Can Remeron Make Tinnitus Worse

[Dubinvero]

After much research to find a sleep aid that would not make my tinnitus worse I decided on Remeron. I have had very poor sleep since my tinnitus started.

I started last night with one 15 mg tablet which helped greatly with my sleep but I woke up with my tinnitus much louder. I am now in a quandary. Is it best to quit the Remeron immediately and try to find another AD prescription that will help me sleep and also reduce my anxiety.? If I quit immediately what are the odds that my tinnitus will reduce to its former normal level.

This is Saturday so I do not have access to my doctor. I am very reluctant to take a second tablet if my tinnitus has not reduced by later today.

Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Markku]

The odds of your tinnitus returning to baseline level are good, but since, as far as I know, Remeron (Mirtazapine) rarely causes permanent worsening of tinnitus, it may be best to stay on it for a few more days and see if the tinnitus increase was just a (temporary) coincidence, unrelated to the med.

Of course, nobody here can give bulletproof medical advice, so consulting your doctor to see what he thinks is a good approach. One option is to stop taking it until Monday when you can get some advice from your doctor.

I would love to be able to foresee what would be the best course of action in this case, but it's impossible to say for sure.

Here's a thread on Action on Hearing Loss' forum, maybe some of these replies will help you.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

 

[Dubinvero]

Markku,

Thanks for your feedback. I have decided that I will not take another 15mg Remeron until I talk to my doctor on Monday.

If I am to recover to my baseline level how long would you guess it would take?

My GP originally recommended Citalopram but he said it could take up to a couple of weeks to become effective. I was anxious to get improved sleep immediately. Remeron appeared to be the answer based upon most of the feedback posts that I read. It worked great for my sleep but unfortunately it spiked my tinnitus. I have had only a couple of previous spikes each one followed eating a spicy meal.

My baseline level of tinnitus was very manageable. My number one problem was lack of sleep which was having a big effect on me. I have tried 3mg Melatonin with increased excercise which did not help.

I have found that my GP does not have detailed knowledge of how to treat tinnitus. In particular he has little awareness that many of the AD medications have a real potential to make the tinnitus worse.

It seems that I need to be willing to try different medications to find one that helps me sleep with no adverse tinnitus effects. How did you go about finding the best medication for your tinnitus.?

I am very grateful for any feedback.

 

[Luca]

Remeron made mine quieter in the morning. But it makes you crave all the wrong foods.

 

[Dubinvero]

When I woke this morning my Tinnitus was back to its normal level. I had two days of gradual improvement since taking a single 15mg Remeron tablet.

It took a couple of weeks research on this forum and other websites to determine that Remeron offered the best solution to improve my sleep with the least chance of worsening my tinnitus. For me that was not the case.

My doctor had previouly prescribed Citrapalam (Celexa) which I did not take because of the downside risks.

I have now decided that I will not risk a permanent detioration in my tinnitus by taking medication. I am now committed to find a natural solution to improving my sleep.

I am going to post a new thread asking for recommendations on getting a better nights sleep without taking medications or suplements that have any risk of making things worse.

 

[erik]

Remeron is considered one of the better meds to take for people with T. It has a long history with people with T since the mid 1990s. If there was something seriously wrong with it or it was the caused for increased T consistently, then we would know about it by now. You will be fine!

 

[rtwombly]

I'm on 15mg mirtazapine (generic) every night. Got on it initially because of http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1214010, an experience where a 48-year old man with antidepressant-induced tinnitus was "cured" by being on as little as 7.5mg/day. Tinnitus came back when he got off the mirtz and went away when he got back on.

So far my experience has been positive, but not in the same ballpark as that guy. Quiet mornings, good days, and the slightly worse nights I'm used to. I haven't had bad waking tinnitus since I started, BUT, I'm very careful about my nighttime ritual now. The reason I went on mirtz in the first place was a terrible night/day where the new kitten woke me up in the night and it sounded like a tornado drill. Couldn't get back to sleep and had a screaming fit in the morning due to the anxiety. The mirtz calmed me down and gave me confidence that I'd be able to get back to sleep if something woke me up, and I'm careful to keep the kitties on the other side of the door at night.

One night's bad experience should probably not dissuade you from giving it a try, unless you're especially sensitive. One thing I just found today is that mirtazapine is a potent antihistamine, so if you've had problems with those in the past, it might be contraindicated. But even as an antihistamine, mirtz isn't known to cause tinnitus, unlike...just about all the others. Makes me wonder if my whole problem was the week I was on DayQuil/NyQuil this past winter.

 

[dochoppy]

mirt didn't really make my tinnitus worse and it mostly helped it, great for sleep, but it did make my hyper acusis worse so I eventually discontinued.

 

[Rhea]

I took Mirtz' for about 6 months. Initially it seemed to calm my tinnitus but after a while the tinnitus just kinda went back to what it was when I wasn't on it. I don't think the Mirtz' made the t worse though and also I found it helped me to sleep very well BUT the weight gain for me on Mirtz' was insane.....I had to stop it before becoming obese...then it took 6 months of hardcore diet and exercise to return to my normal size.

So in summary, in my experience, mirtz' did not increase t and did even make it quieter initially, it is also good to help you sleep, it gave me very vivid dreams every single night which were quite interesting, it didn't really make me feel less depressed or anxious apart from maybe the first 8 weeks of taking (maybe that was a psychological effect though) and by far biggest issue was weight gain - both because it can slow metabolism AND makes you crave sweet things like a crazy person.

 

[Nick the Swede]

Remeron works very well on me. I have been on the low dose of 15mg/ day just for sleep. Gives you a nice natural sleep with lots of dreaming. Every night is like watching a good movie. The only downside is the craving, i have been running 40-45 kilometers/week just to keep the weight. It reduced my T a bit at first, more back to base now, it dont bother me as much anymore. Ren helped me a lot to get me back on track with exercising on so on.

 

[Denny]

I had the same issue while taking amitriptylline, initially it helped.
I started on 10mg and went upto 50mg at bedtime. After 6. Months
It started loud spikes at night so I quit. Many say it helps but it was
Worst for me. Almost all antidepressants are ototoxic. But I think
It depends on the individual. Now I take valerian root for sleep.

 

[MikeA]

Clinical trials show that mirtazapine does not cause tinnitus. Rarely noted. Occurrences of T in the trials and in anyone taking the drug are as likely due to chance than not.

 

[kaycee]

This is an old posting but I was just prescribed remeron 15 mg. Any new feedback on how it's affected others?

 

[kaycee]

J

 

[Marcini]

Are you on for sleep, depression or anxiety? There are quite a lot of posts on this site if you do a search for remeron or mirtazapine. It's generally very well liked on here.

 

[kaycee]

Anxiety and insomnia from tinnitus

 

[Marcini]

@kaycee It's very good for insomnia as I said in the other post. It's not considered one of the better ones for anxiety but it works well for some people. It's just a case of trial and error unfortunately. Sertraline (better known as Zoloft in the States) is usually the first stop for anxiety but there are many. Have you discussed this with a doctor?

 

[kaycee]

Which post @Marcini

 

[Marcini]

@kaycee https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/remeron-for-sleep-anxiety-tinnitus.4029/page-2

 

[Alex Senkowski]

I've been taking Remeron for almost a year and, as far as I can perceive, it hasn't had any negative impact on my T. I find that if I take it two or more nights in a row then I get hangover with aggravated T. But it always goes back to normal.

 

[Alex Senkowski]

Also, You don't need to take a full tablet or even half. I take 1/8 of a tablet and it puts me out just fine without any hangover the next day. With Remeron, a little goes a long way.

 

[Marcini]

Also, You don't need to take a full tablet or even half. I take 1/8 of a tablet and it puts me out just fine without any hangover the next day. With Remeron, a little goes a long way.

How do you manage to cut them into 8ths? I struggle with quarters and usually just go for 5mg 3rds.

 

[kaycee]

Isn't it supposed to be taken daily though?

 

[Marcini]

Isn't it supposed to be taken daily though?

Yes, for its anti-depressant effects. As a sleep aid it can be taken as needed.

 

[Alex Senkowski]

I break the tablet in half and cut that half into four pieces with a very thin blade.

 

[dh42]

With Remeron, you might find smaller dosages more sedating than larger ones.

 

[Nick the Swede]

Pretty safe drug when it comes to T. Dont worry about it.

 

[kaycee]

Do you need to eat before you take it?

 

[Martin69]

Do you need to eat before you take it?

No. Take at 9 PM and you will be ready for bedtime at 10:30 - 11.
I sleep 8-9 hours.
The problem for me is more anxiety. Remeron is good for sleep and against depression.
But my anxiety is sky high at the moment.

 

[kaycee]

I thought it's for anxiety too? That's what I was told and read on the description