Withdrawal of Escitalopram Followed by Tinnitus Two Months Later: A Delayed Onset?

[Dirtworks]

Hi, new member here. I have very loud hissing in both ears which started about 4 months ago.

I had stopped taking Escitalopram for anxiety a couple of months before that.

Could the withdrawal have caused my tinnitus, even though the tinnitus only started two months later?

I was taking 20 mg a day of Escitalopram and I stopped it at once without tapering. I later read I should have done it gradually.

 

[Michael Leigh]

HI @Dirtworks

Many things can cause tinnitus including the medication you have mentioned. However, the most common cause is exposure to loud noise. Before the onset of tinnitus did you listen to music frequently through headphones, earbuds? Did you wear a headset regularly? Did you listen to loud music at home, in the car or go to places where loud music is played? If yes to any of my questions then you probably have noise induced tinnitus. Please click on the link below and read my post: new to tinnitus what to do. Go to my started threads and read my post: Tinnitus, A Personal View, that you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Dirtworks]

Thanks Michael for the response. I haven't listened to loud music very much but have used some loud power tools through the years.

 

[Dirtworks]

My tinnitus is a high frequency static like hiss. It actually reminds me of the noise I have always heard when sticking my head underwater.

I stopped taking the Escitalopram a couple months previous without tapering. Forgot mention I had also just quit smoking and drinking coffee. I drank a fair amount of coffee 4-6 cups a day and thought it necessary in order stop smoking. I was trying get healthier in case I caught COVID-19 as an asthmatic with mild COPD. Breathing has much improved but the tinnitus started.

It did go away for about a day but came back with a vengeance. Today I got some CBD oil to try. Hoping it will help with the anxiety while I wait 6 months to see an ENT specialist in Ontario. I'm going to read what you suggested above Mike.

Thanks again and let's find a cure to this nightmare!

 

[Dirtworks]

Recent hearing test results indicate 30-40 dB hearing loss in mid to high frequencies in both ears.

At 58 I've had tinnitus probably from loud equipment for 3-4 years but it has really spiked recently.

I'm due to see ENT specialist in a couple months.

What is the best equipment available to view damage to cochlear hair cells? MRI, CT, X-Ray...? This high pitched screeching is really beating me down.

Desperate for a cure like so many others. God bless us.

 

[ajc]

What is the best equipment available to view damage to cochlear hair cells? MRI, CT, X-Ray...? This high pitched screeching is really beating me down.

There is no imaging technique to see hair cells. But your issue is very likely caused by the hearing loss at your age.

You need to wait for FX-322 becoming available.

 

[Dirtworks]

Oh really. So that's why my search wouldn't come up with anything. Is it because the hair cells are so small or because of their location? How then can they be certain that one is a candidate for FX-322?

 

[Dirtworks]

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. My tinnitus has been almost completely gone since late afternoon and now into night.

Trying to think of something I have done differently i.e. food, drink, medication, activity , mindset, weather...? It has warmed up (-5 C) but it was warmer last week and that didn't help. There has to be something that has changed but I can't for the life of me figure out what. Sure is nice. I can hear the clock on the wall ticking and the steel of the wood stove expanding and contracting. Sure makes you appreciate the little things.

What will tomorrow bring? Wishing everyone peace.

Keep fingers crossed for FX-322.

 

[El BUZZ]

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. My tinnitus has been almost completely gone since late afternoon and now into night.

Trying to think of something I have done differently i.e. food, drink, medication, activity , mindset, weather...? It has warmed up (-5 C) but it was warmer last week and that didn't help. There has to be something that has changed but I can't for the life of me figure out what. Sure is nice. I can hear the clock on the wall ticking and the steel of the wood stove expanding and contracting. Sure makes you appreciate the little things.

What will tomorrow bring? Wishing everyone peace.

Keep fingers crossed for FX-322.

Trying to track what triggers the changes in your tinnitus is a highway to complete madness. You'll never figure out what to do to keep it at its quietest so best place to put your energy is into trying to have the most solid mood independently of how loud your tinnitus is each day. Otherwise this condition will wear you emotionally and psychologically as the rollercoaster it is. Easier said than done but life tests us in a wide variety of ways, this is the one we have to manage.

Best of lucks and hugs!

 

[Dirtworks]

@El BUZZ, thanks and while I certainly understand the highway to madness I can't help but think back to possible triggers when it spikes.

My 97-year-old mother passed last week and it seems to have spiked again. Received a pile of sweet baked goods and recently started drinking coffee again. Sure makes me curious.

Best of luck to you as well.

 

[David S]

Trying to track what triggers the changes in your tinnitus is a highway to complete madness. You'll never figure out what to do to keep it at its quietest so best place to put your energy is into trying to have the most solid mood independently of how loud your tinnitus is each day. Otherwise this condition will wear you emotionally and psychologically as the rollercoaster it is. Easier said than done but life tests us in a wide variety of ways, this is the one we have to manage.

Best of lucks and hugs!

Thanks for you wise words. The concept takes a few seconds to understand but many years to master. At least for me and I am not really there yet... I had it under control many times but because of a recent worsening I am struggling again