SSRIs and Benzos & Tinnitus

One week after I tapered off lorazepam (ativan) my H went through the roof. Took it when T came onset with a little H.

 

After my T onset, they gave me a high dosage of valium. This calmed my central nervous system and also reduced my T. But it did not go down to 98% silence.

Then I got an anti-anxiety drug (no benzo) and I had lower T for two days.

My AD (Remeron) does not affect T, but it is no benzo.

My opinion, but I am no doctor: All those brain chemistry meds have an effect on T, some more than others.
The one, and only one, question, is: Can they cure T or do they the reduce the volume, so that there is a long-lasting effect after tapering off?

If they do not, one can use them for temporary relief, maybe for one or two days. Then the question is: Do they work reliably that they lower the volume and how high is the price (side effects)?

From the experiences here, it seems RTG has an effect on T. And it would be good if pharmacies do more research. Or maybe we are lucky and Autifony does what we are looking for.

 

Does tapering of gave me increase in H or did it help when I began using Ativan.
I got T and H together, after tapering off H did get worse.

I read stories on benzobuddies.org from people who got T and/or H while taking or tapering off from benzos.

I read many times tapering off lorazepam/ativan is worse than tapering off heroin.
Ativan is the worst benzo. I only took it for a couple of weeks. Maybe not the cause of H. but it might have worsen my H. I don't know.

 

Yup so true...it's all poison

 

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/prescription-medication-gave-me-this-damned-tinnitus.7115/

This guy took xanax and got T and H afterwards...

 

I got T from Benzo , cold turkey withdrawal on my doctors advice.
Killed my hearing as well.
Dont mean to scare anyone but its the truth.

 

Maybe the stress/and insomnia after tapering played a huge role in worsening the H.
I also had some H when I was a teenager. In those days I also had a lot of stress.

I might also start with a SSRI.

It's strange, for some people pills (benzo/SSRI) will decrease T and some people get higher T.

 

it's hard to believe that just one lyrica pill made your T worse
it has a two-stage action, one of which activates gaba to CALM things down
it's also a major ANTI-ANXIETY medication
(maybe you were also taking something else at the time?)
honestly, lyrica made my tinnitus vanish for a couple of hours
and this story has been repeated elsewhere by reliable witnesses
Steve, i recommend you give it a go.

lyrica has a big advantage over ADs as it works straight away
and doesn't have to build up in your system.

 

John I'm interested. May I ask who prescribed you Lyrica? Your GP, an ENT or psychiatrist?
Going to see the ENT tomorrow, don't know If I can ask him for meds.

 

anyone try Cymbalta? im curious to know
as its used for calming nervous system and antidepressant.

 

A UK GP ,it was easy because lyrica's an aticonvulsant also prescribed for pain and GAD

 

I don't know about Cymblata and T, but I hear it's a hell of a drug to get off of...It's a strong one with lots of side effects..apparently.

 

I took Zoloft for about 7 years to help me combat anxiety. As far as i know, it never had any effect on my t. Although i have a feeling when i smoked weed while on it, my hearing was much more sensitive, almost hyperacusis level sensitive...

 

it implies that different people have different neuro chemical pathway of T generation/maintenance, therefore future treatment development must be based on personalized diagnosis, like the field of oncology is currently moving towards. A tumor in the liver could share more genetic commonality with a tumor in the lung than say another liver tumor. Past medical community tend to classify tumors based on their location, it turns out to be a huge mistake, same for T.
I got mine (extremely complex T+H+sound distortion) during withdrawal from Xanax, I had never had any before, and my onset of T was preceeded by onset of H which was in turn preceeded by balancing problem/dizzyness, pretty sure that it is no coincidence

 

how much benzo/for how long have you it before you got T?
I only took a small amount always 0.004-0.5 for just 2 weeks before I got this thing
Is it possible that benzo-induced T can go away?

 

Thats peanuts , I would think that had a high chance of going away but obviously I cannot know that.

 

My T started a few weeks ago. I had been taking .5 mg of Klonopin every night since June. I switched over to 10 mg of Valium three weeks ago instead and not much of a change.

I had been taking 10-15 mg of Buspar for about two weeks (with the .5 mg of Klonopin) when the T started so I am wondering if that was the cause; but I have been off Buspar for a month now and that pill has a very short half-life so I would think it would be out of my system at this point.

I do wonder if the benzos have caused this for me.

I am very sensitive to medication side effects. Before going on the benzos, I briefly tried several anti-depressants and had to quit taking them after a week during the first week of use last year. These included Lexapro, Zoloft, and Paxil. Severe insomnia and sexual side effects. I tried Mirtazapine and Doxepin at low dosages and that gave me non-functional hangovers and I just felt dreadful. I also tried Trazodone last year for sleep and that worked well for a while, but side effects started occuring then too (increased anxiety actually and light headedness).

I had insomnia issues develop around the same time of anxiety because of life events last year (father passed - things in my life were very stressful leading up to that).

Hell, I even got c-diff once from an average dose of Zythromax for a sinus infection about 13 years ago - had to go on to Flagyl to get rid of it. I had taken Zythromax prior with no issues at all.

Part of me wonders if I should just try and come off the benzo. However, they do help me sleep and my sleep has been crappy as I wake up to ringing at 4:30 am almost every night now and hard to get back to sleep for work in the morning. I just ordered one of those noise systems to help mask out the sound at night. I feel like my sleep would be even worse without the benzo as they help me get groggy and calm at night.

I also use guided meditation and CBT. However, I still feel like I need some kind of medication to cope with some anxiety (which is better now despite the T) and sleep.

Several doctors I have seen do not believe the benzos are causing the T, but my Psych Dr. who I see tomorrow said it's not completely impossible it isn't causing it. I'll discuss it much more with him tomorrow. Sigh.

 

All you can do is go off clonazepam and then wait. ..it.could go away or not...I am on 1mg now, been on it a year and do not want it to worsen my T. I will probably begin tapering.

 

@dh42
It's impossible to know.
I've been the med merry go round for 7 months.
Everyone is different and many meds can cause or worsen T.
I've been on and off many. Not sure if my T is worse than onset. I don't remember the exact volume, it just gets bad.
I'm having same questions about benzos, but I do know they will lose effectiveness if taken often and many here believe they caused their T . I'm not sure but they are dangerous in the long run.
For me, I'm not sure how long I can run sometimes.
Good luck with your decisions.
On this forum there is a lot of different opinions but they all are good people who suffer like we do and search for answers.

 

At the very least if you are going to take a benzo,stick to either Clonazepam ( klonopin)or Valium ( diazepam) They have the longest half life and easiest to w/d from.

Xanax is extremely short acting and I can see how it could cause issues Ativan gave me temporary H among other symptoms years ago, and that was just coming down from it I only took it a few times...many people crossover to Valium to taper.

 

I can say having been on benzos daily for the last six months, I have not felt any need or desire to increase the dosage beyond the amount I mentioned. It seems like plenty (for me) and I might even try reducing tapering off graually...at least see what happens.

Right now for me sleep is the bigger issue, not anxiety. I am just dragging so much especially the last couple of days. I also follow the "sleep hygeine" suggestions, but...

 

I sleep only 4 hours every night.

 

This week I am only getting close to 4.5 to 5 hours and just exhausted. It's been tough getting through the day at work. I need 6 to 7 hours a night.

I have no issues initially falling asleep (within 15 min) and staying asleep up to 5 hours...but then wake up to ringing and almost impossible to go back to sleep. That noise/sound masker I ordered for my bedroom should arrive tomorrow and maybe will help.

 

I've been off Clonazepam for three weeks now and off Buspar for 4 weeks. If they were the cause, wouldn't the T have gone away now? Of course, I've replaced them with 10 mg of Valium. I actually prefer Clonazepam over Valium if I end up sticking with a benzo and assuming it makes no difference for my T.

 

Last night I only slept one hour. Monday took 1 temazepam. Didn't help at all.
I'm not into the benzo stuff.
I will try to get some AD for anxiety and insomnia.
I have to wait one month untill I'm going to see a psychiatrist.

 

@DutchGuy

What's with the syringing? I don't get how that causes tinnitus.

 

Chap on my UK site just said he had his ears syringed 2 weeks ago. He's now got Virtigo bad ,warned him off now to that Valaslva manouevre ,don't want this one getting T from that .things I've learnt from TT site ,now I pass it on .

 

I think it was the last push that gave me T.
I only wanted my right ear to be syringed, I treated that ear with olive oil. Too bad my unoiled left ear was also syringed. The day after when I woke up I had T in my left ear.
I also made music on a with a music program on my pc with headphones on, loud beeps of my metal detector with ear buds in, it had no volume control. I had a two cases of H too when I was younger, maybe beacause of stress. As kid had a some concussions. (falling of the stairs).

So overuse of headphones, me being a stressfull hypersensitive already, concussions and syringing.

 

Did this too, many times.

 

I began taking Clonazepam at the beginning of the year and have been tapering off it since then. My current dose is so low that I'm prepared to quit in the new year. The slower your taper, the better. The withdrawal symptoms are terrible and long-lasting. I hope that the difficulties you all are facing are merely withdrawal symptoms that are only temporary.