{"id":3035,"date":"2026-05-23T21:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/?p=3035"},"modified":"2026-05-23T21:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:33:33","slug":"serotonin-5-ht-implicated-as-a-cause-of-tinnitus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/?p=3035","title":{"rendered":"Serotonin (5-HT) implicated as a cause of tinnitus"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, mainstream medicine has treated serotonin as the “happy hormone” and prescribed SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.) to millions of patients for depression and anxiety. I have posted repeatedly about the dark side of serotonin: it is a\u00a0stress hormone<\/strong>\u00a0that promotes fibrosis, vasoconstriction, inflammation, and \u2014 as I highlighted in a previous post \u2014 a\u00a0serotonin antagonist can treat tinnitus<\/strong>. At that time, the direct implication of serotonin in tinnitus was still lacking. Now, this study from OHSU provides exactly that missing link.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, I have written extensively about the connection between\u00a0endotoxin<\/strong>\u00a0and tinnitus. Since\u00a090% of serotonin is produced in the gut<\/strong>\u00a0(in enterochromaffin cells), and endotoxin (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria is a powerful trigger of serotonin release, the endotoxin-serotonin-tinnitus axis is now clear. Reduce endotoxin (via carrot salad, activated charcoal, low-PUFA diet, etc.), reduce serotonin, reduce tinnitus.<\/p>\n

For years, mainstream medicine has treated serotonin as the “happy hormone” and prescribed SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.) to millions of patients for depression and anxiety. I have posted repeatedly about the dark side of serotonin: it is a\u00a0stress hormone<\/strong>\u00a0that promotes fibrosis, vasoconstriction, inflammation, and \u2014 as I highlighted in a previous post \u2014 a\u00a0serotonin antagonist can treat tinnitus<\/strong>. At that time, the direct implication of serotonin in tinnitus was still lacking. Now, this study from OHSU provides exactly that missing link.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, I have written extensively about the connection between\u00a0endotoxin<\/strong>\u00a0and tinnitus. Since\u00a090% of serotonin is produced in the gut<\/strong>\u00a0(in enterochromaffin cells), and endotoxin (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria is a powerful trigger of serotonin release, the endotoxin-serotonin-tinnitus axis is now clear. Reduce endotoxin (via carrot salad, activated charcoal, low-PUFA diet, etc.), reduce serotonin, reduce tinnitus.<\/p>\n

As the study below demonstrates, researchers at OHSU examined the\u00a0dorsal cochlear nucleus<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 the brain region where tinnitus occurs \u2014 and found that exposure to serotonin<\/span> makes the\u00a0fusiform neurons “hyperactive and hypersensitive to stimuli<\/span>.”<\/strong>\u00a0In the words of the senior author, “the activity of those neurons went through the roof.” The study also notes that a review of existing literature revealed\u00a0many patients reported an increase in tinnitus soon after they began taking SSRIs<\/strong>, which increase serotonin levels.<\/p>\n

This directly corroborates my previous post showing that a\u00a0serotonin antagonist<\/strong>\u00a0can treat tinnitus. If blocking serotonin receptors alleviates tinnitus, then the logical conclusion is that\u00a0excess serotonin causes or worsens tinnitus<\/strong>. Now this study confirms that mechanism: serotonin hyperactivates the very neurons responsible for the phantom sound perception.<\/p>\n

The endotoxin connection is the missing piece that mainstream researchers have not yet connected. Endotoxin from a constipated, dysbiotic gut triggers massive serotonin release from enterochromaffin cells. This serotonin circulates systemically and enters the brain, where it hyperactivates the dorsal cochlear nucleus. This is why Ray Peat has long recommended\u00a0carrot salad<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 the fiber binds endotoxin, reducing its absorption and thereby reducing serotonin release. It is also why interventions that lower endotoxin (activated charcoal, low-PUFA diet to reduce gut irritation, antibiotics in select cases) often improve tinnitus in my experience and in reports from the Ray Peat Forum.<\/p>\n

The study does not provide HED calculations as it was an animal mechanistic study (mice) and a human observational study (SSRI users). However, the clinical implication is clear:\u00a0SSRIs can worsen tinnitus<\/strong>, and patients with tinnitus or hearing loss should be cautious about taking these drugs. The quotes below support this conclusion.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cell.com\/cell-reports\/fulltext\/S2211-1247(17)31098-7<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/news.ohsu.edu\/2017\/08\/22\/study-suggests-serotonin-may-worsen-tinnitus<\/a><\/p>\n

\n“…Researchers discovered that neurons known as\u00a0fusiform cells<\/strong>\u00a0within this portion of the brain become\u00a0hyperactive and hypersensitive to stimuli when exposed to serotonin<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

\n“…’We saw that the\u00a0activity of those neurons went through the roof<\/strong>,’ said senior author Laurence Trussell, Ph.D.”<\/p>\n

\n“…If the findings bear up to additional research, the study could have implications for a common class of antidepressants known as\u00a0selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)<\/strong>\u00a0. SSRIs can alleviate symptoms of moderate to severe depression and anxiety by\u00a0increasing the level of serotonin in the brain<\/strong>… However, the research suggests that\u00a0SSRIs prescribed to treat anxiety or depression may sometimes worsen patients’ tinnitus<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

\n“…’If you’re a physician treating a patient for depression who also has hearing loss or tinnitus, you may want to be careful about prescribing a drug that compounds their feelings of anxiety,’ said Trussell. ‘The SSRI may be enhancing the thing you’re trying to fix.<\/strong>\u00a0‘”<\/p>\n

\n“…Lead author Zheng-Quan Tang, Ph.D., noted that a review of existing scientific literature indicated that\u00a0many patients reported an increase in tinnitus soon after they began taking SSRIs<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

\n“…’Estimates vary, but at least\u00a010 percent of the U.S. population is affected by tinnitus<\/strong>,’ Tang said.”<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, mainstream medicine has treated serotonin as the “happy hormone” and prescribed SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[192,2228,9,10,47,191,1128],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","tag-5-ht","tag-cochlea","tag-endotoxin","tag-lps","tag-serotonin","tag-ssri","tag-tinnitus","wpcat-2-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3036,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions\/3036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haidut.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}