having been to my gp this morning because i am not coping with things she wants me to up my dose of dothiepin/dosulepin from 75 to 150mg per night. just to give you a little history - my T of 16 years increased in my right ear following a holiday where i took anti malarial meds in december. it was accompanied by feelings of fullness, pain and 'creeping' i was treated by my gp for ear wax ,-then infection initially, before being referred to ENT. ENT say i have sensorial loss in the right ear but not in the right so have referred me for an MRI to check for a tumour. (which i have tomorrow) In the meantime my depression , which i have suffered in the past has come back with a vengance because of all of this, but, my g.p just wants to throw more at me and while i understand that i have to treat the depression i cannot help but panic that i have ears that have been damaged by a drug and now she wants me to take even more! i have read older posts on this forum that indicate that this drug can cause the T to increase as it wears off throughout the day which would explain why mine gets louder as the day goes on. i have also been having a lot of 'spiking' which terrifies me! can anone tell me about this drug and long term effects on T or, if ther is a safer drug to use here in the U.K ? thanks.

Hi Debs
my tinnitus went up in volume like yours after 12 years of quite t noise induced jan o9 my t increased and also so did my hypercusis i was in deep shock that it was back and bothersome why it increased cant pinpoint it i had amri done very loud for me so bring some good earplugs
wishing you well
e

Hi debs,
Iv never heard of dothiepin causing tinnitus, however anti-malarial such as quinine can have ototoxic effects (toxic to the ear). Part of prescribing anti-depressants is to break the tinnitus cycle (www.healthyhearing.com/management/uploads/articles/1folmer21703.gif), where negative association is broken down.

As far as other anti-depressants go none of them are strictly in a red flag category but some can cause tinnitus, in particular Clomipramine, Amitriptyline, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa and Luvox. These may worsen tinnitus, and i stress may. I would consult an ENT doctor if you want more information as this is not an area i know in depth.

Clonazepam has worked well for me Debs. Best of luck.

many, many thanks.

Hi Debs.

I avoided anti-depressents as long as I could; I had exactly the concerns that you have expressed above. However, I couldn't cope and eventually started taking Clonazepam. It hasn't helped in terms of depression. I still feel low 99% of the time. However, it does put me to sleep fairly quickly and so I don't spend ages trying to sleep whilst listening to my intrusive and unmaskable tinnitus.

Best of luck debs.

Debs, just to say that I was on Dosulepin for five years with no trouble, and then after cutting my dosage back, I upped it again and tinnitus started (very quietly). Keep an eye out. I'm in the same boat as you, very depressed and yet really unwilling to take more meds (though I think I may have to). I've heard Remeron (Zispin in the UK) doesnt have T as a side effect. Anyone else heard different?

Another name in the US for Zoloft is Sertraline, and yes it does cause T as a side effect. I was taking this before the onset of T. I am very very fed up with doctors who don't discuss side effects. It borders on criminal. And then there have been these reports that anti depressants are really placebos...

On the other hand, and maybe Mr Microbiologist can answer this, if one stops taking the Zoloft or whatever, will the T diminish over time?

i have been taking the 150mg dose for two nights now and today my T is very loud and even my 'good' left ear is joining in. i have made an appt with g.p tomorrow to discuss weaning off of this drug but i don't know where that will leave me with regaurds to the depression. it is a vicious circle! i have read that dosulepin can cause bilateral hearing loss, and have the effect of inducing tinnitus as you wean off! my g.p is very unhelpful and last week told me that i was a nuisance to her a nusiance to my husband and a nusiance to my children. heaven knows what she is going to say when i go in tomorrow and tell her that i want off these !!