Has anyone experienced ringing in their ears with Cymbalta?

Kaza

Greetings, all!

I 've been on Cymbalta for 4 weeks now. My initial dosage was 30 mg for the first 2 weeks and then increased to 60 mg (which is the recommended dosage) for the 3rd week and going forwards. I usually take it in the morning around 10AM and after having eaten breakfast.

The side effects that I experienced for the first 2 weeks were diminshed appetite, disrupted sleep/middle insomnia (that is, waking up a few times in the middle of the night and early mornings), dry eyes (I wear contacts), blurry vision, mild queasiness, headache, and urinary hesitation (that is, reduction in strength and flow of urinary stream). None of the side effects were very severe.

After 2 weeks of use, most of the original side effects disappeared (dry eyes, blurry vision, queasiness, headache, diminished appetite). I'm still experiencing disrupted sleep, though I am able to go back to sleep, and uriniary hesitation. More importantly, I noticed a more dramatic mood change once I increased to 60 mg--yeah! I felt more motivated, cheery, positive, social, and less anxious. Now the new problem is that I'm experiencing tinnitus in my right ear. It's a very high-pitched ringing noise and it has gotten progressively worse. I hear the ringing all the time instead of once in a while.

I've talked to my doctor and she thinks it is likely due to the medication and the increased dosage. So, my doctor recommended lowering the dosage back to 30 mg, but so far no change with respect to the tinnitus. It's only been 2 days though. On the downside, I've noticed that my "uplifted" mood has diminished.

I didn't see tinnitus listed as a side effect for Cymbalta. However, I've read about it as a side effect for Effexor. Cymbalta is suppose to be very similar to Effexor. Therefore, I'm concluding that the ringing in my ears can be attributed to Cymbalta.

I was wondering if anyone else has had tinnitus as a side effect and if it went away eventually. I'm worried that it will be a permanent thing even after I stop taking the medication. I've read about this for some Effexor users still experiencing tinnitus after having stopped using it.

Thanks!