How is it possible that every babesia med makes my ears ring?

I have no idea what to do. Every single babesia med I've ever taken gives me intolerable tinnitus. I know some of you will say this is a herx, but it is not because the ringing is accompanied by hearing loss. I've been on bactrim for over a year and it has done well for my bartonella but hasn't touched my babs. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Even artemisinin kills my ears. They get so sensitive that it hurts to listen to myself type this. It's hard to imagine but very true.

I gave herbals a very long, hard try for 9 months. I took very high doses of CSA, cryptolepis tea, A-BAB, Crypto by itself, Sida by itself, and any and all combinations of these herbs together and nothing put a dent in it. Simply at a loss. How will I ever beat babesia without getting permenant tinnitus? My uncle has very bad tinnitus and it has ruined his life. I fear the same fate for myself if I continue using these babesia meds. Worst of all, babs meds can't be pulsed.

I dare you to tell me everything is OK, because it is not. BTW I have the duncani strain, the one that is notorious for being a bear to get rid of.

I'm sorry, that sounds brutal. I can't tell you it'll be ok, but I do have a few questions:

Do you ever get the tinnitus while you're not on the meds? is the tinnitus you get now when taking meds just as acute as 9 months ago? is the hearing loss permanent or does it come back? can you not pulse with babs due to resistance issues? are you working with llmd?

I'm of the belief there has to be a freakin way to nail this thing without causing permanent tinnitus!

Keep hanging in there! Hope others can provide some guidance or ideas or help for you.

I remember being paranoid about using drugs, both OTC and otherwise, when I first got tinnitus. I forgot what the word was for them..

Ototoxic? Something like that. Basically, drugs that are bad for your ears. But, I mean, in your case, if those antibiotics fit the mold, well, you still need them, right?

It could be a herx, it could be some other type of reaction, could be them doing damage to your ears, but.. either way, guess you're gonna have to decide which is the lesser of the evils.

I think Georgia Hunter is on the right track. Do you know if you have heavy metals, Pete?

Part of me wonders if classes of drugs like ivermectin (and albendazole) could work against babs. Could be worth looking into? I don't think they have the ototoxic tendencies, but you'd have to check.

All of the antimalarials have extremely long half lives. I've been on pretty much every abx for 1.5 years now and the only thing that will work is the antimalarial class. Quinine: 12 hr half life; Malarone: 2-3 day half life; Mepron: 3-4 day half life; Plaquenil half life: 40 days. You get the idea. None of them have short half lives like antibiotics do.

Liver is perfect. I'm pretty positive it isn't a methylation issue because I don't think those can cause hearing loss. It is a side effect of the medication that I have to take, and nothing else. Not a herx, not a symptom, but a side effect that will ruin my ears. I'm only 24. Some medications are ototoxic by nature and antimalarials are one of them.

Just because heavy metals didn't show up on a provocation test doesn't mean you don't have heavy metals. Pathogens have been proven to be able to sequester metals and they won't show up on a heavy metals test. I've seen the studies. IMO, the virulence of Babesia depends on its ability to hold on to these metals. Aluminum would be my main concern with babesia.
I have traced the metabolic pathway that leads to problems like ototoxicity and minerals are almost always an issue. Correct the imbalance and the ototoxicity will decrease or go away.

Babesia treatment is limited by the body's ability to handle the oxidative stress and damage that occurs. Blockages in the methylation pathway cause detrimental side effects and impede treatment.

When you take your meds, the meds kill pathogens. The pathogens burst open and release their intracellular contents. Some of those contents may be metals or free radical containing compounds. Your body must have antioxidants to bind the free radicals or damage can occur. You don't have enough antioxidants to bind all the freevradicals. It doesn't matter how good you eat, you are being overloaded.
Depending on your genes, CoQ-10, NAC, milk thistle, and maybe even ALA can be considered harmful. All of these are thiol containing products and can be trouble with CBS mutations. If you haven't looked at your gene profile, you need to.
I have a protozoan like you so I know where you are at. Hang in there, it will get better.