Have You Used an Anticonvulsant Drug to Try to Treat Your Tinnitus? If So, Which One(s)?

Also, did it help, worsen tinnitus or had no effect?

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/817697
Clonazepam. A review of a new anticonvulsant drug.
Browne TR.
Abstract
Clonazepam is a new benzodiazepine anticonvulsant recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of typical absence, infantile myoclonic, atypical absence, myoclonic, and akinetic seizures. It is rapidly absorbed by the oral route and appears to pass quickly from blood to brain. Preliminary results indicate a biological half-life of 22 to 32 hours and a therapeutic serum concentration of 5 to 50 ng/ml. Many studies report tolerance to the anticonvulsant effects with chronic administration. Major side effects of the drug are drowsiness, ataxia, and behavior changes. They tend to be dose related, occur early in the course of therapy, and may subside with chronic administration. Accordingly, the dosage is begun at a low level and increased slowly.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22626945
Clonazepam quiets tinnitus: a randomised crossover study with Ginkgo biloba.
Han SS1, Nam EC, Won JY, Lee KU, Chun W, Choi HK, Levine RA.
Author information

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the effect of Ginkgo biloba and clonazepam, a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-receptor agonist, upon tinnitus.

METHODS:
This was an open-label, randomised, crossover study. 27 men and 11 women (aged 16-80 (mean 58)) with tinnitus for more than 2 months were enrolled. Participants were randomised to either clonazepam or G biloba for the first 3 weeks. For the next 2 weeks of washout no medication was taken. For the final 3 weeks, subjects were given the other drug. The initial dose of clonazepam and G biloba was one tablet daily (clonazepam 0.5 mg; G biloba 40 mg). Subjects were instructed to increase the dose by one tablet every 3 days to a maximum of four tablets daily until they perceived a satisfactory decrease in tinnitus loudness or intolerable side effects. Tinnitus was assessed with pitch and loudness matching, tinnitus handicap inventory, and visual analogue scales of loudness, duration and annoyance.

RESULTS:
Comparing before and after each drug, clonazepam significantly improved tinnitus loudness (74% of subjects), duration (63%), annoyance (79%), and tinnitus handicap inventory score (61%), whereas the G biloba showed no significant differences on any of these measures.

CONCLUSION:
Clonazepam is effective in treating tinnitus; G biloba is ineffective.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14763236

Clonazepam in the pharmacological treatment of vertigo and tinnitus.
Ganança MM1, Caovilla HH, Ganança FF, Ganança CF, Munhoz MS, da Silva ML, Serafini F.
Author information

Abstract
We carried out a retrospective survey of 25 years of clinical experience with the use of clonazepam as a vestibular and tinnitus suppressant in the pharmacological treatment of vestibular or cochleovestibular disorders due to different causes. We reviewed the medical records of 3,357 outpatients treated with a 0.5 or 1.0-mg daily dosage of oral clonazepam during 60-180 days. Complete or substantial control of vertigo or nonvertiginous dizziness was achieved in 77.4% of the vertigo patients. Tinnitus was improved in 32.0% of the tinnitus patients. Light or mild drowsiness, depression, nightmares, or lowering of libido, reported by 16.9% of the patients as adverse side effects, tended to subside with continued therapy. We concluded that clonazepam is a very useful and safe drug for the symptomatic treatment of patients suffering from cochleovestibular disorders.

I used clonazepam with very good results , but now I am having a hard time withdrawing from it (via Diazepam, using the Ashton manual, which can be found free online )