Finasteride-induced hearing impairment?

Symptoms Neurological
#1

Hello everyone.

This is my first post. I actually wanted to sign up months ago, but it seems the forum doesn´t accept hotmail-addresses, so I had to create a gmail-account.

I visit the forum on a weekly basis in order to see if some other members are experiencing the symptoms I am.

I took Finasteride for nine years and have been off this drug since early February 2018.

Beside the focus and short-memory deficiencies I am going through, what really

makes my life limited is the hearing impairment that I started experiencing while on

the drug, which persists to date.

I’ve had different kinds of hearing tests done and my ears’ inner and outer hair-cell activity have also been tested.

All the results have been normal, which leads the doctors to think it´s a cognitive issue. There is something my brain can’t interpret and process in a natural way.

My question is, are there members here that are/were experiencing some kind of
hearing impairment while on Finasteride and after you stopped taking the drug?

I do not suffer from tinnitus, but rather - it seems - a neurological auditory processing disorder based in the brain.

Thank you so much for taking time reading this post, and I look forward to reading

your responses that can shed some light on whether or not my hearing issues could

be related to long-term Finasteride use.

#2

I had some sort of that as well.
What you could do to see if it is just temporary do a water fasting of 24-36 hours. Check it out.

#3

Hi noprop.

Thanks a lot for your response.

Can I ask you exactly what kind of hearing impairment you experienced?

What effects did/does water fasting have on you?

Thank you in advance for your response.

#4

I was like numb re diff.frequencies.

My advice: just try at least once a 24-36 h water fasting. You should report what you have experienced! I know what I exp. I don’t want to influence your mind.

Cu in 36 hours.

PS: lots of ppl are doing nothing re experimenting different things. Don’t understand that. I partially cured anhedonia within several weeks: others are suffering for several years. No time to waste with too much theories as long as you don’t take any drugs.
There are also ytube videos helping with certain ear/neurological problems. Research and try.

#5

Once again, many thanks for your response.

I will try water fasting as soon I get the chance and I will let the forum know.

#6

So I followed Noprop’s advice and tried 24h-water fasting a couple of times.

My experience has been positive, but I have realized that in order for the water fast to have this positive effect there are more factors involved that have to coincide, namely:

  • Abstaining from any sexual arousal and/or orgasm, be it through sex or masturbation.

  • Avoiding stress and negative thoughts.

When these three factors coincide, I have realized during the last weeks, my neurological symptoms
such as short-term memory difficulties, concentration issues and also hearing problems, subside to a certain level and I generally feel better.

I have a doctor´s appointment coming up soon and I would like to ask you guys if you have any suggestions on what kind of tests I could ask them to carry out.

Should they be checking for some gut issues?

Is the sexual activity disorder related to some kind of hormonal dysfunction and are there test that can show this?

Also, I would also be very grateful if some members could give me some diet and gut health tips in order for me to try to recover.

I certainly feel I crash neurologically almost every time I eat, so I assume my gut has to be involved in this.

Thank you in advance for your answers and tips.

Wishing you all a recovery.

#7

The forum is 75+% diet and supplement advice. You could get a lot of conflicting advice.

The advice I’d offer is: Don’t eat things that inhibit 5AR. That’s how you got here. That unfortunately means some things you’d expect to be healthy: blueberries, tomatoes, green tea, mangoes, soya, avocados, are off the menu. :frowning:

Honestly, you have to do this: think about a meal you’d like to eat. Type the ingredients into Google, one at a time and “5ar inhibitor” - no matches? Enjoy dinner!

Lots of matches: work out substitutions / eat something else.

#8

i also tried his 24hr water fast. i lost 5lbs and felt like shit and got lower blood pressure than i already have due to this disease. i feel much better consuming food on a regular schedule. i personally see no correlation between a water fast and your hormones not working due to whatever mechanism that is operating that

#9

Thanks a lot Greek. Appreciate your answer.

1 Like
#10

Hi Gents93.

I understand that not eating affects one’s body and the body reacts, I also felt my blood pressure going down when I did my fast.

But if there are indeed gut issues involved, fasting seems to be, for some people, a first step to “cleanse” the system, maybe starving some bad bacteria to death? (Someone with more insight maybe could shed some light on this).

In my case, and maybe some other people also experience this(?), I literally crash, or at least “mini” crash whenever I have a meal. So somehow gut issues have to be involved.

What I also don’t understand is how complete fasting/intermittent fasting and abstaining from sexual activity HAS TO coincide in order for my symptoms to
subside to a certain extent so that I really can confirm this being the case.

I do not have libido/ erection issues at all. I could easily have sex/masturbate for
4-5 times a day, BUT even the slightest kind of sexual arousal leads to the above-mentioned neurological symptoms come creeping back again.

#11

Hi guys.

Thought I would post you an update regarding my problems which might help you guys as well.

During the last two weeks I have been experience some improvements in terms of my neurological symptoms.

I have not been “crashing” after sexual arousal/sex/masturbation for a couple of weeks. I used to crash completely, the left side of my face and brain would go numb, and my hearing, concentration and short-term memory would deteriorate really badly.

My physical and mental energy levels are noticeably higher than a couple of weeks ago. I am also handling stress much better, that would also make me crash.

I am not going to use the word “recovered”, of course, because that is simply not the case.

But these improvements shows me that there is hope, and so I am going to continue the following things that I have being doing for the last two months:

1.Eating spinach/Kale and steamed vegetables + fish, and small portions of rice and other vegetarian meals, always small portions + a handful of almonds in the evening.

  1. Intermittent fasting, at least 16 hours per day.

3.No bread, no pasta, no dairy, very little fruit, if any.

  1. Drinking lots of clean water every day, no other fluid besides water.

5.Two sessions of long walks: 5 kms in the morning, 5 kms in the evening.

6.Sauna sessions: 30 mins, at least 3 times a weeks.

I hope these tips can help some of you guys, I know that all of them have been recommended in other threads.

My question to those with some knowledge is:

Could it be that I am detoxing my liver because of my regimen, or is it my gut that is healing, or maybe both?

Once again, thank you in advance for your guidance and suggestions.

2 Likes
#12

So much positivity on the forum at the moment.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

1 Like
#13

Hi again guys.

Thought I would post again and update you again regarding my situation and maybe help some guys and get further guidance myself:

My local healthcare center detected that I a parasite called "Blastocystis Hominis in my feces test. This parasite has been mentioned before in the forum.

I am waiting for the Gut Candida response from the lab.

I’ve started cutting out things radically that could feed this parasite, such as fructose and carbs, basically anything that turns into sugar through digestions.

I am also drinking raw garlic in water in the morning, organic apple cider vinegar three times a day, Zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin B, and Vitamin C supplements.

I will definitely order a comprehensive Stool Analysis and Parasitology in december to get a complete overview of my gut health.

Although some people argue that the gut is not the root cause of PFS, some members seem to have cured themselves by healing whatever was abnormal with their gut.

Therefore, I would like to ask you for some guidance:

What kind of things do you recommend for kidney and live detox, if there are parasites and candida they will of course release toxins in the body once they start dying off and I feel that the kidneys and the liver will be overwhelmed by this.

Also, do you guys have any recommendations regarding supplement rotations, that is, how often should one rotate and maybe even not take supplements?

As always, thanks a bunch for any guidance and I will keep you informed about my progress.

#14

Hi guys,

I’ve noticed that my semen is getting thicker and milky again, almost one year after quitting Fin.
My semen used to be extremely watery and transparent when I was on Fin.
Is this a good sign? What could this be an indication of?

#15

Hey @Capello.

I believe that your testicles and prostate make the components of semen. I would assume that whatever it was that made your semen watery has come back online / has stopped over producing.

I would take anything returning to a normal state as being encouraging.

#16

@Capello

Hey man, how are you doing? I noticed you stopped posting updates. How are you coming along?

#17

Hi man.

Thanks a lot for asking, I appreciate it.

I stopped posting updates here since things were kind of the same during the last months.

But I have to say that during the last week or so I have been feeling better.

I have had almost 7 “good” days in a row, which has never happened before.

During these days I would say that my hearing has improved by 50% (meaning a noticeable change), my mood and mental energy are also noticeably better, and I can cheer myself up through things like playing the guitar, listening to inspiring music, and generally thinking positively.

I have a feeling something is moving in the right direction when it comes to my serotonin/dopamine levels. I haven’t been able to lively myself up the way I have been doing for the last week or so.

Hoping this will be a continuing trend, and not just temporary. Fingers crossed.

1 Like
#18

I’m glad to hear you are improving in some areas. I hope it continues and you are able to feel normal again. Were you affected in any other ways, apart from hearing loss? Did you suffer any physical side effects, such as muscle loss, erectile dysfunction, changes in penile tissue or texture?

1 Like
#19

Thanks for your words of light. :slight_smile:

Some physical sides such as penis shrinkage, and testicular pain (when taking zinc supplement).

But my penis is actually now bigger size-wise than pre-fin, since some months back.

I think L-Glutamine did something in that area.

No erectile dysfunction at all, but severe neurological reactions after orgasm, I am talking
3 days bed-ridden feeling lobotomized, utterly gloomy each time for over a year.

That seems to have improved as well, I somehow manipulate my body not to crash by taking a walk and a warm shower after sexual activity.

Oh, my short-term memory and ability to concentrate were very dysfunctional until I changed to a very strict diet of Fish, Chicken, some red meat, and vegetables such as Kale.
Pomegranate, and shredded ginger in hot water with lemon tend to improve my cognitive abilities.

1 Like
#20

Did you have a constant state of mental fog, where it was like your eyes and brain were not on the same page? The reason I’m asking is because myself and a good friend @Mcbbould have this symptom, but it does not really improve or get worse - it is there all of the time. I’ve seen it described as a “cognitive shift”. You would definitely know if you had it. Those are horrible symptoms to have after each time you orgasm man. But they did get better?

Thanks for the responses.