Low Tones Getting Better But Horrible High-Pitched Tones Now

I had low frequency t in my left ear only. After about five months it started getting quieter. I think it may have been due to jaw and neck problems.
I then took some cats claw for a week which seemed to help the low tone. Then The high pitched screeching came full force in both Ears-brain.
It's unbearable and I can't sleep because I can't mask it. I also cut one dose of my ativan down in half which may have caused the spike or the t. Now there is no relief In sight.
Is there any hope for me now? I mean I didn't have any ringing at all the. BAM! Help! I am freaking out and ativan used to help with it but it doesn't since I tried to taper.
Is there any habituating to this high doc whistle? What sound can help me? I am losing my resolve.

 

Look up my posts and the answer will become clear, starts with k...That is what you seek and should try...

 

There's definitely hope. Things will get better! But, if you're making lots of dose changes to a benzo, that definitely might contribute.

 

Yeah, benzos are the devil...Are low doses ok though? Will they damage the cochlea that much?

 

This isn't a resolution, but possibly a workaround to get you some sleep. There's a great freebie program called Simply Noise... I had more high frequency clusters of noise and found a setting on the program called Brown Noise. Brown Noise is a warmer low mid with a little bass if you tweak it. I turned thebass all the way up and the treble all the way down on my small desktop speakers and covered them face down on the floor. I found that this lower frequency replaced to some degree the higher frequencies. It was kind of like sitting in the tail section of a plane and falling asleep. There are other noise samples as well to experiment with. But the Brown Noise got me to sleep....I'm still using it....

 

I use this site to help me sleep and mask the tinnitus-

http://www.generalfuzz.net/acrn/

 

@Danny Boy i have tried Keppra years ago off label form migraines and I was a walking dopey zombie. You are saying it stops tinnitus?
And I didn't know benzo use damaged the cochlea. I thought it changed the gaba receptors. Yes I have been on one poll at night for twenty five years (klonopin) never increased it. And one .5 ativan in the day (never increasednthay) I suppose it's a low dose but it's long term. I just stared with the t (screechy) last week. I think that's when I cut my ativan in half and also took cats
Claw at the same time. @linearb thank you for the shot of hope. Did you have benzo t? i can't remember now-I am struggling to even write this. I am so so lost. I never heard such a loud non stop ring. How can there be hope. Even taking the regular dose of ativan doesn't bring it down.
@jserrent ; I had used the brown noise app for the low toned t and it was perfect for masking. It's way too bassy and low for this high pitch sound though? I even have it run through a nice set of speakers to no avail.
Guys thanks for trying to talk me down. I don't know how this happened so fast. I can't sleep at all and feel like I am going to get into a psychotic episode soon.

 

@SleeplessSoul I'm so sorry to hear that you're still experiencing the spike. Have you talked to your doctor on how to wean off ativan? I've heard crickets help mask the loud pitch tinnitus. Did you have a hearing test after the spike to see if there's hearing loss?

 

Looks like you might need a sleep aid like Ambien temporarily anyway.....as much as I hate to see you add another drug.
As for the sound masking....I doubt you can mask all of the frequencies. In my case the lower mid sound diverted my listening to it rather than trying to mask the same frequency range.
I was so desperate..... I down loaded the free standing simply noise and run it through Winamp which has a 10 band EQ to fiddle with till you get exactly the best sound for you. I know it sounds a little techy ... but if it works .....?

 

I'm not aware of much research showing that benzos are directly ototoxic -- eg, damage hair cells directly. It's definitely possible, they are known to cause a wide variety of vestibular effects, but I would be pretty shocked if this was the principle mechanism by which they cause tinnitus. (And, anecdotally, I took a moderate dose of Klonopin for many years, and it did not in any way impact hearing test results).

The mechanism I suspect as more reliably problematic, is by altering the way GABA-mediated inhibition works in the entire nervous system. Benzos very, very clearly have this effect -- it is their primary mode of action. And, as we know, lack of GABA-mediated inhibition, is a necessary element to the propagation and sustenance of the tinnitus perceptual signal.

When people say "low doses" of benzos, they generally mean stuff like "I only take a half milligram of Xanax a day". I do not think that's a "low dose"; it's roughly equivalent to 30 ounces of 4.5% ABV beer.

Two people on here have reported improvements in hyperacusis from Keppra. That is not nearly enough data to make any sweeping conclusions at all. I can easily find you ten other anecdotal reports of people who say Keppra caused them to develop tinnitus. The plural of anecdote is not data.

I, personally, would suspect the ativan dose cut much more than the cat's claw. Cutting it by half is a huge cut. I have read many accounts of people developing tinnitus during lorazepam dose reduction.

I think that benzos are a factor in my T; I was on them for a long time. I also had some noise trauma, and severe anxiety that I did not address properly for a period of years. So, there are many factors. My read on most people's experiences is that tinnitus which is purely from benzos usually reduces gradually over a period of years, out to about 5 years off. I am 2 years off now. If I see a significant improvement in my tinnitus over the next 3 years, then I will assume it was benzo related. It is too soon to say.

I've had this feeling many times. Whatever else happens for you, at some point, you will start sleeping better, and once that happens, lots of things will probably get better.

 

@linearb I was looking forward to your response as you are always to honest and helpful.
And I did remember that you took benzos. I shouldnt have cut the ativan like that. It I didn't know.
I am still so upset about the t and not knowing what happened that it's Causing so much anxiety. Since I was on them for so many years without t, it didn't occur to me to suspect them.
I more suspected my cervical spine jaw and headaches which I used totake aspirin for. I will get temporary ringing from the aspirin but that goes away.
And I do have ssnhl in both ears high frequency (age related) but I don't know what all of a sudden that would cause t.
Still, I look to you for comfort and guidance and facts. I truly appreciate your time and responses.

 

Hi @SleeplessSoul,

SSNHL would not account for the sudden onset of Tinnitus that you have described because you have TMJ as a more likely aggravating factor (and, because when taking anti-inflammatory treatment, your Tinnitus responds). Anti-inflammatory treatment is completely ineffective against SSNHL, and (unsurprisingly) only addresses Tinnitus caused by neuromuscular inflammation, like TMJ disorders (including peripheral disorders, like head, neck, shoulder, and back muscle spasms).

You should discontinue Cat's Claw, as it's like aspirin in its impact to your circulatory system. It could be introducing Tinnitus in your other ear, especially if you didn't have any Tinnitus there before. Discontinuing Cat's Claw, like discontinuing Aspirin, should -- if this theory is right -- cause your Tinnitus to return to normal. However, if your Tinnitus spike is being caused by shifts in your muscles, you may require additional physical therapy.

Has your medical team tried placing you on a short (7, 10, or 14-day) prednisone regimen, starting at least at 50 mg/day? I forget if you told me previously whether this was an option for you, but this would be another way to verify that Tinnitus is being caused almost entirely by TMJ.

How long have you been taking the Ativan? There is some evidence to suggest that benzodiazepines, like Ativan, can cause a Tinnitus spike -- when you stop taking them. This is actually pretty exceedingly rare, and has only been known to happen for people who have been taking benzodiazepines for many months, sometimes even years, and at dosages that exceed regular therapeutic levels (for Ativan, the typical therapeutic level is 1 mg every 24 hours, but it can be as high as 2 mg every 24 hours). Levels that exceed this are usually provided for exceptionally acute neuropsychological episodes of severe anxiety, and shouldn't be sustained for more than a few weeks. Even so, even the Tinnitus caused by so-called "benzo-rebound" is ordinarily not permanent.

I'm keeping you in my thoughts, as always, fellow South Shore Tinnitus buddy!

 

I feel you. Does this high pitched screeching sound kind of a dentist's drill? I have that one in my left ear. Can't sleep either. There is no way that anybody in the world could ha-bitchuate to the noise in my head. It's beyond insanity. I'm in constant pain, and suffer.. this is crazy!

Twenty five years (klonopin) and ativan, that's some time. I'd think those very meds caused your T.

It's all a vicious cycle, you take meds to soften your T and as soon as you stop the meds T comes back full force and you have the subjective perception that T got worse, which might be the case or you simply got used to the softer T.

 

@Kaelon thank you for that post. Especially about the cats claw. I swore it started this t in both eats high priced. I did not have it before taking it. It hasn't returned.to normal or like it was before with just the low hum in my left ear.
I am really upset over this sudden turn of events. It was either the cats claw which seemed to help the low hum but started the high pitched whistle in my head. Or I cut my one Ativan in half or neck and jaw muscles got worse.
No I won't be able to tolerate a round of prednisone. I have a heart arrhythmia and now that I tapered my dose of Ativan I am even more on edge. Btw, my dose of Ativan has always been .50 mg one in 24 hours so I guess it's a therapeutic level. But I have been on that for at least 6 years and the Klonopin for 25. I also take .50 klonopin for fibro and essential tremor and benign fasciculations.(1 at bedtime) I have heard that benzo induced t is permanent as it alters the GABA receptors.
Before this high pitched t, an aspirin would settle my left ear. Now, it only seems to quiet marginally with the dose of K at bedtime.
My thought is I had the ssnhl before but I didn't notice it because of the Ativan amd then when I cut the pill to half it screeched. Or the cats Claw set me off and it caused a spike. I don't know what happened. If the cats claw did the damage is that permanent ? I stopped it last week and no improvement at all. This t is coming from my brain not really the ear like the low hum.
@Kaelon it was soo good to hear from you. I will be seeing my audiologist Monday but I don't know what she can say or do. Except offer me a masking device? Do you think a course of prednisone at this time would be something that could help? Because I was never offered it at the beginning for the low hum. And now it's 5-6 months later? I have some in the house but it makes me speed and come out of my skin.
All I really want to do is drug myself up so I don't care about the t but I am fighting that urge and it's hard. I almost keep thinking to go back to my .5 dose of A but I doubt that will fix this whistle. I still hear the low bass tones in the left ear underneath the high pitched ringing or hissing. Ugh. I am ready to cry every minute. Once and a while it seems to lower in volume but I don't know why

One last question @Kaelon ; how could tmj induced t be a screeching high pitched whistle or hissing that feels like it's coming equally out of both ears??? Before I could tell only one ear was affected. How could a neuromuscular t cause that brain noise? Is that possible or probable? Help me stop freaking out.

 

@NiNyu how long have u had ur t and h?

 

Hey @Geo , right since the onset. It just got worse so far.

 

What dosage were you on for keppra? Also how long did you take it for?

 

@Danny Boy it was years ago and I only took one or two doses that were low. I am very small and it kicked my read so badly I couldn't even function so it wasn't an option for me.
@NiNyu getting off the meds was my goal but I can't stand the loud piercing whistle and I have to work full time and take care of my family. I don't know how I can go on.......

 

That's really odd? I mean, I've took keppra and it doesn't knock me out. Anyway, it takes up to 2 months on maybe a 2000-3000 dose to treat hyperacusis and lower tinnitus. Hope that helps.

 

It was prescribed for migraines. And it's not odd if you knew me.
I don't metabolize any medication well. So I amextremely sensitive to anything. Even over the counter meds.
So the week I took the cats claw I went into a major spike. It's you know without saying it a hundred times I split my .5 Ativan pill in half which I have done before but never got screeching piercing t from.
Now I am almost ready for a mental institution because everyone is saying how dangerous benzos are but I can tell people, lack of sleep can also be dangerous and put someone into a sucidal, manic , psychotic episode. And the tinnitus is getting me there real quick.

 

It's all down the river. I don't know how to go on either. T is so killing me.. popping meds probably make all worse in the long run so I am out of options too. I wish I could just fall asleep and never wake up.

 

Don't give up. I am still here, with loud high-pitched T which is catastrophic. At the moment 2-3 tones oscillating in my head. Listening to crickets nearly the whole day. Sometimes it goes into the background. I had many months of anxiety 24/7 without any interruption. And if it was no anxiety, then depression. I am still here and can function to 60-70%. For severe cases like us it can take 2-3 years until we habituate. Don't give up.

 

Hi, I am wondering how you are doing? did you stay on the ativan?

 

Hi

Yes I did stay on Ativan but I was only taking a .05 once a day at supper and .05 of clonopin at bedtime. Super low doses but long term.
I did cut the Ativan down to .25 quite a while ago and it really made no difference in T.
It's still loud and tea kettle-y, whistling and white noise.
I can hear it now over my music playing in the room and but I try not to let it get the best of me.
I'm not successful everyday though. I have my moments of fear and panic.