Tinnitus and Mild Hyperacusis from Doxycycline or Allergies?

[Richard M]

Hi All,

After taking two 200mg doses of Doxycycline for a tick bite (which ended up testing negative for all diseases) my tinnitus started, along with what seems to be mild hyperacusis. But might it be a result of allergies and anxiety?

The Doxycycline doses were spaced two days apart (I threw up about half of the first dose after feeling nauseated and having chills in my wrists after a half hour) but, being terrified of the potential for Lyme disease, took another prescribed oral 200mg dose two days later. The next day, I noticed ringing in my ears that has lasted now already for more than 3 weeks. I've always had a slight bit of tinnitus, probably due to trips to the firing range and music playing, but it was only noticeable at night if I covered my ears, and was not at all bothersome.

Of course, it's also allergy season in Northern California (this is my second year here in the spring) and prior to taking the Doxycycline I was having lots of allergy symptoms including stuffed up nose, and mucous production. Concerns about coronavirus have also given me an immense amount of anxiety. I was not on any other meds. Telling my symptoms to my doc, he recommended I take Flonase/Fluticasone (nasal steroid) and an anti-histamine for a week. I started the Flonase but have been too afraid to take the antihistamine (Claritin or Zyrtec) because I've heard these may cause or worsen tinnitus. My right ear seems to be ringing more than my left.

Any thoughts or advice on likelihood of Doxycycline vs allergies as tinnitus cause or experience with antihistamine medication?

Thank you.

 

[billie48]

Any thoughts or advice on likelihood of Doxycycline vs allergies as tinnitus cause

Welcome to the forum. Doxycycline is known to have tinnitus as one of the side effects. So it can be ototoxic. But stress and allergy are also other known causes of tinnitus. Sometimes T may be triggered by one of more causes. So it is not always easy to pin point the exact cause. For more reference of Doxycycline, you can do a search on it and you will find many prior discussions.

From your description, you tinnitus seems to be mild. Take the positive that your T is not always noticeable, as some members hear this non-stop. Try to stay positive and calm down as much as you can, as stress and anxiety are bad for tinnitus. Take good care. God bless.

Billie

 

[Richard M]

Thank you very much for your comments Billie!

I'd like to provide a 2.5 months later update from initial tinnitus onset.

Eventually, I started taking both Flonase (fluticasone nasal steroid) and 10 mg Claritin daily, neither of which worsened the tinnitus, so fears that these could make tinnitus worse have been put to rest for me. That said, I'm not convinced the medications are all that effective either since the tinnitus is still there. I'm beginning to hope and suspect though that my tinnitus is due to allergies and exacerbated by stress since it does seem variable day-to-day. I came across a video of a doctor that shows a maneuver involving pulling on the earlobes and jutting out the jaw that is supposed to clear the Eustachian tubes. At very least, it's funny to watch.



Sometimes it helps and the tinnitus seems to change from a ringing sound to a hissing/cricket chirping sound, but other times it doesn't help. However, each time I do the maneuver I do detect a salty discharge in the back of my throat as though something has drained. Another reason allergies may be the prime culprit is the fullness feeling and tenderness in my ears and which is variable by day. Also, my tinnitus is only intense in my right ear while at initial onset it seemed more bothersome in the left. Sometimes (in either ear) I'll get spikes of a higher pitch sound that will last for just a few seconds before going back to the baseline ring. But, as Billie remarks above, exact causes can be hard to pin point. I've always suffered from allergies but have never before been bothered by ringing in my ears until the doxycycline .

Anyway, still have the ringing but am feeling more hopeful that it will fade after allergy season. Best wishes to everyone and thank you for your encouraging and informative posts.

 

[ehrfried]

Hi All,

After taking two 200mg doses of Doxycycline for a tick bite (which ended up testing negative for all diseases) my tinnitus started, along with what seems to be mild hyperacusis. But might it be a result of allergies and anxiety?

The Doxycycline doses were spaced two days apart (I threw up about half of the first dose after feeling nauseated and having chills in my wrists after a half hour) but, being terrified of the potential for Lyme disease, took another prescribed oral 200mg dose two days later. The next day, I noticed ringing in my ears that has lasted now already for more than 3 weeks. I've always had a slight bit of tinnitus, probably due to trips to the firing range and music playing, but it was only noticeable at night if I covered my ears, and was not at all bothersome.

Of course, it's also allergy season in Northern California (this is my second year here in the spring) and prior to taking the Doxycycline I was having lots of allergy symptoms including stuffed up nose, and mucous production. Concerns about coronavirus have also given me an immense amount of anxiety. I was not on any other meds. Telling my symptoms to my doc, he recommended I take Flonase/Fluticasone (nasal steroid) and an anti-histamine for a week. I started the Flonase but have been too afraid to take the antihistamine (Claritin or Zyrtec) because I've heard these may cause or worsen tinnitus. My right ear seems to be ringing more than my left.

Any thoughts or advice on likelihood of Doxycycline vs allergies as tinnitus cause or experience with antihistamine medication?

Thank you.

In order not to copy paste whole posts, here is what I wrote to someone else just now:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...e-after-taking-doxycycline.42576/#post-549523

 

[Richard M]

9 month update: (after taking doxycycline in March 2020)

My tinnitus is largely gone or at least it's not really bothering me any more. For all suffering from new onset tinnitus, give it some time, things can get better.

For the past month now there has been a noticeable decrease in the annoyance of the tinnitus which for many months had been a high pitched ring, primarily in my right ear. If I were to cover my ears with my hands the ringing would be unbearably shrill and loud. Now covering my ears with my hands I can still hear ringing but it is softer and I can comfortably wear headphone style ear protection without the ringing being horrendously loud. I do still hear ringing when I lay my head down on a pillow but I think much less than before. In a quiet room, without covering my ears, there is a faint hum/ring that sounds like static or slight feedback from electronic equipment, like the sound a guitar amplifier makes when an electric guitar is plugged in but not being played, though most of the time I don't notice it.

Maybe I'm back to pre-tinnitus condition and as poster ehrfried has suggested, it simply takes a long time (8 months or so) for the ototoxic residues from doxycycline to fully clear out of the inner ear.

Perhaps my brain has just gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me so much now. It is very hard to say. I can confidently say that stress and allergies increase the ringing. I have not recently been taking any medications or following any protocols except wearing earplugs (Ear Peace) while using any sort of loud equipment and have been getting regular exercise. I had previously been taking daily 10 mg claritin for allergies, but stopped almost 1.5 months ago. Will provide future updates.

 

[rv123]

Hi Richard, do you have any new updates? So glad things have been going well for you!!