Constant ringing in your ears?

[SusieO]

I am not sure when this actually started, but I have this constant ringing in my ears and when it is quiet in the house or wherever I may be it actually gives me anxiety to have to listen to this high-pitched buzzing.

Does anyone else have this - I have no idea if it is just another wonderful gift from the evil drug Lipitor or maybe a side effect from a concussion I sustained over a year ago.

[cjbrooksjc]

SusieO: Sounds like tinnitus (tin-I-tis). It's common among people over 50. If you are not in that age group you might ck with your Dr. , otherwise, you may have to learn to live with it. Your Dr. can tell you if there are things you can do to soften the ringing. I had the prob before Statins and don't know if Statins make it worse.

Brooks

[SusieO]

Thanks Brooks. I figured it was tinnitus - just wondered if anyone else had this problem occur as a result of taking a statin. I just turned the big 50 this spring!

I did a bit more research and found out you can have constant tinnitus from a concussion and it also can be more pronounced when you are under stress which I am right now (more than normal). :lol:

[bucho]

Tinnitus yes indeed! I never had tinnitus until my last few months on zocor. It came on during my final three months on zocor, the time in which all hell broke loose in mind and body. For a year after that it was a constant companion, although it varied in intensity at different times and I did notice a correlation to stress. Nowadays (16 months off zocor) it's gone about half of the time but returns during times of stress. I'm at work right now and it's hissing away at about half-volume. For a while I was using it as a barometer for my recovery -- in fact I would give my wife a daily "tinnitus report" -- but I have since decided that it may never end completely so I don't place much stock in it anymore for judging my recovery. In short, the zocor may have brought it on, but maybe middle age will now sustain it (I'm 53).

[SusieO]

Bucho thanks for your reply - it sounds as if this may be just one more "gift" from a statin!

[Darrell]

I am also 53 and also attribute my tinnitus to my last few months on Zocor. That was two and a half years ago and my ears are ringing right now. I can ignore it most of the time, though it does seem overwhelming when everything else gets quiet.

[SusieO]

Darrell I totally agree with you...when it is very quiet the ringing can really get to me!

[Nuke]

I am so relieved to hear that other people are having the same side effect. Misery loves company, I guess.

I am 42. I started taking Vytorin 10/40 two years ago and immediately developed tinnitus. I also lost the ability to get euphoria from alcohol. I could drink, and become impaired, but I would not get a buzz. I would also have a tendency to lose my temper if I drank, something I had never had a problem with before. So I basically quit drinking. I also started taking 81 mg aspirin daily at the same time. My cholesterol dropped to half of what it was.

A few months ago, I moved, and went without access to a doctor or prescription medication. When I ran out of Vytorin, my joy from alcohol returned and my tinnitus disappeared.

When I got reestablished with a doctor, I explained my side effects to the doctor and started taking Lipitor 10 instead (a lower dose of statin than I was on previously). I have since retained my enjoyment from alcohol, but the tinnitus returned. My cholesterol is borderline.

I stopped taking the aspirin recently due to bloody noses. That worked. The combination of the new high and dry climate and the aspirin were too much for my nose.

I took a hearing test at work and have significant hearing loss above 8,000 Hz. The 8kHz sounds being played during the test were the same sound as the tinnitus.

So now I am able to enjoy a beer, but have ringing in my ears and somewhat high cholesterol. I have to ask myself, is the hearing loss and tinnitus something I will have to live with? Will it get worse? Will it eventually be permanent? Are the statins causing other neurological problems that I am not even aware of? Time will tell.

[quinnt01]

I started 10mg Lipitor 4 months ago. Within two weeks of starting I developed tinnitus for the first time. After two months I quit Lipitor for a week and althought the tinnitus didn't go away, it got better. Went back on Lipitor, but at half a tab (5mg) for a couple of weeks. Then I went a couple of days at 10mg and the tinnitus got worse. I'm going to stop taking it altogether for several weeks to see what happens.

My doctor and an ENT guy I saw didn't think much of the Lipitor connection, but this is all too coincidental for me to dismiss.

I'm torn between the benefits of Lipitor versus the tinnitus. I find the tinnitus very bothersome.

[Nuke]

Quinnt,

Are you taking aspirin? The reason I ask is because my tinnitus started immediately after I started taking statins and aspirin. After about a year, I stopped taking the aspirin, but still had the tinnitus. So, about 6 months later, I stopped taking the statins, but still have tinnitus. So I can't tell if it was the statins or the aspirin, or the combination of both, but I am not taking anything right now and have tinnitus. Great. I mention this because aspirin is absolutely known to cause tinnitus. So I am thinking that it may have caused mine, maybe not the statins.

I am thinking of going back on Lipitor 10, if I am going to have the tinnitus anyway.

[quinnt01]

Nuke,

Yes, I'm taking 81mg of daily aspirin, but i took that before and didn't have any tinnitus. It could be combination of aspirin and tinnitus, but who knows?

It's discouraging to hear that your tinnitus hasn't gone away since you stopped with the statin. I noticed a slight improvement after a week, and a worsening when I went back on. But tinnitus is such a subjective thing it's hard to say. It's always worse when you think about it and listen for it. After a week of no statin I'd think to myself, "is the ringing better?" and I'd hear the ringing, but at least I'd have to remind myself to conciously listen for it. When I went back on the statin I didn't have to remind myself, I was made aware often throughout the day by the ringing itself. For this reason I think tinnitus was better off statin, than on.

I'm going to go about a month w/o Lipitor to see what happens.

My fear is that the Lipitor permanently damaged the cilia nerves in my ear (I've read about neuropathy as a side effect) and the tinnitus will be with me forever.

[Biologist]

As I write this post, I suppose I'm drunk. I'm doing an experiment.

First thing, Nuke, I have been giving your initial post in this tread a lot of thought over the last few days and it caused me to "find it" (your post) again via the search term "alcohol." I have noticed the same thing for months regarding alcohol (also with Ambien). You expressed it to the tee:

" I also lost the ability to get euphoria from alcohol.
I could drink, and become impaired, but I would not get
a buzz.
--Nuke

Exactly.

On my FIFTH beer on an empty stomach, I am finally getting a buzz!

It is similar to what I would have expected on my FIRST from prior to November 7, 2006 !

There has to be a common molecular change in some cellular neurons in the brain.

Nuke, I appreciate your bringing this up. Your post is perhaps the most gratifying and most important (to me) that I have yet read on this forum (which is saying a hell of a lot!). To say the least, you are not alone. In my case, however, it has been many months and the "lack of euphoria" syndrome remains -- well, until "recently" (the last couple of beers, thank God). BTW, I am expecting a full fledged hangover just the same...

We'll see.

Regarding tinnitus. I have it too. Want to see how aggressive it can get? You will be impressed. Try half a heaping spoonful of ground cinnamon a day for week or so (cheap at Sam's Club). Don't even need a prescription. You will know what tinnitus really means -- I learned the hard way. (It has gotten better over the months.) Cinnamon is a HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitor -- a Statin. Nuke, you mentioned maybe going back on statins. If I had not been there, I would not have believed it either. I am telling you Don't do it. You will damage yourself. Any kind of statin is a No No.

I was recently fairly aggressive in my evaluation of a cardiologist:

http://www.spacedoc.net/board/viewtopic ... idiot#5213

IF he said to add CoQ10 along with the recommended "treatment" he would not have gotten the title "idiot" or "sociopath." In truth, chances are he is neither, he is just ignorant as hell. Sure, statins greatly lower the inflammatory response. But they also lower the "life response." The doctor remains a dangerous idiot in my book. I hope ronni read the book I suggested.

Dr. Graveline, and bucho, and Darrell (fellow scientists -- engineers, the last two, and probably all three): all of you have above way average education and understanding of reality/physics. One or more of you may benefit from a recent epiphany of mine (while most, if not all, have understood it for years): How is it that a chemical equation can be balanced but still generate energy (such as ATP production)? Bugged me for decades. Now I understand. The answer is the ENERGY STATE of the outer electron(s) in the electron shell! That's how! In the end, its lowered from a higher energy state. It is the energy of the sun that raises it in the chemical bonds in the first place of the created operative molecules (photosynthesis) -- that's what life harnesses!

Biologist

[Biologist]

"all of you have above way average education"
=
"all of you have way above average education..."

Biologist

[Brian C.]

How's the hangover?

I noticed on holiday I could soak up plantation punches with little observable effect, keeping sure-footed on a catamaran when others looked less confident

Brian.

[Nuke]

[quote="Biologist"]...perhaps the most gratifying and most important (to me) that I have yet read on this forum (which is saying a hell of a lot!). To say the least, you are not alone. In my case, however, it has been many months and the "lack of euphoria" syndrome remains...
Biologist[/quote]Biologist,

That is saying a hell of a lot! Thanks. The loss of alcoholic euphoria is a huge reduction in the quality of life. For me, anyway, and I am sure it is for others too; it's our only legal drug in the US.

Sounds like the tinnitus might be a permanent effect. I have been off for 2 weeks now. No change. Ring... ring... ring... ring...

Sorry to hijack this thread, but there should be some kind of warning on statins about the loss of alcoholic euphoria. Because that is how we judge how much to drink. Story: The first time I went out drinking after starting statins I was the designated driver, and I usually don't drink much when I drive, and I quit drinking earlier. So I was paying attention to not get too buzzed. At the end of the night, I had drank quite a few beers, but felt pretty sober. On the way home I noticed that, even though I felt sober, I could barely keep the car between the lines (not a good situation!). I got home and went to bed and the room started spinning. Well, we all know what happened next... yes, praying to the porcelain god. The next morning I could not get out of bed and could not go to work at all. Absolutely the worst hangover of my life. I am a 40 year old engineer with two kids and I was not impressed with my own behavior, but I honestly had no idea I was getting that impared. Without warning I had lost my ability to judge my sobriety. It is a dangerous side effect.

While on statins, I also noticed a tendency toward ANGER when I drink. Never ever had that before. Seen it in others, but it's just not me.

[Biologist]

Brian, thanks for asking

I drank six beers on an empty stomach. The "hangover" is more equivalent to what I would have expected with about half that much alcohol on an empty stomach. It would appear less buzz = less hangover to some degree. My guess is that this is a more common statin phenomenon than is reported. While I had noticed it before, I had never posted on it. There are likely many other people in the same boat. The mechanism is probably fairly well understood by some researchers somewhere. Again, it will be up to us to find out for ourselves though.

I meant to mention, that was a good tip on leaving off the 81 mg.s of aspirin. I plan to try leaving it off. My tinnitus is something that rarely bothers me but is probably always there -- I use a "white noise" machine to sleep. Interestingly, I have read that it can actually be detected mechanically with scientific equipment which must mean there is an actual resonance occurring in the ear, the frequency of which can be detected and determined in intensity. So in other words, it's not just "in your head." I found that taking cinnamon intensified the sound and changed its characteristics. The term that came into my mind at the time was an "angry" sound. Much louder and a more cyclic reoccurance of a more complex tone(s) rather than a continuous static hiss sound.

Brian, rereading my "molecular epiphany" now strikes me as the near equivalent of having announced my recent discovery of the wheel Not so profound perhaps. (I believe you are a retired engineer too? -- which means at least some organic chemistry along the way?) However, to spice it up a bit for others (and as an aid to the layman wanting to understand, say, the electron transport chain in the mitochondria) here's an interesting example: When certain creatures -- through a chemical process -- lower the electron orbit of a high energy electron, energy is released in an unusual way -- a photon is released. Now we have the lighting bug!

Biologist

[Brian C.]

[quote="Biologist"]
Brian, rereading my "molecular epiphany" now strikes me as the near equivalent of having announced my recent discovery of the wheel Not so profound perhaps. (I believe you are a retired engineer too? -- which means at least some organic chemistry along the way?) However, to spice it up a bit for others (and as an aid to the layman wanting to understand, say, the electron transport chain in the mitochondria) here's an interesting example: When certain creatures -- through a chemical process -- lower the electron orbit of a high energy electron, energy is released in an unusual way -- a photon is released. Now we have the lighting bug!

Biologist[/quote]

Believe it or not my degree was in Economics & Politics but I ended up teaching Mathematics, specializing in Statistics for my sins
Used to hang out with the Physics grads tho' (my GF was one too) and ended up in a Maths & Science dept. Zilch background in Biology hence "Layman's Research" on Jeff's site

Talking about collapsing electron orbits, have you checked out Randy Mills' claims at Blacklight Power?

Brian.

[Biologist]

Nuke, I noticed the anger thing a bit myself before I quit drinking about the time I quit statins. Later I could tell that drinking any amount caused a set back for my statin damage symptoms. Last night was the first time I have drank any more than one or two beers at a time in nine months. And my total consumption since that time was equaled last night with the six beers. It was a telling experiment and I thank you for inspiring it.

I can sure sympathize with your faulty "inebriation detection system." I will consider myself forewarned for sure.

Here's one for you to be on the look out for. (It may also be more common than we know and equally unreported.) I recently had a lipid test along with a few others to try to nail down my exercise intolerance (which does not necessarily require any traditional "exercise"). I will post in another thread -- as promised -- on the full results when I get around to it (no big hurry here, and plenty of job-related work to do first), but as a preview for you: the only BIG surprise is that my testosterone level was very low. The test cost $175 and the doctor added it on thinking that my levels might be high as I told him I take DHEA (while it may be a myth that there is a direct relationship between the two). But as you can see "the hunch" backfired. Normal is 300 to 800. I was at 115! On my list now is to research that more. I will be retested in about 6 weeks. I will know more then via my own research. I have found a good source on endocrinology to study.

Biologist

[uncle2blade]

Biologtist, Is there any evidence that low testosterone levels slows recovery time from statin damage? Craig

[Biologist]

Nuke, one thing regarding hangovers. Last night I was careful to stay VERY hydrated between beers. Much water. I have known for sometime that is key to minimizing hangovers, and I am sure it helped a lot. But it also is part of another ongoing "experiment" of which I may post on sometime. The kidneys filter out a lot of junk, AND THEN REUPTAKE some of it through water reabsorption. A theory of mine has been impaired kidney (or liver) function as a result of statins. The thinking is that waste molecules may be getting disproportionately reabsorbed at this stage and get back into the blood stream (causing "chemical exercise intolerance"). More water, less need for that function of the kidney (the reabsorption phase). No real word yet on the efficacy of the experiment, while I have a hunch it may be working to some degree. I have been feeling a little better overall the past few days since doing it.

Brain, sounds interesting. One of these days I hope to get the chance to check it out... :wink:

Biologist