Benzodiazepine Withdrawal — SEVERE Hyperacusis

Hi Benzomom.

I hope you see this even though it’s almost been a year.

I got covid in March and had all the post viral neuropathy that came with it.

Which began my consistent use of Xanax since then.

my dose was 1.5mg a day. I’ve currently tapered down to .75 and my ears are so dang sensitive. Every surprise noise caused me to feel startled even text tones im expecting. So everything is just silenced around me.

Have your ears gotten better? I’ve had tinnitus forever but the H is new for me.

 

Hi @AccidentalAddict . I'm so sorry! It would have been nice if the doctors would have warned us that getting off these damn things is often harder than street drugs, huh?! I'm doing better for now. I crossed over to Valium over several weeks and am doing a very slow liquid microtaper (using prescription liquid). My ears are way better right now but I'm not done tapering yet. To get off of 6.5mg is currently in the time-frame of 2-3 years. Insane! I'm so sorry about the ears - hyperacusis, especially when as severe as what I was suffering, is an incredible cross to bear. I hope that you are hanging in there. Look into the Ashton Method and look at Benzo Buddies, the Benzo Information Coalition for resources.

 

Hi all, and hi benzomom. Wondering if you are still active on here I see it’s been quite some time... I have recently developed severe hyperacusis that has me bed ridden for weeks now. I have been getting construction done on my house now for about 2 months. A couple weeks ago I started to ween off my Xanax from 1mg to .5mg and started to feel as though I had supersonic hearing. I live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, but I noticed that I was starting to be able to hear the cars going by at night even with my earplugs! I’ve lived in this house for almost 26 years and NEVER had this issue. As the days went on, my hyperacusis has gotten progressively worse. I also have misophonia, and that has also gotten UBEARABLE. I can’t stand the sound of birds anymore, car motors, lawnmowers, even taking a shower hurts my ears most days. But the worst part is “s” sounds. If someone says a word with an s in it, it pierces right through my ear and this is the worst pain. It’s like it cuts straight through my skull. I can hardly tolerate watching TV. Please someone tell me it gets better because I feel like I’m DYING. And being trapped in my room all day is only making my depression, anxiety, and OCD worse

 

Hi Catherine. I'm not active on here but I got your message through the thread. I'm SO sorry for what you are enduring. Cutting from 1mg to .5mg of Xanax in a couple of weeks is going to bring on severe withdrawal symptoms for many. If you haven't already, I would look into the Ashton Manual, Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices. Not sure if it's your doctor that is tapering you that fast but if so, try to print out these things and take to him/her.

For now, I'm doing much better still. I crossed over from Klonopin to Valium in October/November 2019 and am microtapering the Valium. I'm down to 1.4mg of Valium and still doing decently, though I have a day here or there that is awful. I am hopeful but know that the floor can drop out beneath me at any time again.

Please know that hyperacusis and tinnitus are both very common benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. In time, they will get better but it could take a long time (could be days, weeks or months, or years....just depends on the person). The hyperacusis is absolutely hell - one of the worst symptom that I experienced in this whole thing. I'm so sorry you are suffering.

 

Did it get better at all since? Feeling hopeless right now.

 

ME TOO.

 

Hi. Yes, it did, after my crossover to Valium. See my latest post above. I finished my taper over 4 months ago and it's still way better. I still have some tinnitus but that's also better and mostly shows up at night.

 

My symptoms are getting way worse.

How stable are your ears now as in what can you tolerate?

I’m getting worse by the day and I’m scared this will be permanent.

Could you describe how your sensitivity and pain is now?

I got white noise generators as in hearing aids but I’m afraid it’s too late as now I’m experiencing pain instead of just loudness. I can no longer tolerate TV at a low volume without pain and I’m scared for what’s next.

Are you able to be with your kids again? And what kind of pain do you experience now or what are your limits on what you can do?

Please respond. I’m housebound and desperately looking for hope.

 

I'm so sorry to hear this and can empathize greatly - this was definitely one of my worst symptoms in tapering. Are you also weaning of a benzodiazepine? Mine got better immediately after my crossover from Klonopin to Valium and has stayed much better - it was after this point that I was able to be with my kids again. I only get sensitivity and pain after something super loud. I went to a rodeo last weekend and I did have to wear earplugs but it was ok as there wasn't pain any longer. It's been 2 1/2 years since I was in the thick of it. Have hope - if it's related to a benzodiazepine or another GABA drug, it's likely to get better after crossing over and/or post-taper healing.

 

Hello! I have taken Clonazepam for 3 years now, switching between 0.5 mg and 0.25 mg. I needed it for sleep. I went back and forth but my tinnitus is a sort of fizzing/sizzling in head, sometimes on the laterals of my brain, sometimes all over as a full roar hissing head. I had the tinnitus in the ears for the first year, but then I became more sensitive to everyday noises in terms of reactivity. I didn't have hyperacusis. After the first year my reactive tinnitus seemed to settle, but over time it has become worse and these last months it has been more and more reactive...

Looking back I think I reached tolerance at the end of the first year of taking Clonazepam. I didn't feel much of a difference in terms of how my tinnitus behaved when switching from 0.50 mg to 0.25 mg and back.

How can one safely switch to Diazepam (Valium) if you want to start a taper? Just go overnight from Clonazepam to Diazepam for example? And how many mg of Diazepam? Doctors here can't be trusted to know.

How long a taper is needed to do it safely? Is there any suitable diet that will help with the process?

Thank you so much!

 

Hi Ela.

Please research the Ashton Manual - it needs to be a gradual switchover. There's a lot of information in the manual and honestly, it's just a starting point. I had to go way slower than she recommends and I did a liquid microtaper, taking a little less every single day. However, many can go faster and are fine.

There's no guarantee that the crossover will be a good thing for you - it might but it might not, so hard to say - some find tapering from their current benzo to be better.

Please also look at the website of benzoinfo.com for more good resources. There are also a number of support groups. You will find that it's VERY common for tinnitus to get much worse and for sensitivity to sound (and all sorts of things) to be common in tolerance and withdrawal. Hang in there.