[Hockey]

Due to an uptake in pain, I've had to resort to codeine. While it isn't bringing me much relief, it does seem to be making my tinnitus a lot LOUDER. Is that possible?

[Lara]

Hockey,

There are lots of anecdotal responses on google from people experiencing tinnitus from codeine.

Is it straight codeine or mixed with acetaminophen / paracetamol?

[mrsD]

Opiates have been associated with hearing loss. You can Google that. Mostly only in long term high dose use however.
"opiates hearing loss"

But NSAIDs like aspirin and others are sometimes mixed with codeine and they alone can cause tinnitus.

[Hockey]

Originally Posted by Lara

Hockey,

There are lots of anecdotal responses on google from people experiencing tinnitus from codeine.

Is it straight codeine or mixed with acetaminophen / paracetamol?

Mixed, Lara.

Well, add me to the anecdotal pile. My tinnitus is normally a constant sort of low whine. Within minutes of taking the meds, it was like a train whistle was blowing inside my head. I was just shocked.

[mrsD]

That is strange. Codeine is not active until it is converted by the liver. That may take 1/2 to 1 hr or more. It is converted to morphine. Some people may take longer, depending on their genetic liver enzyme distribution.

My experience with people taking opiates was that the synthetic ones like hydrocodone and oxycodone were the worst offenders.
(that is how Rush Limbaugh lost his hearing BTW).

[Hockey]

Originally Posted by mrsD

That is strange. Codeine is not active until it is converted by the liver. That may take 1/2 to 1 hr or more. It is converted to morphine. Some people may take longer, depending on their genetic liver enzyme distribution.

My experience with people taking opiates was that the synthetic ones like hydrocodone and oxycodone were the worst offenders.
(that is how Rush Limbaugh lost his hearing BTW).

Well, I did take it at bed time. Maybe I nodded off, and didn't realize. It did scare the daylights out of me, so maybe it woke me. It really did seem like a few minutes, though. However, like some TBI patients I really have very little capacity to track time. And, as you say, it would have needed time to metabolize. I also damaged my internal organs, including my liver, in my mva - so who knows?

Anyway, I don't want to repeat the experience.

[Lara]

I would imagine (I don't have it) that tinnitus would be more noticeable when you lie down in the quiet and try to go to sleep. Maybe that made it worse Hockey.

If your pain is worse lately then your emotional state would probably be worse and then you're probably not getting enough sleep etc. etc. All that would be enough to increase your tinnitus from what I understand.

There's some info on medication on
http://vestibular.org/tinnitus