Hi, in the morning and nights there is this constant "ringing" in my ears. Its been like this for a few days ever sence I started taking Lexapro. Could this ringing be from the medicine or is there something wrong with me? Im very worried and it really quite annoying. Please any suggestions are greatly appriecated!

Hi James,

The best thing you can do is to try and calm yourself down as best you can and tell yourself you are OK. The tinnitus may be a result of some increased anxiety from the drug or a side-effect of the drug that will most likely wear off on its own. My ears rang for a time too with labyrinthitis and during the early weeks of taking Cipramil. It's gone now.



Escitalopram oxalate (Lexapro)

Other events observed during the premarketing evaluation of Lexapro. Following is a list of WHO terms that reflect adverse events occurring at an incidence of < 1% and serious adverse events from ongoing trials. All reported events are included except those already listed in the table or elsewhere in the Adverse Reactions section, and those occurring in only one patient. It is important to emphasise that, although the events reported occurred during treatment with Lexapro, they were not necessarily caused by it.

Hearing and vestibular disorders. Uncommon. Deafness, earache, tinnitus, otosalpingitis, ear disorder.

Give it more time and I'm sure you'll find it'll just go away.

Cheers....Scott :cool:

Hi - what is lexapro? yes most def a side effect of the drug - I personally would not stay on it - can cause permanenet damage - some drugs... xxx

Hey Em and James,

Lexapro is one of the newer SSRI drugs on the market to treat anxiety and depression. It's similar to Celexa or Cipramil, the only difference being they've removed one of the inert molecules. Lexapro is the pure "active" ingredient. Most SSRI drugs come with side-effects in the early days which can be just about anything. Most are harmless (but can be quite annoying nonetheless, such as tinnitus). In clinical trials Cipramil and Lexapro caused some of the least side-effects compared to other SSRIs.

James, I would stay with it and give it 6 weeks to judge its effectiveness. Obviously, if during that time you really start to feel bad and cannot tolerate it then you should try another one of the SSRIs. But don't suddenly stop either. For some, it is necessary to have some "help" like this and stop the cycle of anxiety created by these nightmare inner ear hassles.

For more info on the possible benefits for these dizzy conditons from SSRIs check out this thread started by Subs:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=159267

Hang in there James......Scott :cool: