PLEASE help - SUPPORT NEEDED for TINNITUS - encouraging responses only please

[[...]]

HI all,

 

SUPPORT NEEDED

 

I have been on a short acting benzo (ativan) for two months now - in this time have gone from 1mg per night to .25mg atm. About two weeks or so ago i started to experience a worsening of my tinnitus (had this condition anyways since 17 due to noise trauma). I had learned to cope with it quite well before this time but am having a lot of distress now since it has become worse. i assume it is due to the withdrawal as i know it is a common symptom. i also know that tinnitus is made worse by stress/fatigue so i assume that these (independent of the benzo) are factors also. i hope to be med free in about 3 weeks but am worried about this symptom persisting long term. i don't expect it to go away but i just return to where it was before. I just don't know if i am withdrawing too fast/not fast enough..?? i keep hearing about the 5/10% rule but geez i have only been on it for two months and had already started cutting down 3 weeks into the regime. the 5/10% rule seems like an overkill and the pills are so darn tiny..

 

can i hear from people who have suffered tinnitus from their withdrawal and how they went about resolving this (coping with it)? encouraging responses only please..

 

PS. i have also been using (just in the last week a low dose of valium) - apparently as it is long acting it is supposed to help the withrawals - but people have advised that i am complicating things now.. also my doc advised against it

 

also re achieving "stabilisation" when reducing - what is that supposed to look like? i mean are people supposed to have NO withdrawal symptoms before they proceed to next cut?? i think this is unrealistic but please advise..

 

luv and hugs from down under

 

1966

[[jo...]]

Im 63 and have had tinnitus my entire life. So many factors can cause this condition from A to Z. I can tell You that In my case medications have always made it worse as does the clonazepam I am now weaning off of. Do some research on the net their is a ton of info on  tinnitus.

 

I know allergies can also make it worse especially food allergies and obviously loud sounds, I know about that I was a paramedic for 30 years plus a rock musician as a teen. AS for tapering question that is not My expertise but their are plenty of members on this forum who are.

[Guest [su...]]

All benzo can cause tinnitus. I also got this electric buzz in my head and ears...Hope it will stop one day when I am fully recovered from this. I didn't have tinnitus before Valium

[[lo...]]

I did start taking doctors best coq10. seems to help a bit. i developed medium to minor tinnitus post jump,

[Guest [ba...]]

I had a fair amount of tinnitus during my withdrawal/recovery.  It mostly faded after a few months.  I still have some, but it's OK.  Mostly, I don't notice it unless I think about it.  I think yours will fade in time.

 

My dad had tinnitus and I played a lot of loud music during my teens/20s, so not surprising that I have some.

[[...]]

HI all,

 

Thanks for the support. I really need it atm as this (plus sleep difficulties) are my most troubling symptoms - oh yeah also anxiety!!

 

badsocref/johnny- i got tinnitus in my teens from loud music - noise trauma i think is the number one cause.. so i don't expect it to go but hopefully improve eventually if the med withdrawal is making it worse..

 

locustus - can you tell me what coq10 is?? never heard of it? is the tinnitus getting better for you?

 

sundance - have you noticed any improvement at all in your tinnitus yet?

 

luv and hugs from down under XOX

 

[[lo...]]

1966: coq10 is an supplement, you can buy it on amazon. I do feel my tinnitus got reduced by 30% or so after a week, but it is too early to call it yet. it doesn't bother me much for sure. i would give it a shot.

[[...]]

Does anyone else have more advice/encouragement re this topic? Need more support.

 

Thanks

[[Fe...]]

I got tinnitus after starting to try meds,  don't know Wich one triggered it but I did notice it worsening when the withdrawl symptoms are worse. The better I feel the less loud it got. (I'm now in a lot of withdrawl so the tinittus is also worse) but I think for you it will get a bit softer again after time. Wish you well and take care.

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Hi FemWen - i notice that you have switched from short to long acting - has this helped with your withdrawal do you think?

 

do you notice your tinnitus symptoms worse when you are stressed/fatigued? how do you cope?

 

thanks for your support

 

XOX

[[Fe...]]

I just switched but I'm a bit stubborn and fearfully so took to low of a dose valium. Result was I got extreme nausea,  threw up and feel horrible at the moment.  So probably switching back to oxa and oxazepan, taper that one and ude valium to cope with the worse musscle tension. (Not sure aboit that yet).

The tinnitus got worse as well. I try to see it as something that belongs there, try to not listin to it and ignore it. When I felt a bit better, before I got sensitive for sounds, I would listen to music and pay my attention to that (as for as posible).

 

Wish you well

[[Wh...]]

I've had barbaric tinnitus for over 2 decades but not from benzos.

I do listen to binaural beats for tinnitus with my headphones on the computer.

Maybe will help you calm down and "get away" from it for a bit.

I like the sound of rain too, very calming. Might try. Google it.

[[...]]

HI thanks for that - yes i have been dealing with tinnitus for decades (since 17) but just more hard to handle since it has gotten worse (i'm sure due to reducing the meds). I have noticed however that it MIGHT be starting to settle a bit? at least for the time being, not sure what will happen when i reduce again then jump altogether..? but i am starting to feel more positive that it will get better.

 

fingers crossed for me

 

and re my reduction i don't have tooo long to go i think, also total time on meds is 10weeks, and started reducing ativan 3 weeks in already.. so hopefully these are good signs that the withdrawal won't be protracted..?

 

Any other advice would be appreciated..

 

BTW there are some encouraging treatments for tinnitus now that involve retraining the neurons to reduce their spontaneous firing.. if you look on youtube will will find stuff. i think these treatments are expensive tho..

 

one of these is

 

XOX

 

 

[[Wh...]]

HI, yah TRT (tinnitus retraining therapy) is like $15,000 and insurance pays 0 and I'd have to drive like 200 miles for it.

 

Some days are worse than others but when it is blasting, I am like rat in a cage and I go for the headphones and youtube. It may take a few hours but it helps me a lot.

Keeping hydrated helps too and low stress...which is hard going through all this.

[[...]]

There's another therapy (1500, expensive but better than 15000) - and i think you can do it online. involves retraining the neurons but seems lower tech than the one i provided link to. Might be worth looking into? they have some good success it seems. They also have Trigger point therapy - not sure about that one tho...?

 

http://tinnitussynergy.com

 

 

[[Wh...]]

Thanks for the info.

[Guest [su...]]

HI all,

 

Thanks for the support. I really need it atm as this (plus sleep difficulties) are my most troubling symptoms - oh yeah also anxiety!!

 

badsocref/johnny- i got tinnitus in my teens from loud music - noise trauma i think is the number one cause.. so i don't expect it to go but hopefully improve eventually if the med withdrawal is making it worse..

 

locustus - can you tell me what coq10 is?? never heard of it? is the tinnitus getting better for you?

 

sundance - have you noticed any improvement at all in your tinnitus yet?

 

luv and hugs from down under XOX

 

No my tinnitus has getting worse. I notice it is when my w/d start after cuts. I try to have some sounds around me so I wont hear it so much. But I have many cuts left. So I will wait and see. For a few days ago it was like a loud bang in my head and the tinnitus was gone for hours. After that it returned more intense. I have a lot of brain zaps too..

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hi sundance - i do hope it gets better for you, theoretically it should. i am trying to stay positive in the belief that it will get better as the meds get out of my system, there are others for whom it has gotten better, and i really need to be encouraged right now - thanks