I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. About 4-5 days ago I started hearing ringing in my ears which has got gradually worse to the point I've been unable to sleep (at all) and can hear it during the day when I'm in a noisy environment.

Saw the GP today who suggested withdrawing ASAP and then reviewing my choices. I seriously don't want long term hearing problems but at the same time was just starting to see the benefits of SSRIs and don't like to prospect of retuning to where I was 3 weeks ago :-(

Searching the web there's a lot of examples of people suffering from Tinnitus when taking SSRIs and most of them say the damage was long term even after ceasing medication. If I'm going to suffer from it anyway then maybe I should just crack on?

Has anyone here suffered the same side effect and it cleared up? Either by stopping or continuing the meds?

MTIA

[panic_down_under]

Hi All, First post here.

Welcome to No More Panic,

Searching the web there's a lot of examples of people suffering from Tinnitus when taking SSRIs and most of them say the damage was long term even after ceasing medication.

Almost any med can trigger tinnitus, aspirin is a common one. Why appears to be anyones guess. The ringing does usually stop once the med is discontinued, but it can be slow to resolve for a few. :(

I seriously don't want long term hearing problems but at the same time was just starting to see the benefits of SSRIs and don't like to prospect of retuning to where I was 3 weeks ago :-(

Well the good news is that just because one SSRI has triggered it doesn't mean they all will. In fact SSRIs have been used to treat tinnitus about as often as they've caused it.

Imho, switching to another med would be a better option than quitting. It is even possible that switching to the very similar escitalopram (Lexapro) would solve the problem, but I'd switch to sertraline (Zoloft).

[stress]

Thank you Panic Down Under

I'm already feeling anxious this morning being my first day not taking it. I've been advised to take every other day initially but thinking I'd rather stop sooner in order to try and get the Tinnitus back to normal ASAP

If I could come to terms with the Tinnitus I wouldn't mind so much but it's keeping me awake all night unless I take a Zopliclone and I don't want to become reliant on them

Good to hear other meds may not have same side effect even if listed although I think I'd be so anxious taking something else I'm not sure I could cope anyway.....sooooooo scared right now

[akb]

I get tinnitus from SNRI cymbalta. It was a problem at first but I made friends with it. If you can, try not to consciously listen to it. Let it be. It doesn't affect your hearing

[stress]

I do try ignore it best I can.....much easier when preoccupied with something else but not so easy laying in bed at night trying to get to sleep in the quiet?

[panic_down_under]

I've been advised to take every other day initially but thinking I'd rather stop sooner in order to try and get the Tinnitus back to normal ASAP

Taking half the dose every day is better than weaning off by skipping doses, imho.

Good to hear other meds may not have same side effect even if listed although I think I'd be so anxious taking something else I'm not sure I could cope anyway.....sooooooo scared right now

I think it would be easier on you to do a switch rather than weaning off citalopram and then starting all over again with something else, but this is one of those situations where you need to be comfortable with the process so do what feels right to you.