Is Clonazepam Making My Hyperacusis and Tinnitus Worse?

I've recently entered the worst setback since this all began a year ago. I am worse than onset. 2 weeks ago I felt pretty good, now every impact and sudden sound, loud or soft makes me want to hide in a closet. My T is screaming loud.

NO loud noise exposures...but my facial.nerve pain returned so I upped.my.clonaz dosage per instruction of doc..

Anyone think this could cause a worsening in symptoms?

 

Sorry for the setback. If upping clonaz dose coincided with symptoms of T, that's sometime to look at. Maybe go back to original dose to see.

Have you tried gamapentin for nerve pain?

 

In my case I used ativan which I used to control my T.
When I stopped with ativan after tapering, H. began.
I think and read about benzos can playa role, causing or severing T or H.
I'm not an expert but I read some things on the net about benzos.
I also think everyone is reacting differently to medications.
Say, what for some may help, might be a problem to another person.

Sorry for my bad English.

Maybe you should the ask the docter:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/clonazepam-ototoxicity.6201/

 

Btw I took ativan for max. 8 weeks including tapering.

 

@DutchGuy I will explain tomorrow what happened to you regarding ativan.

Yes @Larry OT I think I may have to taper..process of elimination I guess. ..Everytime I have tapered off clonaZ my nerve pain returns..so yes, I need something else...problem is many anticonvulsants make T and H worse or appear.

 

When T. started I took Ativan. I witnessed a little H. too when T started.
I think ativan may have decreased my H. at the very start when i took them.
After I tapered H got bad.

 

I took at T onset...I quit cold turkey as I didn't know the dangers. Yes T and H made a lot worse.

 

Cold turkey will make T and H much worse!

 

I think ativan helped for H. After I tapered H. went through the roof.

 

@DutchGuy how long were you on Ativan and how long did you taper for?

 

I took a it for 1 month than I tapered for 1,5 month I think.
I had a little bit af H. when T. started.
One week after tapering severe H. struck.

I don't know if ativan helped my H. or tapering caused me H.

Tommorow I'm going to see my GP.
Too bad H is seldom so he might not know nothing about it.
My problem is, I'm also hypochondric, so I'm afraid my GP would think I'm exaggerating.

 

I am willing to give it time, I want my normal life back.
I pray for a sound therapy that could help me.

I was already a little bit of an anxious person before my T and H came into my life.
But now it's really, reaally bad and continuous.

I knwo smoking is bad, but i smoke a lot of cigarettes a day,
lost a lot of weight, while I already was a thin person.

Maybe I should go outside moreand then my ears will get better and get used to the sounds.
I don't have that much pain, just a little. But my LDL's are not good. Everything is louder.

 

And it's not even being diagnosed yet...
Afraid it will not be taken seriously.

 

Lynn

I have been on clonazepam for over 20 years, and I'm still on it. I have stopped for short periods of time during those years and ironically I have just started to get off of it once and for all this week. I have NEVER had any problems with it effecting my tinnitus. Regardless if I was on or off or getting off of it. I did taper off when I did stop it I feel that's important. I was also on Xanax and serqueal during those years at the same time to help me sleep, again with no effect on my tinnitus. I just stopped the xanax a month ago. And once I'm clear of the clonazepam I plan on getting off the serquel and be totally drug free by the first of the year. If anything I would say that these medications helped me with my tinnitus because it defiantly reduced my anxiety over all, that's for sure.

Some say that people react differently to medications, but it's also easy to over worry about that a medication might or might not be a problem, and that in its self can cause the perception of their tinnuitus to seem worse. when it's really not. either way I hope that thing's get better for you soon.


Louie

 

Sorry to hear about the set back.

Are you working with a neurologist, or an ENT at the moment? I think I remember reading that you had been diagnosed with TN, is that still the case? Are you looking into any alternative therapy protocols?

It would be hard for anyone to give you a concrete answer as to whether or not the clonazepam is to blame for any of this, but I think it would be beneficial to get off it for a few months to see if you're condition improves - but I understand that this would be extremely difficult given that you're using it to try and control your symptoms.

Off the top of my head, some alternatives you could possibly look into could be amitriptymine, gabapentin, preglabin or corticosteroids to try and control the pain - but obviously each drug has it's pros and cons. Going on corticosteroids helped me tremendously when my hyperacusis was at it's worst, and I believed it provided long term benefits - but that was just my own personal experience.

Anyway, wish I could be of more help somehow. Hope things begin to improve!

 

Thanks @yonkapin

Yes it is always a struggle on what to take and dealing with pain. In complete honesty clonazepam seems to be the " tamest" of all my drug options so it's a tough decision :/

I do remember you saying the steroids helped your H immensely so I will ask GP about that.

Yes after a year I finally saw my Neurologist a couple weeks ago..he basically feels that I suffered from post concussive syndrome after my.bike accident. .and also a typical . migraine but he is investigating and wants me.to have an MRI I don't know how I will manage that one..

The ENT I saw was useless but I do plan on finding another one as I would like to have that caloric test? done to rule out nerve damage.

My health is complicated and no doubt all my ear symptoms come from one or two chronic conditions...imo...or I could just be really unlucky and have ear damage from noise too.

 

@DutchGuy
I took ativan years ago and it gave me temporary H. It went away when I discontinued the drug. I only took it a few days. I know of another woman who says she got H from ativan. You had H already, so it didn't give you H but the half life is short and maybe it did worsen your H but I doubt it..however I think it's an awful benzo. It also made me very angry with rage. Scary stuff! !!
anyways not all benzos are alike..clonazepam worked great for my H for almost a year. .now, not so much and.doesn't lower my T anymore and I upped my dose?! who knows about these things. .The only thing you can do is find an audiologist to help you.

Where in the Netherlands are you located?

 

I live In Hengelo, East Netherlands.

 

All meds that ends with ...pam are bad imo.
I would rather take an AD than this.
They say ativan is worse than heroin.

Any advice for an AD?
And I'm curious about the steroids.
It's too bad we know more about H than the doctors do.

 

@DutchGuy

Right off the bat I am going to tell you that anxiety and fear will make your H worse. The first thing you need to address is your anxiety. You also need sleep, so I hope you are sleeping.

Yes, walks are good in a nice nature environment. Be gentle with your ears.

In all honesty, I believe my anxiety and major breakdown when I got H and T caused my situation to become much more dire...my.H that is..I read scary articles . online that gave me phonophobia..I mean I locked myself away in my room from my family for 3 weeks terrified of every single sound. Sound became the enemy.

However I found caring people online that helped me to realize that I was only making my situation worse and sound was not the enemy... slowly I stepped out of my room and added a sound machine 24/7..I didn't leave the house for maybe 6 weeks..it took awhile to get that far..but I did improve.

It's been up and down..I also have a tendency to think the worst, I have GAD (anxiety disorder) and so this is like one of the worst things to happen. A hypochondriac nightmare for sure! BUT I have seen major improvements in my own dire situation, just not sure why they don't hold :/ could be my TMJD..who knows..

But MOST people improve and get better. I have spoken to Cat 4 individuals that have seen most people go on to get better. Cat 4 is only a small group.

Anyways, just want you to know that most likely you will be fine. The woman who started our fb group got T and H from ear syringing and did TRT and got better. Still has T but she was doing much better when she decided to leave our group because ahe no longer needed support. .plus its better not to dwell on it..I think it took her a year before she saw results. .

so there is hope, don't. despair!

 

That's positive talk!
I can sleep "well" but it's just because I'm exhausted.
I hope I can do TRT.
Hoping that I don't have to visit my GP a dozen times before getting diagnosed.
Otherwise I make an appointment with another GP.
But yeah, first I have to deal with the fear. I'm also diagnosed GAD and hypochonder,
so I'm afraid my GP would not take my H. problem seriously.

Referrimg to a neurologist is a good idea too?
Of course I have to an ENT-doctor as well.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to see the GP, I made an appointment.

 

thanks @quietatnight ..I agree, I doubt it's the clonazepam. Thank you for sharing your story. One thing is for sure, I do need an anti anxiety med...

 

@DutchGuy you will see the best and worst of me.on here lol..

anyways I had to tell my.GP what H was. She had never heard of it...but she is relatively new to practice. .so she calls head ENT in my city to leare more about it and he tells her because of my.pre exisiting anxiety and depression that it's. psychological and in fact "most cases of H are psychological"

Needless to say I haven't gotten the help I need.from them..that is typical...You need audiologist experienced in H.

 

Understandable, that's why you here on this forum! I hope for you the setback will cease and I hope your LDL's come back to normal.

 

In NL we need to see the GP first before being referred to an audiologist, ENT etc.
otherwise I have to pay the bill myself and health insurance won't pay.

But hey, since I have to pay (insurance won't cover it)
for TRT I don't think you have to be reffered because you have to pay it yourself.
Health insurance won't cover it.

Complicated story haha.

 

@DutchGuy it is same here in Canada but not for audiologist.

wishing you luck tomorrow with your GP. Mention your T more so, that at least deserves an investigation from an ENT.

I will look into an audiologist for you, as I know a few folks from Netherlands with H and T.

 

I Got that same answer too when I got T. Went to psychologist afterwards who didn't know my T. was my main problem, yalking about my past and stuff. She refused to refer me to
I wanted some sleep meds she refused to refer me to a psychiatryist.
I know CBT can help for the long run, but I needed a fast relief first.

 

Thank you!

 

Now I'm going to catch some sleep. Goodnight!

 

We will all get better soon!