TOPIC:

Hi All,
I seem to see quite a few reports of people on Harvoni getting tinnitus. I did not get it last time around and don't want it this time either, but I'd like to be prepared.

My questions are:
Is there a correlation between tinnitus on tx and high blood pressure?
Is tinnitus on tx usually temporary or can it be permanent?
Is there anything can be done about it if it happens?

I remember that in the old ifn days some people never got rid of tinnitus once they got it.

dointime

With interferon it happened from neurotoxicity.

I actually haven't heard anybody complain about it with the new treatments. But if you're concerned I would try to eliminate the possible causes before you start treatment. Like, it can be caused by Low Vitamin B12 levels (and low B12 is common in hep c patients). low vitamin C, . zinc deficiency and low serum melatonin.

Intracranial hypertension can cause tinnitus too but usually in obese females (made better by weight loss).

And coenzyme Q 10 is protective of ears.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25209035

So I would ask your doctor if it's okay to take a multivitamin/antioxidants.
P

I am also concerned re this, as I have it mildly already, a kind of hissing.
Have also read it can be caused by medicines as well as other things...

I have had it for 20+ years but it appears to have settled down this last week on tx. Strange.

Hi Everyone

Interesting conversation re tinnitis. In a previous life I worked as an audiometrist in remote Aboriginal commuities within NSW and I'm sure ASIO will be able to track me down now lol. Anyway I also have suffered from mild tinnitus for many years and therefore had many discussions with specialist and audiologist etc. The experts suggest that it is commonly caused from an undiagnosed hearing loss at or above 8000 frequency which is high with the theory being that given this is where breeze, wind, birds and all of our daily background noise sits in and around this frequecy. So if you have a high pitch loss you don't hear this background noise and therefore what you hear is headnoise. So this is me and I was unaware of this until I started having difficulty testing my own audiometer and discerning volume from right and left. I got this loss from working in factory tin shops without protection. Vets, factory workers, machinary operators, farmers and others all have some degree of high pitch hearing loss and in fact it is the first frequencies to go with aging as well. And the other common expert theory is that it is psychosematic and when our levels of stress are up tinnitis is magnified. And of course there are ototoxic drugs and this may also be many of us. Shit IFN/riba took my sight out and now maybe my hearing and happy to swap for a HCV cure. Em

Price thanks for info. If you can still locate your references for the non q10 , particularly melatonin, interventions...I would be very pleased to access them. I have two work mates, one in particular, who suffer quite severely with this condition if I can suggest help to him in anyway I would do so. Thanks. Archer

Hi I have it. And it has been very mild up until 4 days ago when I started sof/led. I have also had my hearing tested and it is not damaged at all. Since taking the medication it has increased. lets say a score of about 3 out of 10 up to 6 out of 10 at its worse on day 2. Now coming into day 5 I can say it has reduced slightly to about 5 out of 10 I hope it is just a bit of a reaction to the drugs in the system. If you were to take the opinion of Chinese medicine, there is a meridian from the liver to the ears and eyes. When the liver is "out" of balance , eyesight and ears are effected as they sit within the meridian. Just another point of view. I cant say for sure, but i think its about sensitivity. I never take medications and live very cleanly, wont even take an asprin, no antibiotics, no vaccinations etc . So I think this makes my system very sensitive to toxins/medications. The up side is this is my only side effect and Iam very happy to only dealing with the tinnitus. Yes it is annoying but not the end of the world.

Very interesting and makes sense, thanks Poodle

Hi I also get it and not even on tx. The hearing is normal. I just try not to notice. When I don't, its 3 out of 10. Now I've read these posts its up to 5 out of 10, as my mind is aware that it is there. ))

I was developing severe tinnitus and a head full of cottonwool and fog with some increasing dizziness and general 'weirdness' in the head for the month or 2 before I started dac/sof treatment about 6 weeks ago. The fogginess etc cleared I think within the first week or 2, and only just realized that tinnitus has subsided to about a 2/10 as opposed to about a 7/10. Woo hoo. The other way to think about it increasing is that it might have been aside effect of die off of either the virus or the liver cells themselves. Often when treating a virus/bacteria there is a toxic load increase in the blood or maybe the liver which is cleaning the blood of debris. Might explain why some increase in toxicity/damage could be causing an increase in tinnitus in susceptible patients. Whereas I believe my toxic viral load or liver damge was increasing prior to treatment and was quickly brought down by treatment as evidenced by the dramatic improvement in liver function.

@ Ann Bee your symptoms seem like mine in that I've had tinnitus for many years and now a week into treatment it appears to have settled down somewhat. I was so used to the tinnitus it stopped bothering me.

cheers

G, thank you Price, I didn't know about the B12 link with Tinnitus.

LG, I also heard that sugar is a monster for tinnitus!

Thanks Cue, I don't really 'do' sugar - and recent bloods show VitB12 at normal levels.
It seems, when the body is fighting toxic substances and virus, tinnitus can present itself, as well as other reasons which I believe should be checked with basic observations.

I find it really odd that in England, in 18 months of being diagnosed, I have only ever had one thorough basic observations done.

Em, how cool, a place where we can be whatever we want. When I was a kid I wanted to be a princess, a doctor and a lawyer. Can I be all three?

Pee Pee