Side effect - has anyone experienced weird noises in the head when trying to come of Effexor?

Oh wow - I am so relieved to find this! I am currently experiencing this awful ear noise thing, but I am withdrawing from duloxetine, not Effexor. This is truly horrible. It is also making me dizzy when it happens. It’s truly affecting my daily life. Please somebody - tell me it goes away???

It’s like someone tapping on a metal bottomed cage - every thirty seconds to a minute- tap tap tap…. It’s soooo annoying

I literally just came back from the audiologist. I've been experiencing the whooshing sound too. My primary care physician insisted upon a hearing test, although I told him about the venlafaxine component. I've read TOO MANY stories about others having the SAME side effect. I'll keep you posted.

Yes. I personally get a clicking / clacking sound like a train on tracks. It’s frustrating.

OMG! I've been trying to find out why this has been going on for YEARS! I have been the 3 M.D.s who've NEVER questioned Effexor (which I am taking). I have an appointment with an audiologist on July 5; could this finally be the end of this? Let's hope so.

I have been off of Effexor for almost 3 years and wanted to let people know I still have this problem. Admittedly, I didn't wean myself and just went cold turkey but after 3 years, I still get what sounds like carbonated water bubbling inside my skull whenever I move my head. Wish my doctor had been a bit more honest about the medication.

I definitely have this effect as a result of weaning myself off Effexor.

However, I thought I'd note that I also got this some years ago when taking an antibiotic for a tooth infection. It was a combined antibiotic - probably amoxicillin + clavulanic acid a.k.a. Augmentin. I was already taking Effexor then. The effect stopped when Augmentin was replaced with just amoxicillin. Some strange drug interaction?

I am so thankful to find out I am not alone. This "whooshing" every time I move my eyes or head was seriously starting to scare me. I was instructed to taper down my Effexor from 150mg by increments of 37.5mg each week for a month after having been taking it for less than a year. I took my last dose 2 days ago and have been experiencing this ever since. I don't want to start taking it again just to relieve the symptom but I'm seriously considering it because this is horrible!

Hi, I've been on 75mg of effexor for 2.5 years. I've decided to discontinue it. Im tired of the side effects I have while on it. I have no sex drive, some reason I can't lose weight. Anyways I'm having the same "whooshing" noises in my ears also. I was on 75mg once daily so I tapered to once every other day for about 2 months now. Well now I'm on my 3rd day of not taking any at all. So far all my withdrawal symptoms are only the whooshing sound when I look left or right. I've been off work for the past 3 days and have the rest of the week off also. Probably a very good thing being I'm a truck driver lol. Anyways I hope the best for everyone that is trying to get off of this evil drug!

Yes! You've described it well. I ha e this symptom if I miss 2/3 days of taking effexor. My eyeballs make noises!

I’m so glad I found this page. I was on 75mg for about 6 months, increased to 150 but reacted badly (so incredibly tired and massive spike in suicidal ideation) so I came back down to 75. 75 wasn’t really helping so decided to come off entirely. I was weaning every other day and my GP told me to come off entirely this week but OH MY the brain shivers and horrible noises. I’ve not had the sound before. I’ve come off different meds and had the weird brain shiver thing (though definitely nowhere near as badly) but never the noise. It’s like someone quickly and repeatedly pulling up a small amount of a zip? I figured it had to be the withdrawals from the Effexor so I’m so relieved (but also now nervous) to have found this page and see other people also experience this and I’m not going mad for another reason. I wish GPs would be much more upfront about these withdrawal symptoms before encouraging people to take it as I was already on the fence about trying another antidepressant before coming onto this one.

I was switched reluctantly to Effexor last February 2020, bc of a breast cancer drug Tamoxifen I had to start taking didn’t mix with the Cymbalta I was on. Shortly after, I have been having terrible buzzing in my head. It lasts for minutes to hours and I have a slight tingle burn in my left hand as well. I went to an ENT and had my hearing tested, that showed nothing. I’m now seeing a neurologist, found out my MRI with / without contrast showed no issues , masses in the ear. Mind you me and three doctors including my PCP went over my meds. No contradiction like buzzing showed up. I happened to google buzzing and Effexor and I stumbled on this page. Eureka ! I’m glad I found this thread, sorry for the suffering you guys are having. This thread confirms I’m not crazy and I’m not alone. The Effexor dose I’m on is 150mg. I will be chatting with my psychiatrist about this thread. I hope you all find your relief.

Been off 150mg effexor since 4 months (taper too fast) now i just want to die cause of my terrible tinnitus. MY EARS ARE SO PAINFUL 24/7 i don't know what to do. ANY SUCCESS STORY TO SHARE WITH ME ? Please...

I have been weaning off Effexor XR for 3 months. The roaring and whooshing sounds along with zaps when I move my eyes has been tremendous! I really feel this should be noted as a severe side effect when trying to come off this drug as it is not a fun thing to have to go through. In order for me to sleep at night, I have to run a fan to drown out the roaring going on in my ears. The zaps seem to be the worst throughout the day whenever I move my eyes from side to side or up and down. I've also noticed being nauseous throughout the day and diarrhea has become more common. So glad to read that there are others who have been experiencing this as well and that I am not going crazy thinking it is just me. I had been taking 150 mg for several years, cut down to 75 mg for a month, then 37.5 mg for a month. I have been without any this past week and the whooshing and zaps have been horrid. Any advice would be greatly appreciated on how or when this will all stop!

I have experienced a clacking noise in my head even when not coming off of this medication. The sound is horrible and actually wakes me up from a sound sleep. I thought it happened only if I forgot to take the medication, but that lately is not the case. No swooshing sound, but definitely a clacking (like trains on a track) sound. Also feel some confusion and spaciness in my head as well.