A WOMAN whose life was said to have been blighted by tinnitus died after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

An inquest heard the tablets were the only thing that brought Susan Eddlestone, 52, relief from the torment of ringing in her ears.

But her husband and doctor both told the inquest that there had never been any indication that Mrs Eddlestone would ever consider suicide as a way of ending her agony.

Mrs Eddlestone, of Lower Fold Road, Great Harwood, developed tinnitus in the early 1990s, then it disappeared.

Her husband, Peter, told how they went to a 21st birthday party in October 1998 where loud music was played and the tinnitus returned.

Mr Eddlestone, a baker, said the ailment affected his wife's life and she could not sleep because of the noise.

"It transformed her personality to a large extent," said Mr Eddlestone.

"The only thing that gave her any relief was sleeping pills and she took them as a quick fix."

He said the illness caused her to become depressed but psychiatric treatment did little to help.

He said that he and Dr Mamdouh Ahmed, his wife's GP, became concerned at the amount of tablets Mrs Eddlestone was taking.

"My job was to keep her occupied during the day so she would not need tablets," said Mr Eddlestone.

"She could wake up in the middle of the night screaming and take another one and on occasions she could use a month's supply of tablets in ten days."

Mr Eddlestone felt his wife developed an addiction to sleeping tablets.

On June 26 Mr Eddlestone went home from work at 9.30am and his wife was up and dressed and said she was going to see a friend. "There was nothing to cause me any concern," he said.

He returned to work but two hours later was called home after his wife was found collapsed. She was rushed to Blackburn Royal Infirmary but died in the early hours of the following morning. Mr Eddlestone said tinnitus had a devastating effect on his wife but she had never threatened to kill herself.

He said: "Knowing Susan like I did I do not think she would have intended to take her own life.

"We have a son who she loved dearly." The medical cause of death was given as an overdose of sertraline and Dr Ahmed said the level of the drug in Mrs Eddlestone's system would have required about 20 tablets.

Dr Ahmed said he had seen Mrs Eddlestone every two weeks for the last two years.

"We had a very good relationship. I had a lot of respect for her, and she never mentioned suicide to me," said Dr Ahmed.

Recording an open verdict, deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said she could not imagine any circumstances in which Mrs Eddlestone would be prepared to take her own life and put her husband and son, who she obviously loved dearly, through the trauma of having to deal with that.

But she said she thought it unlikely that someone could take 20 tablets and not realise that it would do them some harm.

"The reason for her doing it remains a mystery but the fact is that she did take the tablets and they led to her death," added Mrs Singleton.