Tinnitus Caused by Stopping Clonazepam Abruptly

Dear Members,

My doctor didn't support a gradual weaning off of Clonazepam: 0.5 mg am/pm. I stopped this medication abruptly, and during terrible withdrawal, I developed tinnitus, 24/7. I can oftentimes drown it out with background noise, but silence & sleep time, trying to sleep/go back to sleep are awful.

This started in early December and hasn't let up. It's worse than awful.

I've had a CT (negative for cause) & I have a hearing test in 1.5 weeks.

Is there anything that can help me?

 

Time and patience worked for me.

 

@Yellow, how long were you on it? If it's more than a month, you should never have been cold turkeyed.

 

@Nick47, I've read that. I was on the medication about 8 months or more.

 

@Jammer, I would be interested in hearing your Clonazepam story, if it was prescribed for tinnitus and hyperacusis, effectiveness and how long you were on it and how you tapered off.

 

Honestly?

Get back on it, maybe augment it with a sodium channel blocker, then slowly taper off both properly.

It might break through again, will definitely quiet down being back on. Nice and slow, maybe supplement with taurine and magnesium too. At least the chances of it going away is better.

Oh. and sue your fucking doctor. Who the hell cold turkey's benzos, he could've killed you.

 

@Matchbox, do you have experience with a sodium channel blocker? Carbamazepine possibly?

 

Carbamazepine didn't do shit for me. I tried it, yes. Might've made my tinnitus louder but that was temporary. I may be trialing it again.

I seemed to have some luck with Amitriptyline which also blocks sodium channels. All the tricyclics do to an extent, Carbamazepine being one of them.

I do get popcorn style tinnitus too but usually from short term use of benzo (2 days) withdrawal that goes away after a few days to a weekish.