Ears ringing with med increase?

[BrandiBrat]

Does anyone else's ears ring when their meds are increased? It has happened with every medication I've been on... Dilantin...Keppra...and now Topamax. Every time my dosage goes up my ears ring so loud it's about all I can hear for about a month or so. It's driving me nuts. Does it happen to anyone else?

 

[Nakamova]

It hasn't happened for me. But it's a known side effect of at least some of the anti-seizure meds (and at over 200 other meds too!). You may be particularly sensitive. Have any other kinds of meds (like aspirin) affected you that way?

Another possibility is that the med transitions are affecting your serotonin levels (in which case B6 might help), or that some other vitamin deficiency (such as zinc) is contributing. If you don't take a B-complex vitamin, it might be worth trying.

 

[Bobbi]

My ears have been ringing for months now, almost constant! I have been on same dose of generic Keppra since 12/2012 which is max dosage, 3,000 mg / day. I will ask my orthomolecular doctor in April when I see him again and in May with new neurologist and get their opinions.

 

[masterjen]

Some general info: Ringing in the ears can be a sign of high frequency hearing loss and damage to the inner ear nerve cells due to excess noise exposure (including things like loud music or other sounds through earphones, not just industrial noise). Over the years this exposure to recreational "noise" for too long can lead to early hearing damage and ringing in the ears. One's family history of hearing loss also plays a role, since simply having a hearing loss (even one so subtle you aren't really aware of it) can cause ringing in the ears. Then when you take a medication that also causes you ringing in the ears, the effect can be compounded. The effect often worsens over time, especially when more than one factor is involved in causing the ringing. There is not much one can do about family history or the past exposure to noise and medications, but we can minimize our current and future exposure. When it comes to the added insult of medication, sometimes (if possible) even a slight reduction in the medication can make a difference.

 

[lindsayschu2]

Yes Topamax did the same thing to me as I was titrating.

 

[kirsten]

I sometimes get tinnitus when I start a new med. If it went on longer than it does, though, I think I'd start bouncing between the walls. I'd say, with my horrible memory, that the ringing hasn't lasted longer than two weeks.