Stuggling with Tinitus

[[Th...]]

Hello all! 

I've been lurking behind the scenes for several weeks during my withdrawal however I thought it might be time to join and get a bit of support.

I am a female, 64 yrs old. 5 years ago I was given a prescription for Xanax to be used as needed for GAD, (General Anxiety Disorder) and insomnia, 1 mg pills. Over the years I averaged 2 to 3mg per week, usually using two or 3 times a week. Like most people, I had no idea how evil these pills would be. 

On and off over the years I experienced what I now recognize as withdrawal symptoms... restless legs, higher anxiety, depression, sound and light hallucinations, ear aches, intestinal trouble.

One year ago I decided to taper off, I wasn't sure how to do this by myself so I cut back by 25% every 2 months. By the time I got to .25, I would withdraw a few hours after the pill wore off. One day I woke up with horrible pressure in my head, I had pain and pressure in my ears with loud Tinnitus. At this time I wasn't even sure it was withdrawals, but I assumed it was. So I stopped all together.

Withdrawls were brutal, I thought my head was going to explode, my ears ached with stabbing pain, I had difficulty talking, walking, thinking, blood pressure shooting, out of breath, night sweats, restless legs, tremors, flashing lights, just awful stuff. 

Fast forward to today, day 32 since my last Xanax! Most of these symptoms have waned to a tolerable level, I seem to cycle every 4 days, then relapse to feeling horrible again. I am learning to deal with these symptoms, however the tinnitus, which I have never had before, (I can hear a pin drop in the next room with the TV on) is starting to get to me. Its loud, it wakes me up at night, it disturbs my entire day. Its insanity in the making.

Has anyone recovered from this Tinnitus and how long did you have to endure it? It consumes my every waking moment. Is there anything I can do to tame it down?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I am grateful you are all here! Stay strong everyone! 😊

 

Edited January 20 by [Th...]

[[Pa...]]

Hello @[Th...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Oh my, you sound miserable, I’m so sorry!  I’m glad to hear you’ve noticed some improvement, and it sounds like you’re into a fairly predictable pattern of symptoms but the relentless one is the tinnitus.  

I developed it too but not as severe as what you have, many members suffer with this symptom but it does eventually leave, unfortunately, it can be the last symptom to leave. 

I’d do a search of the forum to see how others have coped with it but I’m glad you put it in your subject title so other members can stop by to offer hope or commiserate.

The good thing is you’re benzo free, I wish that meant symptom free but at least you’re in the recovery phase now, I just wish this phase didn’t feel so much like the last one. 

Pamster

[[Th...]]

28 minutes ago, [[P...] said:

Hello @[Th...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Oh my, you sound miserable, I’m so sorry!  I’m glad to hear you’ve noticed some improvement, and it sounds like you’re into a fairly predictable pattern of symptoms but the relentless one is the tinnitus.  

I developed it too but not as severe as what you have, many members suffer with this symptom but it does eventually leave, unfortunately, it can be the last symptom to leave. 

I’d do a search of the forum to see how others have coped with it but I’m glad you put it in your subject title so other members can stop by to offer hope or commiserate.

The good thing is you’re benzo free, I wish that meant symptom free but at least you’re in the recovery phase now, I just wish this phase didn’t feel so much like the last one. 

Pamster

Thank you so much for responding! I've read tinnitus is not all that common with Benzo withdrawal, boy I wish I was one of those that didn't have it as a symptom. 😅  

 

I've heard that too that it is one of the last symptoms to go. Glad to hear yours did too. How long did your ears ring?  I've heard the tinnitus stems from the brain rewiring itself.  I realize the nervous system can take a while to heal but I am having a difficult time being patient with this ringing. I will do some searching around the forums to see how others dealt with it. 

 

Thanks so much! 😊

[[Pa...]]

I’ve worked with members who suffer from both hyperacusis and tinnitus, I’ve seen how desperate they get, these are such destructive symptoms but if you didn’t have them before, I’m confident you won’t when you recover. 

My tinnitus was mild, it only lasted a few months so I was lucky,  I hope yours will give you a break.  I did have what I called bionic hearing, its crazy how I could all of a sudden hear the sounds my house made.

You mentioned you stopped your taper at .25, is this correct?  That’s a pretty big dose to jump off of, most here would call that a cold turkey so I’m not surprised you’re getting hit with some pretty significant symptoms. 

[[ns...]]

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

Thank you so much for responding! I've read tinnitus is not all that common with Benzo withdrawal, boy I wish I was one of those that didn't have it as a symptom. 😅  

I've heard that too that it is one of the last symptoms to go. Glad to hear yours did too. How long did your ears ring?  I've heard the tinnitus stems from the brain rewiring itself.  I realize the nervous system can take a while to heal but I am having a difficult time being patient with this ringing. I will do some searching around the forums to see how others dealt with it. 

Thanks so much! 😊

TheOldChick, hi. I have a severe case of tinnitus. But I also. Have a small brain tumor that also affects my ears. It wasn't too bad before I started going Into withdrawal.  Prior to that, the distortion in my right ear was just a little distorted with partial hearing loss. I was, like you, couldn't stand sound at all. Made some earplugs and wore them even to bed. I am desensitizing my ears. I take the plugs out I'm the living room. My husband turns the TV down, we watch silently as I get used to the noise from the dog door, kitchen etc. Even talking hurts. Tonight we're watching TV together with enough sound to hear. If I don't focus on it, I can do it.  That is the key! Learning not to focus on our symptoms. It's hard, sometimes I just want to cry and I do for a moment, but that just makes it worse. I stop myself from focusing and set my mind to turn it around. Tinnitus is common with withdrawl, some just have it worse than others. I go to town with my husband at least once a week.  I can barely walk due to belly spasms and nerves jumping in my belly but, I do it! The sound is difficult, the slamming freezer doors in the store, the sound of many voices, tunnel vision sets in and I'm in a panic attack.  My leg goes numb and I'm frozen. But then I collect myself, breath, I'm am safe! Over and over, I am safe! 

I made it all the way thru. I gave congratulations to myself and smiled and said,  I did that, I can do this! My point I'm sure you got already, set your mind, try not to focus on symptoms,  be grateful and keep going no matter how hard! I'm 65, not in the best of health and this is the hardest thing I've ever been thru but I refuse to give in or give up! I may want to at times but I won't let myself go there. My hearing gets better off and on, I don't wear plugs to bed anymore. I don't sleep well but I will eventually. 

I've said alot here but I hope you get the jest of why.

Take care 

We old chick's gotta show em how it's done. Yeah right! 😂 lol

[[Th...]]

On 19/01/2024 at 20:05, [[P...] said:

I’ve worked with members who suffer from both hyperacusis and tinnitus, I’ve seen how desperate they get, these are such destructive symptoms but if you didn’t have them before, I’m confident you won’t when you recover. 

My tinnitus was mild, it only lasted a few months so I was lucky,  I hope yours will give you a break.  I did have what I called bionic hearing, its crazy how I could all of a sudden hear the sounds my house made.

You mentioned you stopped your taper at .25, is this correct?  That’s a pretty big dose to jump off of, most here would call that a cold turkey so I’m not surprised you’re getting hit with some pretty significant symptoms. 

Thank you for sharing your experiences with Tinnitus! I am glad you were able to heal and move past the ringing in your ears. Yes I dropped off at .25 mg, it was pretty rough on me for the first 2 weeks but looking back, Id take an extra 2 weeks of it just to get rid of the Tinnitus. Sounds are so disturbing to our brain and functioning on a daily basis. Thankfully I am moving past most of the withdrawal symptoms now, waiting on the ringing to end. 

[[Th...]]

On 19/01/2024 at 21:39, [[n...] said:

TheOldChick, hi. I have a severe case of tinnitus. But I also. Have a small brain tumor that also affects my ears. It wasn't too bad before I started going Into withdrawal.  Prior to that, the distortion in my right ear was just a little distorted with partial hearing loss. I was, like you, couldn't stand sound at all. Made some earplugs and wore them even to bed. I am desensitizing my ears. I take the plugs out I'm the living room. My husband turns the TV down, we watch silently as I get used to the noise from the dog door, kitchen etc. Even talking hurts. Tonight we're watching TV together with enough sound to hear. If I don't focus on it, I can do it.  That is the key! Learning not to focus on our symptoms. It's hard, sometimes I just want to cry and I do for a moment, but that just makes it worse. I stop myself from focusing and set my mind to turn it around. Tinnitus is common with withdrawl, some just have it worse than others. I go to town with my husband at least once a week.  I can barely walk due to belly spasms and nerves jumping in my belly but, I do it! The sound is difficult, the slamming freezer doors in the store, the sound of many voices, tunnel vision sets in and I'm in a panic attack.  My leg goes numb and I'm frozen. But then I collect myself, breath, I'm am safe! Over and over, I am safe! 

I made it all the way thru. I gave congratulations to myself and smiled and said,  I did that, I can do this! My point I'm sure you got already, set your mind, try not to focus on symptoms,  be grateful and keep going no matter how hard! I'm 65, not in the best of health and this is the hardest thing I've ever been thru but I refuse to give in or give up! I may want to at times but I won't let myself go there. My hearing gets better off and on, I don't wear plugs to bed anymore. I don't sleep well but I will eventually. 

I've said alot here but I hope you get the jest of why.

Take care 

We old chick's gotta show em how it's done. Yeah right! 😂 lol

Oh my goodness, you need some hugs! (((Hugs))) You definitely struggled far worse than me, I cant imagine. I can totally relate to your description of  loud sounds, everything  is extremely loud, the TV, noises in the house, my own voice. Its all cutting. The ringing is like a needle drilling into my brain, thankfully every 4 days it quiets down significantly and for exactly 24 hours, I get a break from the drilling. Not sure why always 4 days and only 24 hours but this seems to be the pattern. And yes, crying is definitely on the table some days. 

Thank you so much for sharing your story, ((hugs)) best wishes to you,  we old ladies got this!