Ear Pain

[[Ni...]]

I have ear pain every day.  I have seen an ENT and he said my ears looked fine.  I’ve been tapering off Ativan since November from 2mg down to 0.8mg now.

Does anyone else have this?  Does anything help the pain? 

[[Pa...]]

Hello Nickel11, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I didn't have ear pain but I know pain is a common symptom of benzodiazepine withdrawal, can you describe it in more detail?  Is it outer ear or inner and do you have tinnitus as well?

I'm sure others will stop by with their experience but we're glad you found us and hope we can help reassure you about this symptom.  Are you dealing with any others?

Pamster

[[Es...]]

@[Ni...]

It could be useful to visit otolaryngolyst. I did when I had tinnitus. This woman showed me the inside of my ear on the monitor and referred me to do some exams. What really helped, though, was when she rinsed the inside of my ear.

And the tinnitus miraculously went away. She didn’t even want to do it, but I insisted on it.  Here’s a list of possible causes, if it’s not BZD WD. You may want to click on the links if you dare, but maybe it’s better to fix a doctor’s appointment first... 

“Why Does My Ear Hurt?“ 

“Earache or ear pain“

Good luck. Just don’t imagine the worst, it’s only a waste of energy🤍

Paula (aka Estée) - an expert at catastrophizing😆

 

[[PG...]]

I second the above that sometimes getting your ear rinsed out does make it feel better even after a doctor says it looks fine (from recent personal experience, was convinced I had an ear infection but felt fine after they rinsed out some ear wax).

There's a popular post on here that says something to the effect of "no matter what symptom you're feeling, it's the withdrawal."

Ativan is strong, and it does crazy things to your nervous system. Once you're in tolerance your body is basically used to being in one of those sensory deprivation chambers and now any sensation is new and painful. I was so convinced that I had probably 10 serious illnesses (and I mean convinced). Ultimately, I waited and eventually everything felt more or less back to normal. It's a tricky subject because no one wants to tell to ignore symptoms, but if you've talked to a doctor, there is some likelihood that it's the withdrawal. That said, I'm also curious to learn more about the symptoms your experiencing. How long has this lasted so far?

Either way, great progress on the taper, keep it up!

[[Ni...]]

5 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Hello Nickel11, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I didn't have ear pain but I know pain is a common symptom of benzodiazepine withdrawal, can you describe it in more detail?  Is it outer ear or inner and do you have tinnitus as well?

I'm sure others will stop by with their experience but we're glad you found us and hope we can help reassure you about this symptom.  Are you dealing with any others?

Pamster

It’s inner ear.  ENT did remove ear wax but that didn’t help w the pain.  I do have tinnitus as well and dry eyes.  Sometimes some GI issues or nausea. It’s been going on since Nov and ENT appt was in May. 

[[Ni...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

I second the above that sometimes getting your ear rinsed out does make it feel better even after a doctor says it looks fine (from recent personal experience, was convinced I had an ear infection but felt fine after they rinsed out some ear wax).

There's a popular post on here that says something to the effect of "no matter what symptom you're feeling, it's the withdrawal."

Ativan is strong, and it does crazy things to your nervous system. Once you're in tolerance your body is basically used to being in one of those sensory deprivation chambers and now any sensation is new and painful. I was so convinced that I had probably 10 serious illnesses (and I mean convinced). Ultimately, I waited and eventually everything felt more or less back to normal. It's a tricky subject because no one wants to tell to ignore symptoms, but if you've talked to a doctor, there is some likelihood that it's the withdrawal. That said, I'm also curious to learn more about the symptoms your experiencing. How long has this lasted so far?

Either way, great progress on the taper, keep it up!

Are you done tapering?  I feel like I’m crawling through this taper.  It’s been 9 months.  The ear pain started in early November and has gotten worse with time. For example mornings used to be fine and then ears would hurt in the afternoon.  Now they hurt almost all the time.  I also have tinnitus and dry eyes and some occasion GI issues.   I just don’t know if I should keep moving forward and ignore or go in for imaging. I hate going in for medical stuff but I’m torn about what to do. 

[[Ni...]]

5 hours ago, [[E...] said:

@[Ni...]

It could be useful to visit otolaryngolyst. I did when I had tinnitus. This woman showed me the inside of my ear on the monitor and referred me to do some exams. What really helped, though, was when she rinsed the inside of my ear.

And the tinnitus miraculously went away. She didn’t even want to do it, but I insisted on it.  Here’s a list of possible causes, if it’s not BZD WD. You may want to click on the links if you dare, but maybe it’s better to fix a doctor’s appointment first... 

“Why Does My Ear Hurt?“ 

“Earache or ear pain“

Good luck. Just don’t imagine the worst, it’s only a waste of energy🤍

Paula (aka Estée) - an expert at catastrophizing😆

Well, I read though all these articles and none of them apply to me.  The only one that maybe (and it’s a big stretch) is TMJ but I feel like I would fell jaw pain, clicking, etc… if this was actually from my jaw. But thank you for your response!

[[PG...]]

3 hours ago, [[N...] said:

Are you done tapering?  I feel like I’m crawling through this taper.  It’s been 9 months.  The ear pain started in early November and has gotten worse with time. For example mornings used to be fine and then ears would hurt in the afternoon.  Now they hurt almost all the time.  I also have tinnitus and dry eyes and some occasion GI issues.   I just don’t know if I should keep moving forward and ignore or go in for imaging. I hate going in for medical stuff but I’m torn about what to do. 

I didn't really taper (I sort of did, but didn't know what I was doing) and basically went cold turkey from 1mg to 0. It was not a great idea that that's how I wound up on here looking for help. You seem to be taking things slower and smarter. So props to you for doing things better than I did.

I went through a few weeks of ear pain, but my bigger problems were my stomach and throat. The cold turkey approach meant that I went straight to having acute, intense pain/symptoms right away, which slowly lessened with every wave over time. Since you're tapering slowly you're probably just starting to notice the withdrawal symptoms more slowly than someone going cold turkey. 

That said, it's been about 2 years and it slowly got better. Sometimes I think it helps to just schedule more testing and let doctors keep telling you you're fine. On the other hand if you don't want to (for any reason) you're definitely allowed to blame it on withdrawal for a few more weeks. Withdrawal sucks. But if you get through it, it does start getting better.

[[sh...]]

Hi Nickel

I was the same! I also went to see a ENT she rinsed my ears. Couldn’t find anything… still hurting for another 3-4 months. But once I knew there was nothing serious „just withdrawal „ it didn’t bother me as much. I have learned that it is not at all uncommon in BIND. When it was bad I used some almond oil. Wish you good healing 🍀

[[Es...]]

6 hours ago, [[N...] said:

Well, I read though all these articles and none of them apply to me.  The only one that maybe (and it’s a big stretch) is TMJ but I feel like I would fell jaw pain, clicking, etc… if this was actually from my jaw. But thank you for your response!

No problem! At least I didn't search these links in vain. Maybe you could consult a different ENT. You know, not all doctors are as knowledgeable as they seem. Keep a diary of your symptoms. I do. It may be something serious, so I wouldn't just ignore it. And here, you know, people do their best. But you cannot have appropriate exams here, etc. I'm sorry for your suffering🤍

[[Fa...]]

Hi Nickel,

I went through about a 3-4 month period of inner ear pain, throbbing.  Just my right ear.  I did assume it was WD.  I waited, and the pain is now gone.

I am so much at the point where I really do assume these things that crop up are WD.  But, always understand that if a person feels it would give them peace of mind to look into things further, then that is what they should do.

Warmly,

F