Finding a med that won’t cause tinnitus

[Ellecee]

A couple of years ago, I took Zoloft. It was the answer to my anxiety nightmare! Helped so much. However, after a couple of dose increases, I developed terrible ear ringing. I had to go off of it. The tinnitus resolved after tapering down completely.

I’m now finding myself in a terrible state and need medication again. I’ve noticed that most meds can cause ear ringing and am terrified to try anything. Has anyone found a medication that works without causing ear ringing after one that did? Or am I doomed to all meds causing ear ringing?

[panic_down_under]

A couple of years ago, I took Zoloft. It was the answer to my anxiety nightmare! Helped so much. However, after a couple of dose increases, I developed terrible ear ringing. I had to go off of it. The tinnitus resolved after tapering down completely.

Tinnitus may be triggered by a vast range of things including many medications. Pretty much anything from aspirin to zit preparations. Why is still anyone's guess. Both anxiety and depression are also linked to it. Discontinuing meds can also be a trigger.

Has anyone found a medication that works without causing ear ringing after one that did? Or am I doomed to all meds causing ear ringing?

Just because tinnitus was a side-effect of one AD doesn't mean they all will cause it. ADs are also prescribed to treat tinnitus, especially TCAs such as amitriptyline, imipramine and nortriptyline.

I see that you have panic attacks. The 'gold standard' AD for panic disorder before the SSRIs became available was imipramine (Tofranil). It didn't become less popular for PD because SSRIs were more effective, they arguably aren't, but because they were supposedly safer in overdose (turns out this isn't true for all of them). So imipramine might be a good choice subject to its compatibility with any other meds you might be taking.