Tinnitus from Antacid (Pepcid AC) or Noise?

[Hyogga]

Hello everyone.

I am new here. I think I got tinnitus from taking a drug called Pepcid AC 10mg at only 1 dose but I am not sure. I had acid reflux (GERD) which started Janyuar 20 and took Omeprazole 20mg on February 1 for only 4 days but it didn't affect my ears.

On February 27 I took 1 dose of Pepcid AC 10mg and I felt very stimulated and couldn't sleep for 2 nights.

I went online to read about this drug and read that it causes tinnitus. But when I took this drug my ears did not ring. They felt very sensitive to noise, possibly because my CNS was simulated from it. From that day forward I was worrying the drug caused tinnitus. I started listening to rain sounds on my laptop (not through headphones) at low volume for about a month and I got a white noise machine on March 13 and started to listen to rain and water sounds every night for about a month. I decided to stop because I read prolonged exposure to these sounds can rewire the brain. But another study I read said there was no evidence this is true for humans and that listening to these sounds at low volume causes no harm at all.

On March 24 I downloaded an app on my phone. There was a button called "radio." I pressed it and heard a loud screeching noise that irritated my ears. I shut it off in less than 10 seconds and from that day on I felt the phone damaged my hearing and caused the tinnitus but I am not sure. The phone dB level was about 80-90 dB and it was in my hand. Could this have caused a problem? Several doctors I spoke to said the phone did not cause any damage as it was less than 10 seconds and only around 80-90 dB.

I have been under severe stress/anxiety when I got GERD and was wondering if my tinnitus (if I really have it) was caused by the short term drugs I took, the nature sounds I listened to for a month, or the incident with the phone or severe stress/anxiety due to the illness I had? What are your opinions?

 

[Hyogga]

Anybody?

 

[jacob256]

Hey pal, if I had to guess, it's most likely most related to your stress/anxiety. It seems like a lot of people get stress induced T. I think that was the source of mine as well. Based on everything I've read, it seems that chronic stress can screw up your neurotransmitter levels in your brain and lead to all sorts of stuff happening. One thing in particular from chronic stress is an imbalance between Glutamate (an excitatory neurotransmitter) and GABA (a calming neurotransmitter). Excessive Glutamate from various causes has been linked to tinnitus. I know it can be tough at first but try to remain calm and just wait it out for a bit! And feel free to message me if you'd like!

 

[Hyogga]

Thanks Jacob. What do you think about the phone? Do you think that could have caused it or maybe the white noise?

 

[jacob256]

Haha there's no way to know for sure but I kinda doubt it unless you were like blasting the rain and water sounds!

 

[Hyogga]

I measured the noise of the white noise machine with a dB meter and it was definitely under 60 dB and it was 2-3ft away. I doubt it. I read we can be exposed to 70 dB and under for as long as we want for in a 24h period. Sounds at 85 dB starts causing damage over a prolonged period of time.

What is your opinion of the phone? 80-90 dB in hand but shut off in less than 10 seconds.

 

[HopeforAll]

Hello, I made an account because I took my first prescription drug, Pepcid (Famotidine) and my tinnitus began 48 hours later. My ENT said it was stress induced but I really do not know what could have caused it. Hopefully, it fades for us both. I only took one 25mg pill 7 weeks ago as well.

 

[Hyogga]

I think it should go. It doesn't damage hair cells in the ear like antibiotics. Maybe yours is not from Pepcid and could be from a club as in your signature you went too with loud noise. Is it 1 ear or both?

 

[HopeforAll]

I think it should go. It doesn't damage hair cells in the ear like antibiotics. Maybe yours is not from Pepcid and could be from a club as in your signature you went too with loud noise. Is it 1 ear or both?

It could be the club. But I am not sure since I never had any ringing, ear fullness or discomfort. I told my ENT that but she said it wouldn't show up that late but who knows. I know some people get it from noise over time but I've probably gone clubbing 3x in the last year. It just started one day while laying on the bed. It's both ears.

 

[jacob256]

@Hyogga This stuff is complicated because I feel like every single person's genetics/predisposition to it is different. I turned my car radio up to like "20/21" volume on my 40 minute drive to school and back home for years of college plus my 15 minute drive to high school and back home and I always listened my music loud on my iPhone whenever I had my ear buds in (American idiot Green Day album you gotta listen to loud) and nothing ever happened. I also went to a club a handful of times and played drums (real and Rock Band the video game) and nothing ever happened. So I highly, highly doubt that what you mentioned regarding your phone could have caused yours, at least in an independent sense.

My theory is that everyone has a "threshold". For example, whether the name is regarded as medically plausible, the symptoms exist- let's take "adrenal fatigue" into consideration. People who develop "adrenal fatigue" generally do because of chronic stress, whether the cause is emotional stress, physical stress like more intense exercise, lack of sleep, not eating right, taking certain meds, or whatever. But adrenal fatigue takes months or even years to develop but oddly enough, you don't feel bad over this time period and you don't feel the effects of it until you just "wake up not feeling right one day" so you reached the "threshold".

So regarding T, I think it "activates" once a combination of things like stress, ototoxic meds, hearing damage, etc. accumulate over a span of time (which most likely depends on the person as well) or unless you did something more serious that immediately activated it. But the thing is, if you lined up 100 people and blasted them all with some very loud noise for a while, I guarantee that not 100% of them would develop T. Going into ototoxic meds, I took Advil a good bit before I had T and it never did anything bad (that I could tell). But after I had T, I took it one time and it led to the worst spike I have had since I developed it even though it didn't do anything before because I think since I've reached my "threshold", I can't currently take anymore things that are bad for the "threshold".

Let's say that "adrenal fatigue" activates when you hit the 10/10 mark and you immediately start taking measures to fix it the very next day after you feel bad. Even if you make the threshold fall back down to 9.9/10, it doesn't make all the symptoms magically go away; it takes months or years to recover from that and you may have to get back to the 5/10 mark before you feel fine again.

So I think that in your case, perhaps your T was caused by a combination of the drug you took, your pre-existing stress/anxiety, your newly created stress anxiety about developing T, and maybe minimally the sound exposure. Stay positive though and try to destress and relax/focus on other things! I know it's easier said than done but give it a try and feel free to message me anytime!

Also I wish this website gave phone notifications lol- if possible they should try to implement that somehow.

 

[maria26]

Hyogga did it go I have done the same with Famotidine so scared

 

[Supersix]

I have chronic tinnitus and GERD, and it's very challenging for me. I take 20 mg of Omeprazole daily for maintenance. Over the years, and especially recently, I've learned that stress and anxiety can make things worse. I occasionally take Pepcid, and it doesn't interfere with the Omeprazole.

Our minds are powerful and can make you think the medicine is making things worse when, in reality, it's not. You need to learn not to fear medicine, and your quality of life will improve. Any spike you experience will eventually subside. I used to be terrified of all medications, but now I realize they improve my life. I'm not afraid of them anymore, and I'm willing to try anything that might help.