Tinnitus Worse After Trazodone/Pregabalin

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here. I’ve been reading Tinnitus Talk for about 8 years now, and I’ve gained a lot of information and hope from all of you. So, from that point, I want to say hello and thank you to the entire community!

I’d like to explain what’s going on with me and ask for some advice—maybe someone has had a similar experience?

I’ve had tinnitus for 8 years due to acoustic trauma. Over that time, I’ve had a few significant spikes after being exposed to loud noise, but my tinnitus usually returned to its baseline after a shorter or longer period.

Recently, I started experiencing sleeping problems and anxiety, mostly related to work and other factors, not tinnitus. One day, my doctor prescribed me Trittico (Trazodone). I took it a few times, not regularly, and in small doses when I had trouble sleeping, and everything was fine.

Last month, I began to experience anxiety, so my doctor prescribed me a small dose of Pregabalin (50 mg/day) to calm my nervous system. After the second day of using it, I noticed my tinnitus was getting louder. I also took 75 mg of Trazodone for sleep (only for 2 days). After 6 days of using Pregabalin, I decided to stop because it seemed to elevate my tinnitus to a much louder level.

Now, it’s been 10 days since I stopped taking both Pregabalin and Trazodone, but my tinnitus is still extremely loud and high-pitched. I can’t sleep, and it’s really hard to mask the sound. I’m scared that I may have damaged something in my ears or nervous system, and that it won’t settle down.

Has anyone had experience with Pregabalin and Trazodone? Is it possible that they permanently worsened my tinnitus, or could this spike subside? How long do these kinds of spikes usually last?

Sorry if my writing is a bit chaotic, but I’m really not feeling like myself right now. I’d be grateful for any information or advice.