Worse Tinnitus After Klonopin (Clonazepam) Taper

I was on Klonopin for 1 month at 1 mg a day, then 2 weeks at 2 mg before starting a taper of .25 mg a week. I was on it only 6 weeks total before starting to taper.

Tapering went OK until I got to .25 mg and my ears started to ring with a louder electrical tone. Got to .125 mg and ears went nuts with ringing. Went up to .375 mg and ears stabilized a bit. At that point my psychiatrist crossed me over to Valium 4 mg which I tapered and got off at 1 mg. Total taper was 9 weeks.

My ears are ringing like mad and I cannot cope!

Did anyone have this from benzodiazepines and if so, did your tinnitus eventually go back to baseline? I was only on this shit 6 weeks before tapering and I tapered longer than the time I was on the drug!

 

I'm trying to get off Ativan. I'm now on week 4 and yes my tinnitus is much worse and the withdrawal is bad. I cut the pill from 1 mg to 0.5 mg after 2 years.

 

My understanding is that most people who experience tinnitus as a result of benzodiazepine tapers usually have it resolved within six months. You must be very sensitive. You were not on Klonopin for very long and 9 week taper isn’t too short considering you were on it for a brief time. Perhaps going down by .25 mg was too much, too quick for you. I have been on and off Klonopin for years, never more than 1 mg a day. Maybe 1.5 to 2 mg on an isolated day when my anxiety was through the roof. Every time I have done a ridiculously slow taper like a decrease of .125 mg for several weeks and so on to allow my brain to really adjust.

Best wishes - I’m sure it’s going to resolve.

 

Tit
I suggest you titrate at a slower rate. .5 mg is too big of a decrease.

 

@Derek26, be careful with Ativan when you taper. It has short half life and can throw you into interdose withdrawal easily.

Are you doing this with your psychiatrist?

You might need to switch to Valium or Librium. Also .5 mg drops are too big. You will freak out, especially after being on it for 2 years straight.

 

I took Valium 5 mg for 2.5 weeks and I cold turkeyed. I had ringing when I drank coffee, that's how my tinnitus started. I still have it now. That was 1.5 years ago

 

You got tinnitus from coffee?

 

Has it improved at all?

 

Might be worth a read:

Restoration of GABAA Receptor Function after Benzodiazepine Use: A Meta-Analysis

 

Interesting article. I don’t want to touch those drugs though. I was on Gabapentin and I found out it is ototoxic.

 

My question is if the Klonopin did permanent damage to my ears, or if my brain just needs time to chill out?

 

Almost everything is ototoxic these days lol. All it takes is one person to report an adverse effect.

 

I think my nerves were f'cked up because of the benzo, then the coffee was the straw the broke the camel's back and triggered the tinnitus.

 

Fortunately yes but i think the healing time is so slow for me. Before it was severe, and now it is quite bearable. I hope it continues to lessen in volume and intrusiveness.

 

I don’t think Gabapentin is listed as an ototoxic drug. In other words it’s not known to damage the hair cells or the cochlea.

Could there be people who’ve taken Gabapentin who have experienced tinnitus? Certainly. And then they have to list it as a potential side effect even if the number of reports are low, but you can say that for about 200 drugs. That does not make them truly ototoxic. There is also some data out there that suggests Gabapentin helps with tinnitus. I haven’t evaluated the actual study so I don’t know whether or not it’s been validated.

 

Doesn’t help that all of us are so fucked that we are super paranoid.

 

Yeah man for sure… I know I am.

 

Ah thanks for the explanation, sorry to hear that.

 

@Brian P, yup the first month is awful. I'm still on .5 mg and still having mishaps. And yes you literally do freak out, it feels like death and psychosis literally! But I have to get off these. My psychiatrist was useless. He said what you said, to try Valium. I took one dose and still felt awful from not taking the Ativan so I went back to the Ativan the next day.

I did call a detox center. They have a waiting list. They said if I'm really struggling they can monitor me for a bit but they said 1 mg was a low dose but ya it screws you up. I'm figuring once I'm regulated on .5mg I'll start cutting just a piece off a bit at a time. But my hearing is worsening so that is not helping.

 

It’s so stressful. The Klonopin killed my hearing. I’m in a very bad place.

 

@Brian P, what is going on with your hearing from the meds?

I used Ativan to ease the anxiety but it wasn't working as good and did not help with the noise levels. I find since trying to taper it is much louder but I've been exposed to loud sounds too in recent months so it's hard to say.

Hang in there as best you can!

 

It made the tinnitus way louder, higher pitch and electrical sounding. I also got a hiss.

 

Hello,

I also had "benzo" tinnitus during Clonazepam tapering. I finished tapering last June, "benzo" tinnitus gradually decreased, then started to be present only some days per week, then once per week, and now is gone.

 

What did your benzo tinnitus sound like? How much Klonopin were you on and how long was your taper?

 

It was hissing/electrical in both ears (my baseline tinnitus is hissing + low hum in right ear). In worst days I had high pitch sound. Also I have noticed external loud sounds generated multitonal tinnitus (like pipe organ) lasting couple of days.

I was on several dosages, max was 2 mg/day. Tapering lasted 6 months.

 

I have the same sounds as you! Plus I developed a squeal.

How long did you take Klonopin for? I was on it for 6 weeks, then tapered for 9 weeks.

 

Oh, I forgot, I also had that squeal some days.
I was on several benzos since June 2020 (because of my original tinnitus), I switched to Clonazepam in November. Started tapering in December. So, 6 months on Benzos, 6 months of tapering.

You are in a better position, so I hope you will recover sooner.

 

Thanks. Did you have any other sounds appear other than these? It made the tinnitus loud and reactive and sometimes it sounds like an electric saw. It’s horrible!

 

I think this is all:
- bilateral hissing/electrical
- high pitch whistle
- squeal
- pipe organ after loud or prolonged sounds

Yes, benzo tinnitus was reactive but also my original one The pipe organ reaction to external sounds let me think maybe my inner ear is more vulnerable during benzo withdrawal, so maybe some extra precaution is needed.

Stay strong, all benzo related stuff will be gone sooner or later.

 

Yes the ears are a lot more sensitive after benzodiazepines it seems.