Tinnitus Worsened by Azithromycin — Next Steps?

Hey guys,

I started to develop tinnitus at a young age, precisely at 18 years old. I still don’t know why today but I vividly remember the day when my tinnitus appeared.

Unfortunately for almost all my life I have battled with many other health issues. Not long ago I had what is called Babesia antibodies and met with a famous Lyme doctor specialist and he prescribed me both Azithromycin and Malarone to treat Babesia and Lyme as well (because I had a lot of health problems, he said there was some high chance that I had Lyme too). Well of course this doctor never mentioned one of the potential risks of Azithromycin, especially when taking it for a long time (I was prescribed it for a very long time, several months). Never in a million years did I know it could cause damage to the ear and worsen tinnitus symptoms. What’s worse is that this doctor knew that I had already pretty intense tinnitus and he didn’t even bat an eye.

When I started the treatment, after a few days I already had that impression that my tinnitus was worsening. But because I had so many health issues I just thought it was another one of my many health problems and I was just being crazy. It gradually got worse and worse for about a month and a half to the point (5 days ago) where I could feel my tinnitus ringing so hard all the time that I knew something was really wrong. So I checked on the internet because at that moment my tinnitus was so bad I somehow knew that the only explanation of my horrible tinnitus was the antibiotic treatment I was getting. And sure enough, a quick search on the internet about tinnitus and Azithromycin told me everything I needed to know and that I wasn’t crazy. Not in a million years did I think that antibiotics could damage the ear, the doctor should have told me this.

So here I am, 5 days after I abruptly stopped the Azithromycin (which I took for a month and a half), my tinnitus is still horrible. I guess it’s not going to be better, is it?

I really don’t know what to do, I seriously want to give up on life. I had already so many health challenges and this one was just added to the list. I can’t sleep anymore, the ringing is so bad. I’m so angry at my doctor. I can’t enjoy life anymore.

I’m just 27 years old and I can’t live like this. I guess I’m just writing here as a way to evacuate all my pain, but it’s so hard for me, to deal with all this pain. I can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s the first time I see it completely dark.

 

OMG, you were just trying to treat one issue and got hit by a worsening of another.

Medication induced tinnitus can take a long time to clear up, but it can clear up. It's only been 5 days since you stopped it so have hope.

 

Yes, I’m devastated.

What’s worse is I told him that I had doubts about long-term antibiotic use, and still, he never told me about the possible side effects of using Azithromycin. I took the treatment blindly because I trusted him. Several times, I thought that my worsening of tinnitus was maybe due to the treatment, but because he never told anything about possible side effects, I always shrugged it off.

I should have stopped the moment I felt my tinnitus getting worse, that was after just a few days, but instead, I took them for a month and a half.

 

I have never taken Azithromycin, but I have experienced two significant relapses in my tinnitus since taking Cephalosporins and Penicillins.

I recall reading a paper demonstrating that the gut microbiome could influence brain neurotransmitters and inflammation.

I have just completed a gut microbiome test, which has demonstrated that I have severely depleted Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterial strains (many of these strains are required to make GABA and degrade histamine and oxalates), and other opportunistic strains that are known to drive up histamine.

So, I have just started a gut treatment protocol involving targeted probiotics, prebiotics, sodium butyrate, bovine colostrum, and herbal antifungals. I am also taking ketotifen, which stabilizes mast cells (reduces histamine).

Just something to think about...