Kava Kava for Tinnitus — Post Your Experience!

Thank you for pointing out Milk Thistle. Before I take anything, I'd like to know first whether the Kava is harming me, then I can take steps if it is.

 

So I’ve taken Kava 3 times now, and I’m pretty sure it spikes my tinnitus I was really hoping it wouldn’t but today is the second time my tinnitus feels significantly worse after trying

Day 1: I took 1 tablespoon of Kava after a moderately sized meal and felt 0 effect from it. The meal was probably too big, but I’m very prone to nausea so I wanted to be better safe than sorry.

Day 2: I took 1 tablespoon about 4 hours after breakfast. I definitely got a body high sensation from it, eyes felt heavy and I just felt like I didn’t want to move from where I was sitting. Kind of like when you eat an edible but without the mental effect. It lasted maybe like 20 minutes. The burning on my face was definitely not effected by it. Initially it made my tinnitus a lot louder but it settled down in about 15-20 minutes. I did get a slight headache towards the end of the day but not terrible.

Day 3 (today): I took 1 tablespoon, last meal was a small one about 2 hours ago. I didn’t feel much except a slight increase in tinnitus, so I decided to mix another dose. It DEFINITELY spiked my tinnitus, right now it sounds like I’m in an underground parking lot and 4 different car alarms are going off. The burning in my right ear also seems a lot more intense, going on 30 minutes now.

Pretty disappointed as a lot of people seem to have had luck with it. I might give it one more shot tomorrow but if it spikes me this bad again, I will probably add it to my pile of supplements that failed for me.

 

Sorry to hear that. If I were you I probably wouldn’t want to touch the stuff again, but if you do I would consider a different variety with a reversed kavalactone chemotype. So if you read from the vendor that a lab code is 463, you could try a 426 for example.

Out of curiosity, have you tried benzos and if so, what effect did they have on you?

 

I’m very very upset about it as most seem to have had good luck. Even a neutral experience would have been nice, or no effect on tinnitus, just some help with anxiety.

The spike is definitely still going and it’s very loud. I have not tried benzos but will be trying to get my hands on them in the near future.

 

Do those chemotypes make a difference (or could they, potentially...)?

 

In my personal experience, there is a clear difference between “heady” and “heavy” Kava varieties both in recreational terms and the effect they have on my hyperacusis. That being said I never experienced a tinnitus increase with any of them so I can’t say how it would go for you.

This link explains more: https://kavaguides.com/kavalactones/

 

It took basically all evening and a night of sleep for it to return to normal. Seems like my tinnitus is very sensitive to things (Gabapentin also gave me a horrible dentist drill sound).

 

If you want to see how Benzos work out for you without going to the doctor, go online and buy Phenibut.

 

That really bums me out. I was hoping that at least this would help you a bit. =/ Let's cross fingers that benzos are successful.

 

It appears that the spikes eventually catch up. Things have been monstrous the past couple of days, and drinking Kava has only softened it for a couple of hours. I guess it can get so bad that this isn't going to really do anything, but I guess it doesn't help that I just had a breakup due to not being strong enough to support her, which I don't blame her for. This condition is just a very destructive cycle that is near impossible to break out of.

 

I got my pack of Kava today. Going to go the powder + strainer bag route.

Planning to collect data on dosage and impact on tinnitus. I will share my spreadsheet after a short run.

 

What strain are you trying?

 

Something I noticed about the traditional method is that the strength of the first extract is dependent upon the temperature of the water. Try to have it a little warm. Also, don’t throw out the root if you want a second serving. Add a little fresh powder to the bag and redo it to get a pretty strong second wash.

 

That's the exact one I got. It is a good one.

 

First day taking Kava. 8oz glass + 1tbsp. Super quiet tinnitus today. Collecting data daily for the next month. Will report back. Planning on a liver enzyme test in February.

 

I think I've developed some tolerance to the pills I was taking so will likely switch over to the micronized powder I have - anecdotally, I've heard some people who have tried both say the pills are weaker than the drink. I'm currently awaiting liver enzyme results.

 

It seems drinking Kava frequently has changed the characteristics of my spikes.

Now literally everyday I wake up I have a bad spike coming on, and drinking Kava is like a 50% chance that it will stop the spike. So I'm having the same amount of bad days, while having to drink Kava.

Is it possible that this has caused some neuroplasticity changes?

I feel like if I just totally stop drinking it I'm going to be locked into a bad spike every single day for two weeks.

 

If what you say is true, it sounds like maybe you developed a slight dependence on the Kava. I'm not sure that's possible but if it is, you could try stopping, although there may be some sort of withdrawal symptom.

If you are taking it concurrently with benzos, you may have accelerated benzo tolerance, as my understanding is the Kava increases the number of GABA-A binding sites, and then the benzo would be potentiated - it's already good at binding, but this would give it even more to bind to. This is why I leave a buffer between when I take Xanax and Kava. If you aren't taking them concurrently you can disregard what I've said.

 

I know it may sound bizarre but what I'm experiencing is true. I haven't taken any benzos for about a month, so there shouldn't be any interference there. I also never take any SSRIs. Maybe it is possible to build a slight dependence on Kava?

 

I'm not an expert but I guess anything that could help could also develop tolerance/dependence. If you taper off I imagine the effects would go away and you would return to your pre-Kava baseline.

Perhaps at that point you could use it sporadically to curtail spikes. Sorry it is providing you checkered results.

 

I stopped drinking Kava and I have to say, the ringing today has blasted through the stratosphere. Unbelievable. I don't know why drinking Kava would lead up to this, but it looks like anything that has an effect on GABA receptors is not a good idea for me.

If taking benzos overtime causes your tinnitus to go haywire like it does for me, I would approach Kava with caution.

 

I still haven't recovered to my normal baseline, not even close. Also morse code tinnitus has returned in my right ear and it's even louder than ever, being heard over nearly everything which is a first. So nobody else has had any adverse effects from any form of Kava?

I got a little worried and tried to see if there is any research for ototoxicity and there is, but none of it really shows solid evidence of that happening.

 

I'm finally at baseline today. Dang it's been a while since I've been back to this level, I almost thought I wouldn't experience it again. Still getting some morse code but I've had other things exacerbate that element of my tinnitus and it sometimes takes a month to settle down.

I think whatever is going on in my brain is playing a huge role in my tinnitus problems, since Kava seemed to throw a lot of things out of whack.

Here's the other really weird thing. Normally if I generate a 20 kHz tone on my computer I can hear it. While I was having this terrible spike I checked my hearing and I could NOT hear 20 kHz at all, no matter the volume, and 19 kHz was super faint. Now that I'm doing better I can hear 19 kHz like normal and 20 kHz is detectable again but faint. What in the ef?

 

No idea regarding the mechanics of hearing loss but glad to hear it was a temporary shift.

 

It'd be important to know the mechanism of action before trying Kava. It sounds like classic receptor downregulation. I've noticed it happens to me with benzos. If I take some to try to get a good sleep and hissing tinnitus instead of nail biting... I'll end up paying for it for almost a week when not taking the benzo.

If it isn't "modulating" receptors than that's totally different. Hence "how it works" is important.

Your shift might've just been nerves firing so much that anything else was "background"... aka you maxed out your volume for that frequency. That is bad to do... it's basically like an acoustic trauma. The hair cells might be ok but the nerves can die firing that much.

 

For how long did you take benzos? I take 0.5 mg Klonopin at night for sleeping. I have had tinnitus for 2 years now but in the last year it has been louder. Could the reason be the benzo?

 

It’s definitely possible based on other accounts I have read.

 

Makes sense but I don't think tinnitus can cause nerve damage.

 

If I take 0.25mg Clonazepam everyday for a week, I will pay for it a few days later.