Are Antidepressants A Safe Treatment For Tinnitus?
Antidepressants are sometimes prescribed for patients suffering from ringing ears. There have been some studies that show antidepressants can treat ringing ears or help people better tolerate their ringing ears. Unfortunately, the kind of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) used in these studies can have dangerous side effects. This article explains the risks inherent in using TCAs in the medical treatment of tinnitus and discuss the use of a natural tinnitus cure instead.
In a systematic review of the research on treating ringing ears with antidepressants, two of four studies showed at least some benefits from the use of antidepressants. However, TCAs like those involved in these studies have several possible negative side effects. These side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, and constipation.
Further, powerful drugs like these are typically only prescribed for a period of weeks, since there is some risk of addiction. That means even when TCAs do help, they are usually only a short-term treatment for tinnitus.
Scarier still is the fact that antidepressants of all kinds can sometimes cause people, especially young people under 18 years of age, to think of hurting themselves or even consider suicide.
It’s clear that tricyclic antidepressants have a place in the medical treatment of tinnitus, it makes sense to look for more natural alternatives to these powerful drugs. A safe natural cure for tinnitus would be ideal. Such a cure would need to be at least as effective as TCAs, without the risk of troublesome side effects. It would also need to be something that could be continued indefinitely, providing a long-term cure for tinnitus, not the short-term relief of TCAs.
We’ve seen that there is some evidence that tricyclic antidepressants offer at least short-term tinnitus relief. We’ve also seen that TCAs bring the risk of potentially troublesome side effects, including some rather serious ones. Fortunately, there are other ways to treat this problem, including at least one all natural cure for tinnitus.
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Tags: medical treatment for tinnitus, natural cure for tinnitus, ringing ears, tinnitus relief
