Do you suffer tinnitus? SSRI antidepressants could make the unbearable ringing in your ears WORSE
DO you suffer from a constant, irritating ringing or buzzing in your ears?
If you're one of the millions affected by tinnitus, new research has found a common drug could be making the unbearable condition even WORSE.
The study by scientists at Oregon Health and Science University, found an antidepressant aggravates the condition.
And it's all to do with how serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in the brain, acts.
Researchers looked at brain tissue in mice, focusing specifically on the area that causes tinnitus.
They found neurons in this part of the brain become hyperactive and hypersensitive to stimuli when exposed to serotonin.
Professor Laurence Trussell, senior author of the study, said: "We saw that the activity of those neurons went through the roof."
If the findings bear up to more tests, they could have implications for common antidepressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).
SSRIs can alleviate symptoms of moderate to severe depression and anxiety by increasing the level of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical compound that acts as a neurotransmitter thought to be responsible for maintaining mood balance.
However, the research suggests that SSRIs prescribed to treat anxiety or depression may sometimes worsen patients' tinnitus.
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Tinnitus is defined as the chronic perception of sound when there is no internal or external acoustic source.
"If you're a physician treating a patient for depression who also has hearing loss or tinnitus, you may want to be careful about prescribing a drug that compounds their feelings of anxiety," said Prof Trussell, who also suffers from tinnitus.
"The SSRI may be enhancing the thing you're trying to fix."
Lead author Zheng-Quan Tang, a senior postdoctoral fellow in Trussell's lab, noted that a review of existing scientific evidence indicated that many patients reported an increase in tinnitus soon after they began taking SSRIs.
"Estimates vary, but at least 10 per cent of the US population is affected by tinnitus," Dr Tang said.
If the scientists can determine a way to deactivate the channels responsible for the reaction, they may be able to allow the beneficial effects of antidepressants while limiting the severity of tinnitus.
The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.
