Clomipramine-Induced Tinnitus

Abstract

Tinnitus is a severe medical condition that affects the quality of life. It is defined as the perception of sound produced by the body without a corresponding external acoustic stimulus. Pathological abnormalities can occur throughout the auditory system due to ototoxic drug use. Clomipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant used in clinical practice to treat various mental diseases. Although it is an effective antidepressant, it does have specific side effects. According to the literature, although clomipramine has been linked to central nervous system side effects, there is no evidence that it causes tinnitus. We present a 44-year-old male patient whose tinnitus symptoms began after using clomipramine and ended after the medication was discontinued. Tinnitus symptoms have been recorded in the literature due to antimalarial medicines such as quinine and chloroquine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and acetylsalicylic acid. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first case of clomipramine-induced tinnitus.