Need to Quit Nicotine, But Quitting Makes Tinnitus Go Haywire

Hey everyone,

I’m at a point where I need and want to quit vaping nicotine as I believe it’s possible that I’m doing more damage. However, when I try to quit my tinnitus goes haywire and the nicotine seems to be the only thing that calms all the different tones into (mostly) one tone and also calms my anxiety. I’ve read a few horror stories of people who quit and their tinnitus never calms back down. I’m just wondering if anyone has any good stories or words of support as I know I need to quit. For more reasons than the tinnitus.

Thanks in advance!

 

You need to find the strength of stopping it for few weeks including maybe a louder tinnitus for sometimes before calm down. It's all up to you unfortunately.

 

Hi @mish.xo -- I'm happy to hear you've decided to get off the nicotine. -- It makes total sense that your tinnitus would spike as soon as you try to cut back, as nicotine is highly addictive. As soon as you cut back, your neurological system goes into withdrawal mode, which can be highly stressful, which in turn can easily spike tinnitus.

I'd suggest doing your withdrawal very, very gradually; in a way that doesn't unduly spike your tinnitus. I'm thinking it might be similar to those trying to withdraw from benzodiazapines, though I suspect nicotine would in general be less problematic than benzos (though I suppose it's an individual thing).

Could you switch your nicotine from vaping to something else? I'm thinking in terms of tritrating it, so that if it was dissolved in a liquid, you could take it in a certain number of drops, and your withdrawal could be calibrated pretty precisely. I would also try to replace some of the "calming" aspects of nicotine with other things, such as l-theanine, St. John's Wort, deep breathing and/or yoga, long walks, lemon grass tea, etc. Herbs or foods that support your body's stress response would also be good. Oatmeal is a great "nervine" ood. -- Lots of things to choose from.

I quit smoking cigarettes many years ago, and it was definitely a difficult undertaking. I think the key is to go slowly, don't overly stress your body and psyche, and practice patience, patience, patience.... -- All the Best...

 

Hi there! Thank you for taking time to reply. I was considering nicotine gum but I’m not sure how to go about that. Have you had any success with St. John’s Wort or l-theanine? Did you have T when you quit smoking? Any effect? Thanks in advance!

 

A product I take for sleep and relaxation is the one below (has l-theanine), which can be found at THIS LINK. They have a number of other "calming" products as well. -- I've taken St. John's Wort on and off for years (I harvest it and make my own tincture and teas). It generally has very calming effects, but there's been instances with some people where it's had the opposite effect. But that apparently happens very seldom. -- I didn't have tinnitus when I quit smoking.

Best...

 

Okay I’ll definitely look into it! Thank you!

 

Sharing my experience. I quit dipping after 6 years (2 cans a week) back on December 21. Exactly 35 days later, I started to 'notice' an increase in my tinnitus, that I feel like I kinda noticed off and on for about 5 years, but NEVER bothered because... I never really noticed it before.

So then I was feeling this pressure in my ears and my sinuses were a bit congested with occasional headaches, and my doctor prescribed me a Z-Pak. He thought I was having ear issues resulting from all the head congestion.

3 days into a 5 day course of Z-Pak, my tinnitus spikes, so I stopped it. 5 days after just 3 days of a Z-Pak, my tinnitus seems to be increasing every day.

It's definitely louder. 46 days after quitting nicotine. I am also unemployed after 8 months and lost a 3 year relationship in October. So I have to believe some of this is related to nicotine withdrawal and increased stress or anxiety I'm not feeling as much consciously, but perhaps subconsciously.

Keep us posted on your progress.