Tinnitus & Hyperacusis 90% Cured

Mmmm...... I think you should avoid earphones/headphones.

 

Tinnitus is a common symptom of benzo withdrawal. If you took benzos to cope with the anxiety from tinnitus initially you will find that an increase in tinnitus is one of the side effects of withdrawal. As time goes by you will find that the increase in tinnitus will subside.

 

Now I'm 95% cured, the last 10% takes more time.

Benzos cause very serious tinnitus & hyperacusis that last a very long time after withdrawal.

STAY AWAY FROM BENZO POISON.

 

@1MW you haven't answered me!

 

How are you doing these days?

Just out of curiosity, how noisy are the UAE (Dubai for instance) as compared to Europe?

 

Loud.

 

I can imagine, there must be lots of traffic and construction activity in the UAE.

 

Hey I’ve been taking Xanax .5 daily since my onset last year and I’ve only seen an improvement. I honestly believe it’s different for everyone.

 

If you increase them you will see more improvement. The problem starts when you reduce them, it may make your tinnitus worse.

 

Surely 0'5 mg can't be that harmful? Not very much compared to 3 mg some people take on a daily basis? I'm aware of what could happen and that's why i'm gonna start a taper and get off the stuff slowly slowly. But now isn't the moment. Only 4 months in so not ready yet!

 

Inquiring minds would like to know:

The particular Benzo
Dosage and frequency
How long were you on them?

Very low dose Diazepam works wonders for my sleep. But I may consider stopping them and trying something else for sleep.

 

Same.. I'm just wondering like you kno..what does there even exist for sleep, that would not make tinnitus louder or make new tones or anything? Like it wud be T-safe(tm) medication to take? Remeron is out.. Seroquel is too serious.. Tricyclics nope... i jus dun no

 

Update:

I'm 98% cured.

I have some setbacks only if I don't sleep enough but I can easily return to cured state with 8 hours sleep.

About 8-9 months after stopping benzos and I regained my life.
My intelligence returned and I can make money very easy.

I protect my ears from sounds, eat & sleep well without any drug... I take only a multivitamin pill each day.

Stay away from psychiatric drugs, tinnitus & hyperacusis can cure on its own but if you take psychiatric drugs then you will have very bad end.

Hell is nothing compared to withdrawal syndrome of psychiatric drugs and the damage done to the brain by these drugs.

 

I'm 100% cured after 1+ year.
Stay away from psychiatric drugs ,especially benzos, and all drugs in general.

 

how are you today friend. im in same benzo T boat

 

So what is the best type of ear plugs/muffs to wear if going to an indoor concert/movie or similar noisy environment? Foam plugs are not good because of vibrations, and EarPeace is not effective?

 

I love my EarPeace filters, though I use them with three-flange silicone from other brands. So much easier to put in / take out in daily life than the foamies. The highest-level black filters are particularly great, and a bit different than most other silicone brands on the market. They're still only 25dB, so they aren't made to use with jackhammers. But in appropriate environments I find them to be Lifesavers.

 

This is important for newbies to know: the bass can actually be worse, and ear plugs can't help that at all, as the sound conducts right through your bones.

For high frequency sounds, the use of ear plugs can be effective (to a point, obviously). For low frequency bass: keep it super, super tones down.

 

@1MW, what benzos did you use?

 

What makes foam plugs specifically bad for vibrations? *No* plugs can protect against low frequency vibrations. That's just a fact of sound acoustics, unfortunately.

Truthfully, silicone plugs like EarPeace are probably all anyone without tinnitus requires. But for sensitive ears, we tinnitus sufferers can have more particular needs.

Foamies offer more protection that silicone plugs like EarPeace, or even most custom plugs. But they are difficult to put in /take out, and they muffle speaking frequencies, making them harder to talk to people with. But they are the highest level of protection you can get, and should be worn when sounds are highest (over 90 dB, I'd say). They are not miracle workers, and still only provide ~30 dB protection (if inserted perfectly). But they are effective when used smartly.

Silicone plugs like EarPeace are great too, but in a different way. They offer less protection than foam - only 15-25 dB protection - and so are not appropriate (for sensitive tinnitus sufferers) for super loud environments. But because they are so easy to put in / take out, are less conspicuous, and allow for easy speaking with others, they are great for avoiding unwanted everyday noises. I use them when I'm doing the dishes, when I'm sitting in a coffee shop with coffee grinding and plates clinking for any length of time - that kind of thing).

So: all plugs can be good, and have their place. You just have to make sure not to rely on them too religiously, and to know they each have their own capacities and limitations.

 

What type of tinnitus you had please? Hissing or tonal?

 

I had all types of tinnitus.

My tinnitus returned a little after 3 days of sleep deprivation and noise exposure together.
But after 7 days of normal sleep it's gone away again.

I am cured 100% now.

Tinnitus cure needs good sleep, noise avoidance, good food and NO drugs.
Drugs only can cause tinnitus, they cannot cure it.

 

Hey man, I'd love to get your help... how did you cope through the worse times? Did you do pink noise or TRT to improve tolerance? I am looking to get off benzos myself... please help!

 

Hello again.

I've been 100% cured for long time.

Of course when I am in a very noisy environment, (like angle grinder/hammer etc) I use Peltor X5A. I also bicycle every 3 days and do weight lifting. For supplements I take multivitamin A-Z Lamberts.

My problem is the COVID-19 shit now. I know that COVID-19 infection and the vaccines have tinnitus as side effect. So keep my tinnitus and hyperacusis gone, I have paranoid measures to not get infected with COVID-19.

For example I use delivery for all things I buy and keep them in 3 days quarantine before touching them.

If tinnitus worsens from the COVID-19 infection, or if it worsens from the vaccine, which do you think has more likelihood of tinnitus returning to baseline?

I know that I am in high risk and I cannot be compared with normal hearing persons.

 

There is a long thread regarding COVID-19 vaccination on the forum. I’m personally in the double vax’d camp and would encourage others to do the same. Ultimately it’s your call to make.

 

@1MW, I've gone through your post history and it seems you have suggested that medical oxygen has helped you in the past with hyperacusis symptoms. Do you mind sharing exactly what your symptoms were? Did you have loudness or pain hyperacusis? Did you have any trigeminal neuralgia symptoms?

As for the oxygen, was this simply temporary relief or do you think it actually helped you? It would appear this idea might not be that crazy if the middle ear is in a chronically hypoxic state, the only reservation being that too much oxygen can be toxic to the body and brain. I actually have an oxygen machine at home and have trialed supplementing nasal oxygen for 2-3 minutes at 30%, but have seen no difference. I have been tempted to up it to 40% for 5 minutes and see what happens, but have some reservations.

 

Hi, Aaron! I'm very interested in the middle ear being in a chronically hypoxic state. What do you think is happening if this state is prolonged? Can that affect the inner ear for example?

 

Great question. The best thing I can recommend is to read Norena's paper on acoustic shock, which quite elegantly puts together a convincing pathology of what might be happening in the middle ear once it is inflamed. In any case, here's an overview of the model from the paper:



To answer your question, and as you'll see in the paper, theoretically speaking the inner ear can be affected by what is happening in the middle ear. The inflammatory molecules present in the middle ear cavity could in theory cross the round window and cause inner ear damages (hearing loss etc.), in particular in the high frequency region. These molecules include ATP, and as we know from Fuchs and others, ATP can activate the unmyelinated type II afferent neurons synapsing with OHCs.

My own personal opinion is that the majority of us with hyperacusis are suffering with middle ear issues, particularly those of us who appear to have symptoms such as TTTS, ear fullness, itching/burning, ETD, TMJ etc. Interestingly enough this hasn't always been my opinion - I used to think it was mostly cochlea - but having spoken to dozens of people with this condition and having read Norena's body of work, I am convinced that the middle ear is at least partially implicated in most cases.

Also, for what it's worth, I did try supplementing low-flow nasal oxygen (40%) at one point but it didn't help. It's possible that I didn't try for long enough, and it's also possible that any benefit I would've gained from saturating the middle ear tissues with oxygen could have been offset by the free radical effect of oxygen once it becomes present in the middle ear cavity via the sinuses.

 

@1MW or anyone else, what is benzo-induced tinnitus like? More in the brain or in the ears? Dose it damage the tiny high frequency hair cells in the cochlea? Is it tonal or more unstable?

 

I still have a question for you. Please answer. I'm that desperate. I just don't know where to turn anymore. I actually knew that graph because you explained it very well in another post of you. Problem is that the cause of my tinnitus is that much different... or involves too much that mechanism and can't explain mine.

I had a very clogged middle ear, as a reaction to a fungus in my external ear canal which got cleaned in a week with ear drops. So in the middle ear there was just dry inflammation for several weeks. They gave me only sprays, saying is ETD. My audiograms were normal, up to 16000 Hz, after the ear unclogged. My tinnitus came at that time, not when the ear was clogged. Can any molecules go to the inner ear to round window using the lymph for example, as there was no infection, no liquid, nothing in the middle ear? My tinnitus started (in both my ears) only after my middle ear unclogged itself several weeks later, even though I had one clogged ear only. Hence no hearing loss after. My audiogram showed some hearing loss when my ear was clogged, probably because my inner ear received less input. They gave no medicine for it.

Could the chronic inflammation in the middle ear have started a cascade of wrong signals over there which influenced at one point the path of the auditory nerve, either way on the afferent or efferent pathways? Just can't find the connection with the inner ear or why my tinnitus started. I had no problems with ears, sensitivity or anything. My tinnitus is a sort of electrical fizzing and when it gets bad, it is a roaring in my whole head. I tried several sessions of mHBOT, not right after my tinnitus started, I didn't know about it then and the doctor didn't suggest it as I had no hearing loss. mHBOT didn't make any difference. Supplements neither.

I was thinking if I could understand the cause, I could address it? Is it potassium channel or DCN related? Could DBS surgery work? I'm at such a loss as what to try. I was even looking at LDN, Fluphenazine or Flupirtine which I saw can be tried for 4 weeks maximum. Or Fycompa (Perampanel)? I saw some users talking about it; it is an anti-epileptic drug. I didn't find its mechanism of action, but I'm that much worse struggling with my type of tinnitus.

I found this link which actually talks about a sensorineural reflex loop in the middle ear through its mechanoreceptors. The paper talks more about pressure problems in the middle ear, but probably with chronic dry inflammation over there, the pressure must have been a problem as well.

Maybe you can shed some light. Thank you so much! My tinnitus can be overreactive when there is more acoustic input, which makes it feel to be more in the brain for a short period of time. My muscles in the middle ear never returned to their normal. I can hear the TTTS well, going in a spasm almost all the time, even in the quiet.

The Effects of Hypoxia on Middle Ear Pressure Regulation