Hearing Loss?

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I posted a similar question just about a month ago, but has anyone had temporary or permanent hearing loss from benzo usage and/or withdrawal, possibly related to tinnitus (my ears have been ringing for months)?  I had problems with extreme fullness and swelling a month ago in both ears which gave me some hearing trouble (which eventually went away), but now I don't have the fullness or swelling hardly at all but I have noticed a decrease in my hearing, as it seems to be muffled.  This has gone on for 4 days and I am just concerned that I am losing my hearing.  I've been dealing with some bad depression over the same 4 days and wonder if that is related to the ear stuff?  I would greatly appreciate anyone that experienced this to share their stories with me.

 

Thank you,

 

Rico 

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Hey Rico

 

I just went to the ENT doctor this past Monday complaining with the same thing, they did a hearing test on me and said i did have hearing loss, my ears will get this pounding in them and the tenniutis badly i drives me nuts. Along with the headaches and sinus pressure. praying for you.

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Hi Rico - my right ear is also calming down a bit but the hearing loss comes and goes. I've had great success with acupuncture (it seems to be a muscle relate thing for me - lots of tension in the ear canal from the w/d). Have you used acupuncture before? It also had a tremendous improvement on my mood - it often broke through the awful wave of depression for me. Just wanted to offer up a suggestion that may help lessen your suffering...feel better soon 

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Trouble with clogged ears and perceived hearing loss ( ent dr says my hearing is fine and he cant see any reason why they are clogged) Going on 2 weeks now and it is maddening!  Most of my other symptoms are fading and I think this might have happened after flying.  My body is just now healing and it might have been too much...most medicines flare old symptoms.  I am coming off a really low dose of valium for a relatively short period of time and still not well.  These drugs are just poison!  I am on an antibiotic now as the ear started to get painful.  Wish the darn thing would pop!

Trying to be patient...

 

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Thank you Belle, Clem and Shell for your feedback and support!  I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone else that has experienced similar symptoms, etc., as I am trying to figure out if I have actual ear issues or if they are related to benzo withdrawal.  Thanks!

[[Pe...]]

For the first 3 months the volume went up and down, I also had a searing pain in my ears on and off.  I have had a feeling like 'altitude changes'-- like my ears need to pop but won't, and a constant 'sea shell' hiss since leaving Detox.

 

At month 5 the tinnitus began in my right ear, but I can get it to stop by holding an electric toothbrush against my face in front of the frontal ear lobe for about 20-30 seconds.  Here at month 6 the volume is again going up and down along with pressure and the tinnitus.

 

As you can see, I've had a ton of ear stuff.  My hearing/ears were fine before I went to Detox so I am fairly certain it is all w/d related.

[[Me...]]

Oh yeah, I have a TON of ear related problems. Infections, leaks, hearing loss after I've just used headphones (my friends say it's age, well I never had this problem a few years ago) muffled sounds, sometimes I can barely hear my own voice, I guess at this stage pretty much every part of our bodies are highly sensitive.

 

My eyes are too, they get sore easy, and bright light freaks me out. It's all blurred. I get alot of nose blockage too.

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Right there with you guys.. My ears ring horribly, and I have some high frequency hearing loss.  I have trouble hearing my own voice, and everything sounds just a bit muted.  It started about 5 weeks in, and has steadily gotten worse.

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I too have tinnitus going on 3 months now frequency and pitch go up and down (mainly in my left ear) My ears also get sore, I also have that "my ears feel like popping sensation" and sometimes they get itchy deep inside, like one of those itches you cant get at and they also give me a sensation as if they are weeping, but nothing comes out (hope you understand the sensations I am trying to explain) My over all hearing is not as good either. Never had ear problems before I started my taper, so its definatley a withdrawls symptom!"

best of luck 

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I have the EXACT same symptoms.. It's like you want to clear your ears out, or they feel full/pressurized.  But, there's nothing there.  I get the sensation that my ears are leaking fluid, and sometimes, I get a foul smelling dampness on a Q-tip.  But, it's probably just earwax. 

 

 

[[Me...]]

I get the sensation that my ears are leaking fluid, and sometimes, I get a foul smelling dampness on a Q-tip.  But, it's probably just earwax. 

 

Yeah, I get that too, quite alot (from my right ear only though).

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http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/benzodiazepines.htm    good read for those suffering with hearing problems and or ataxia

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Hi Rico - I Get hearing loss in my right ear too, but comes and goes, not always present.

[[Me...]]

I think it's because right now everything is so sensitive with our GABA receptors, like how easy it is for eyes to get sore, having weird stuff on the skin (benzo flakes), I use headphones alot even a headset on skype calls and never had this problem before, it also comes and goes but when you have it it's kind of frightening, sort of muffled with a bit of hiss, it's also weird how moving objects seem out of sync with your hearing.

 

 

[[Me...]]

Many others experienced this problem as well? Please let me know, it's really worrying....

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Now, I really don't mean to scare anyone here, but I think this is important to say.  If you experience hearing loss, go to the ENT.  Yes, the benzos might be causing it.  It certainly causes tinnitus.  Yes, it can be a build up of ear wax (which the ENT can also deal with).  But it could also be SSHL (Sudden Hearing Loss).  An extremely treatable condition if you treat it early, and a permanent condition if you wait.

 

My wife just had this.  No benzos.  But developed fullness in her right ear.  SSHL is almost always unilateral if I recall.  She noticed she could no longer hear the bedroom fan.  She had pressure and fullness in her ear.  She went to the primary care doctor who saw a little fluid in her ear, nothing really outlandish.  She was given flonaise and told to go to the ENT if it doesn't clear up in a week.

 

A few days later, still complaining of the symptoms, I convinced her just to go to the ENT just to check it.  We're glad we did, because the ENT diagnosed her with SSHL and because we caught it early it was very treatable.  A course of corticosteroids and her hearing returned 100%.

 

The ENTs all told us that most people with hearing loss WAIT to see an ENT.  Most people are used to plugged ears or tinnitus and don't have the mindset to see the ENT.  This is why so many people end up with irreversible hearing loss.  Neither my wife or I had ever heard of this and it was really only my paranoia that made me insist that she go.  We may have waited weeks otherwise.

 

Anyway, I'm sorry to be so alarmist.  Chances are it's nothing serious.  Even if it is SSHL, it's very treatable.  I just think it's a mistake to not get a quick hearing test.

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I have had tinnitus (sizzling, buzzing, hissing in the head) for 2 years now following a too fast taper that failed. As I have tapered down this time round the noises have got worse. I went to see an ENT yesterday who informed me that I have a degree of high frequency hearing loss, I didn't know this from any hearing problems. He felt that this was responsible for the Tinnitus. This disappointed me as I was convinced that it was related to Benzo withdrawal, maybe it is, but the medical community seem to speak with one voice on the subject. So pretty depressed today as I was hoping that once off this garbage I might slowly get some relief.

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Sorry to hear about your hearing loss.  I've had high pitched tinnitus myself for... maybe 10 years now?  I don't really remember.  It got worse when the vestibular neuronitis hit.  I too have some hearing loss in the upper frequencies.  Probably due to excessive music loudness or extended headphone wear.  Did a lot of landscaping as a teen as well.

 

Mostly it's just in the background for me.  White noise helps a lot so I sleep with a fan in the room.  Pink noise is supposed to work better.

 

There are devices you can wear that can help.  Basically they are like hearing aids, but they boost the frequencies that the tinnitus is at.  Since you are essentially hearing the frequencies you are deaf at, boosting the signals with a hearing device reduces the brains 'overcompensation', breaking the feedback loop.

 

Tinnitus is essentially a karaoke machine.  If you turn the volume up too loud, and the microphone is too close, you get that awful screeching noise.  Your brain has it's fingers on the volume knob, and turns it way up if it's having trouble with the frequencies.  Tricking the brain keeps that volume knob turned down.

 

If you play a high pitched note that matches the frequency of the tinnitus in to headphones, not too loud mind, for about 10 minutes, you may notice the strange effect I do where it goes completely away for a little while.  Useful if it's keeping you up at night.  I have a free 'dog whistle' app on the iPhone that will generate a tone at any frequency I want.

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I forgot to mention, but I wonder if it's possible for benzos to fool hearing tests?  Some seem pretty subjective, while others seem not so much.

[[Me...]]

I forgot to mention, but I wonder if it's possible for benzos to fool hearing tests?  Some seem pretty subjective, while others seem not so much.

 

This is my problem, and the main issue I have, I'm scared to take one in case (but guess I'll have to), but it makes thing so much more complicated but everything just seems really sensitive within my body, eyes, teeth, skin, legs, etc, so it's so hard to tell if it's hypersensitivity or simply using headphones for the sake of privacy. But I've never had this problem before.

 

I spoke to a guy on another site about this, and he said he had the same problem as me, that he used headphones alot (for DJ'ing, I think), regarding his hearing. I've mainly noticed this since my last cut as well.

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There's a lot of evidence and even studies out there that suggest that benzos can cause sensitivity to sound and certainly tinnitus but I haven't found anything correlating hearing loss.  Most benzo withdrawal symptoms seem to result in a hyperactivity in nerves.  But if you're in a mental fog situation and take a hearing test, and I've been there, I can see sort of zoning out on a few of the harder to hear sounds, or not clicking fast enough or whatever.

 

But the tests I had were quite varied and I wouldn't be surprised if the hearing tests were accurate just given the diversity.  And I suspect that benzo related hearing loss would show up as much less severe than the real deal.

 

I really don't know anything though.  This is all just uneducated thoughts and opinion.