I was on the big 3 for about 6 months when I woke up one morning with tinnitus and later found out I also had hearing loss (they seem to go together). I was able to see my doctor right away and he stopped all of the drugs; he said that the side effects were from Azithromycin. That was just over 4 years ago and neither has improved.

I found a new doctor with more expertise in NTM and I’ve been doing airway clearance ( with 7% saline twice a day, aerobika, huff coughing, etc) for the last 4 years. I’ve been able to remain stable since then. My sputum tests are better (lower bacteria count in samples) now than they were after 6 months on the drugs. I’m hoping that this continues to work for me until some of the new drugs specifically for NTM are on the market.

Hoping for you that the medications works out better for you than they did for me.

@healthybon I got tinnitus from big doses of Azythromycin. I am wondering if you may be allergic because your face is turning red. Definitely discuss this with your doctor.

I don't have MAC. I was being treated with a higher dose than normal of Azythromycin in combination with Doxycyclin, and after about 2 weeks, I developed tinnitus, then sharp ear pain, and then I lost my hearing completely first in one ear and then the other temporarily. This lasted a few hours in a single day. That is when I stopped taking it, but the damage was done and I have tinnitus. I did call the doctor when the ear pain started and he told me to keep taking the medication and let him know if it gets worse. I wish I had been more persistent about questioning his recommendation. I have gotten used to it and it's not terrible, I can still hear well. It does get worse with allergies because of inflammation, so in my mind, it helps to think of this cause as partly being caused by allergies. Dwelling on it will just cause stress because it is not something I can control and I am vigilant about protecting my hearing now and if an antibiotic is doing this, there is a discussion about it. Many antibiotics are ototoxic and you can look that up online. Do talk to the doctor. If your read the leaflet in a dose pack of Azythromycin, the risk of hearing loss and tinnitus is listed there. Of course if you need an antibiotic to treat an infection, then you need an antibiotic. Sometimes, there are others that may be able to be substituted that could be better choices in your situation.

You may also ask what you can do to help detox from the effect of the antibiotic and see what the doctor says, if that could help you manage while you are taking the drugs for an extended period of time.