N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)

tweak

Member
Author
Apr 17, 2012
27
Tinnitus Since
03/12
Hi,

I came across this on a music forum discussing tinnitus and on further searching, it seems that a lot of people are getting benefit from it.

Just wondering has anyone here tried it.

Think I'm going to go order some anyway as it's supposed to protect inner ear and possibly might benefit tinnitus.

Cheers
 
I've used NAC.

My multi vitamin (Life Extension's Mix) even has it.

The dosage for me has been 600 mg per day.

When my tinnitus started back in April 2010, it wasn't more than a few weeks when I stumbled upon NAC. I started taking it immediately, but I can't attribute any improvement to it.

However, I think I mostly like NAC because of the supposed protection to my hearing. I hope it might i.e. prevent further worsening of tinnitus...

There are some possible serious side effects, though:
Researchers at the University of Virginia reported in 2007 study using very large doses in a mouse model that acetylcysteine could potentially cause damage to the heart and lungs.[24] They found that acetylcysteine was metabolized to S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC), which increased blood pressure in the lungs and right ventricle of the heart (pulmonary artery hypertension) in mice treated with acetylcysteine. The effect was similar to that observed following a 3-week exposure to an oxygen-deprived environment (chronic hypoxia). The authors also found that SNOAC induced a hypoxia-like response in the expression of several important genes both in vitro and in vivo.
The implications of these findings for long-term treatment with acetylcysteine have not yet been investigated. The dose used by Palmer and colleagues was dramatically higher than that used in humans;[24] nonetheless, positive effects on age-diminished control of respiration (the hypoxic ventilatory response) have been observed previously in human subjects at more moderate doses.[25]



Hmm, just did some google searches and found something about melatonin.

Drug-mediated ototoxicity and tinnitus: alleviation with melatonin.
Reiter RJ, Tan DX, Korkmaz A, Fuentes-Broto L.

Source
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. reiter@uthscsa.edu

Abstract
This review evaluates the published basic science and clinical reports related to the role of melatonin in reducing the side effects of aminoglycosides and the cancer chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin, in the cochlea and vestibule of the inner ear. A thorough search of the literature was performed using available databases for the purpose of uncovering articles applicable to the current review. Cochlear function was most frequently evaluated by measuring otoacoustic emissions and their distortion products after animals were treated with cytotoxic drugs alone or in combination with melatonin. Vestibular damage due to aminoglycosides was evaluated by estimating hair cell loss in explanted utricles of newborn rats. Tinnitus was assessed in patients who received melatonin using a visual analogue scale or the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Compared to a mixture of antioxidants which included tocopherol, ascorbate, glutathione and N-acetyl-cysteine, melatonin, also a documented antioxidant, was estimated to be up to 150 times more effective in limiting the cochlear side effects, evaluated using otoacoustic emission distortion products, of gentamicin, tobramycin and cisplatin. In a dose-response manner, melatonin also reduced vestibular hair cell loss due to gentamicin treatment in explanted utricles of newborn rats. Finally, melatonin (3 mg daily) limited subjective tinnitus in patients. These findings suggest the potential use of melatonin to combat the ototoxicity of aminoglycosides and cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Additional studies at both the experimental and clinical levels should be performed to further document the actions of melatonin at the cochlear and vestibular levels to further clarify the protective mechanisms of action of this ubiquitously-acting molecule. Melatonin's low cost and minimal toxicity profile supports its use to protect the inner ear from drug-mediated damage.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21673362
 
I've used NAC.

My multi vitamin (Life Extension's Mix) even has it.

The dosage for me has been 600 mg per day.

When my tinnitus started back in April 2010, it wasn't more than a few weeks when I stumbled upon NAC. I started taking it immediately, but I can't attribute any improvement to it.

However, I think I mostly like NAC because of the supposed protection to my hearing. I hope it might i.e. prevent further worsening of tinnitus...

Ok cheers for that. I would take it for the protection also and if it helps in other ways then all good. Solgar do it also and i think they're supposed to be best for vitamins. Going to hit the health shop later. Do you take vit c also with them Markku?
 
tweak...very interesting stuff indeed, seems to help more with prevention that curative way after the tinnitus has been going on for a while...but none the less...

i think the us navy uses n acetylcysteine to inhibit hearing loss... administered quickly after extreme noise exposure

for example a member of a deck crew on aircraft carrier sometimes has protective head gear knocked off as a jet engine is throttling up and if given large doses of NAC and another supplement ( L- carnitine?) immediately after noise exposure allegedly limits oxidative stress and damage to the hearing hair cells (stereo cilia)

http://floridadetox.com/hearing-los...d-by-n-acetyl-cysteine-and-acetyl-l-carnitine

Markku

i think your information about the protective effects of melatonin against ototoxicity deserves its own thread so that people looking for this information are more likely to see it

btw aspirin (which can temporarily cause tinnitus symptoms) has also been found to be protective against the otoxicity and hearing loss often caused by taking aminoglycoside antibiotics if the aspirin is taken concomitant with the antibiotic

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16844331
 
interesting article...lots of stuff you already know...BUT...for those who are asking how much NAC, when and how often to take it...heres an informed professional recommendation

-------------------
Hearing Loss Prevention: Loud Noises We Hear Daily

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/hearing-loss-loud-noises-noise-levels_n_2632499.html

Swallow Some Protection
Inside our ears lie thousands of hairlike cells that turn sound waves into electrical signals so the brain can interpret what we hear. But very loud noise generates free radicals that damage those cells -- sometimes permanently. The U.S. military has been pouring money into research on prevention, and it's paying off. A clinical trial revealed that an over-the-counter supplement called N-acetylcysteine worked much better than earplugs alone at minimizing damage in Marines exposed to gunfire. Researcher Richard D. Kopke, MD, recommends taking 1,200 milligrams 12 hours before you're bombarded by loud noise (say, at a sporting event). If the noise is unexpected, pop 1,200 milligrams as soon as possible and take 900 to 1,200 milligrams three times a day, with meals, for the next 14 days.

(i have to confess that is more than ive taken before, i was too cautious maybe!?)

best wishes
mt
 
Thanks to mock turtle for the below:

interesting article...lots of stuff you already know...BUT...for those who are asking how much NAC, when and how often to take it...heres an informed professional recommendation

-------------------
Hearing Loss Prevention: Loud Noises We Hear Daily

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/hearing-loss-loud-noises-noise-levels_n_2632499.html

Swallow Some Protection
Inside our ears lie thousands of hairlike cells that turn sound waves into electrical signals so the brain can interpret what we hear. But very loud noise generates free radicals that damage those cells -- sometimes permanently. The U.S. military has been pouring money into research on prevention, and it's paying off. A clinical trial revealed that an over-the-counter supplement called N-acetylcysteine worked much better than earplugs alone at minimizing damage in Marines exposed to gunfire. Researcher Richard D. Kopke, MD, recommends taking 1,200 milligrams 12 hours before you're bombarded by loud noise (say, at a sporting event). If the noise is unexpected, pop 1,200 milligrams as soon as possible and take 900 to 1,200 milligrams three times a day, with meals, for the next 14 days.

(i have to confess that is more than ive taken before, i was too cautious maybe!?)

best wishes
mt
 
I've used NAC.

My multi vitamin (Life Extension's Mix) even has it.

The dosage for me has been 600 mg per day.

When my tinnitus started back in April 2010, it wasn't more than a few weeks when I stumbled upon NAC. I started taking it immediately, but I can't attribute any improvement to it.

However, I think I mostly like NAC because of the supposed protection to my hearing. I hope it might i.e. prevent further worsening of tinnitus...

There are some possible serious side effects, though:
Researchers at the University of Virginia reported in 2007 study using very large doses in a mouse model that acetylcysteine could potentially cause damage to the heart and lungs.[24] They found that acetylcysteine was metabolized to S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC), which increased blood pressure in the lungs and right ventricle of the heart (pulmonary artery hypertension) in mice treated with acetylcysteine. The effect was similar to that observed following a 3-week exposure to an oxygen-deprived environment (chronic hypoxia). The authors also found that SNOAC induced a hypoxia-like response in the expression of several important genes both in vitro and in vivo.
The implications of these findings for long-term treatment with acetylcysteine have not yet been investigated. The dose used by Palmer and colleagues was dramatically higher than that used in humans;[24] nonetheless, positive effects on age-diminished control of respiration (the hypoxic ventilatory response) have been observed previously in human subjects at more moderate doses.[25]



Hmm, just did some google searches and found something about melatonin.

Drug-mediated ototoxicity and tinnitus: alleviation with melatonin.
Reiter RJ, Tan DX, Korkmaz A, Fuentes-Broto L.

Source
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. reiter@uthscsa.edu

Abstract
This review evaluates the published basic science and clinical reports related to the role of melatonin in reducing the side effects of aminoglycosides and the cancer chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin, in the cochlea and vestibule of the inner ear. A thorough search of the literature was performed using available databases for the purpose of uncovering articles applicable to the current review. Cochlear function was most frequently evaluated by measuring otoacoustic emissions and their distortion products after animals were treated with cytotoxic drugs alone or in combination with melatonin. Vestibular damage due to aminoglycosides was evaluated by estimating hair cell loss in explanted utricles of newborn rats. Tinnitus was assessed in patients who received melatonin using a visual analogue scale or the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Compared to a mixture of antioxidants which included tocopherol, ascorbate, glutathione and N-acetyl-cysteine, melatonin, also a documented antioxidant, was estimated to be up to 150 times more effective in limiting the cochlear side effects, evaluated using otoacoustic emission distortion products, of gentamicin, tobramycin and cisplatin. In a dose-response manner, melatonin also reduced vestibular hair cell loss due to gentamicin treatment in explanted utricles of newborn rats. Finally, melatonin (3 mg daily) limited subjective tinnitus in patients. These findings suggest the potential use of melatonin to combat the ototoxicity of aminoglycosides and cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Additional studies at both the experimental and clinical levels should be performed to further document the actions of melatonin at the cochlear and vestibular levels to further clarify the protective mechanisms of action of this ubiquitously-acting molecule. Melatonin's low cost and minimal toxicity profile supports its use to protect the inner ear from drug-mediated damage.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21673362

Hey Markku, thanks so much for all of your effort and data on TT!! You have really helped me out! Question, any intel on whether any of these supplements (melatonin, NAC, etc...) have any clinical support for helping idiopathic tinnitus?? Appreciate any thoughts/info you might have on that. Thanks again!!
 
Clinical research on the effectiveness of supplements on tinnitus has been very mixed.

Having said that: I take them, including NAC. I do 600 mg daily, like Markku. I took a very large dose (1800 mg to start, then 1200 daily for the next two days), on the recommendation of my doctor immediately following a severe noise exposure and it did seem to help. But I would not take those levels on a regular basis.

I also take Rozerem, which is a prescription drug in the US. Its basically is pharmaceutical-grade melatonin. I take it for sleep and it has helped. Great thing about it is that it is not addicting and has few side effects.
 
I'm popping it like candy. 1600 mg or more a day. After a week, my H went away. Seems to be making a huge difference. The T seems to be heading south but still to early. In the early stages, I think this is a must have vitamin.
 
I'm popping it like candy. 1600 mg or more a day. After a week, my H went away. Seems to be making a huge difference. The T seems to be heading south but still to early. In the early stages, I think this is a must have vitamin.

@JohnG

Last year, a psychiatry journal published a letter about NAC and tinnitus. The letter described a woman being treated with NAC for unipolar depression (2g, daily). As a pleasant and unexpected surprise, the NAC nearly eradicated her tinnitus; and, when it did reoccur, she described it as "much less noticeable" than before her treatment. Please note her tinnitus, which she described as "medium" but nonstop, had bothered her for six years prior to the NAC treatment.

Here's the link:

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpsy/article/viewFile/91125/80563

Good luck!
 
Thanks jazz. I definitely have experienced an improvement when I started it. I take that + magnesium in high dosages. Will do so for about a month then go into maintenance doses. The US Navy has tested this and I think the results have shown that it will also protect against further noise induced damage and possible ototoxicity. So I think I will take this for the rest of my life or until hair cell regeneration works...which ever comes first.
 
Nice one john your a star. My problem is this ,what to do ,what to do?????/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...plement-could-cause-you-loads-of-trouble.aspx
Large doses in a mouse model that acetylcysteine could potentially cause damage to the heart and lungs.[79] They found that acetylcysteine was metabolized to S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC), which increased blood pressure in the lungs and right ventricle of the heart (pulmonary artery hypertension) in mice treated with acetylcysteine. The effect was similar to that observed following a 3-week exposure to an oxygen-deprived environment (chronic hypoxia). The authors also found that SNOAC induced a hypoxia-like response in the expression of several important genes both in vitro and in vivo.

The implications of these findings for long-term treatment with acetylcysteine have not yet been investigated. The dose used by Palmer and colleagues was dramatically higher than that used in humans, the equivalent of about 20 grams per day.[79]
[80]
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcysteine#Adverse_effects ]

Not sure. Even though this was done on mice and with really high doses, I think I would want to play it (hopefully) safe and stay below 2 or 3 grams a day at maximum. Currently my dose is 600 mg of NAC a day, been for a long time now. Before anyone asks, I haven't experienced any noticeable effects, but due to the supposed protective functions I continue to take it.
 
Markku didnt see the mice were getting a human equiv of 20grams ,that makes it more palletable,,,and your 600mg have you ever cranked that up to 2 grams (maybe the theraputic dose)
 
I don't have any adverse affects other than a little gas, dryer mouth, and perhaps a bit more bowel movements. I will continue on this dose for at least a month. Then I might go to a maintenance dose of 500mg. I got my blood pressure/heart rate measured and it is just fine. I would suggest you get you bp/hr checked. But I am at 1.5g per day. If I go to 2g, I get a slight upset stomach which I don't like.
 
I'm just taking it with water. Sometimes with a meal. Either way, it gives me a little dry mouth when it hits me. Of course, I had no placebo to check this, but my H went completely away...and it was hell. I still have the T (high pitch hissing sound). But I can now listen to music...and apart from the overlay of hissing, the notes from a piano or saxophone sound normal now. That is a huge improvement for me!!!
 
I'm just taking it with water. Sometimes with a meal. Either way, it gives me a little dry mouth when it hits me. Of course, I had no placebo to check this, but my H went completely away...and it was hell. I still have the T (high pitch hissing sound). But I can now listen to music...and apart from the overlay of hissing, the notes from a piano or saxophone sound normal now. That is a huge improvement for me!!!

Hi JohnG,
wow, that's really good news. I am still taking this "Hearing Pill" but without any effect until today.
I also still take CoQ10 and Magnesium, sometimes also VitaminB12, but until now, nothing
has really changed.

Greest tomytl
 
Hey Tomytl...yes, about two days ago, I noticed no distorted sounds. The T is still non stop hissing but sounds is not so bad to my ears. I've been taking the NAC for just over one week. I did order the Hearing Pill but it has pretty much the same stuff you and I are taking. But I got two bottles. The T seems to be the real difficulty now.
 
Before another Dentist visit i will take 1200 mg

For your own safety, the higher amounts are probably best taken like Johno uses it- as preventable measure. I'm also taking it when the viruses are on the move, at colder period, boosts immune system. Cycle it. I feel that theres not enough research done on NAC, that its safe to take a round the year. Depends on ones age and physical condition as well. Older you get less glutathione and taurine your body produces.
It seems to have good effect on my H, at least my 8 month daughter screams hasn't set me back. Wierdly, i can't take than 600 mg per day, as it makes me really nauseous. 300mg is sweetspot to me. I'm sure its really acidic, so should not be taken with food. Maybe half an hour later or before. Nac depletes copper, so put some seeds in your diet. This is a great amino acid to have in your arsenal! Heavy artillery for sure for many occasions.
 

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