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  1. GaryTH

    Medication to Mitigate Suicidal Ideation from Severe Tinnitus?

    I made the mistake of thinking a psychiatrist could help me with insomnia caused by tinnitus. When she told me she had never treated a tinnitus patient, that should have been the red flag to walk away. Instead, I allowed her to convince me that Lorazepam was safe and that 1mg was a small dose...
  2. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    There are no "safe benzos", you mean non ototoxic. They can create fast dependence as well as withdrawal symptoms that last for months or even years.
  3. GaryTH

    Medication to Mitigate Suicidal Ideation from Severe Tinnitus?

    I agree, many medications make tinnitus worse in the long run. In my quest to get 8 hours of sleep, I got caught in the benzodiazepine trap for months, and now coming off of them my tinnitus is worse than before. I used to wake up with a soft hiss, but now all I get is eeeeeee all the time at...
  4. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    Unfortunately I didn't taper, as my psychiatrist did not advise me to do so. I was taking small doses intermittently 2-3 nights a week, so I did not think I was dependent.
  5. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    Benzos ruined my life after only 3 months used nightly for sleep. Dangerous withdrawal symptoms had me thinking way darker thoughts along with depersonalization/derealization than tinnitus and hyperacusis ever did. I highly regret taking them and am still suffering protracted effects including...
  6. GaryTH

    Hyperacusis Worse in the Mornings: Why?

    In your case try nature sounds, but don't use mp3s or YouTube videos as the compression creates low quality sound that is harsh on sensitive ears. You need the full wave file or CD.
  7. GaryTH

    Hyperacusis Worse in the Mornings: Why?

    Usually it's because your masking or sound enrichment while sleeping is too loud and competing with your tinnitus. I turned my pink noise and nature sounds way down so it's barely audible and only masks the silence, not the tinnitus, and my tinnitus had turned much quieter in the mornings.
  8. GaryTH

    Impact of Benzodiazepines on TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) Brain Plasticity?

    I don't know if the shingles vaccine was the cause, as I had many other factors coinciding (stress and Airpods sound exposure). The Shingrix vaccine is the newer shingles vaccine, which is supposedly safer because it doesn't use a live virus (which in the past had been shown to cause tinnitus in...
  9. GaryTH

    Herbal Sleep Aids

    Is there a particular brand of passion flower you like? There are so many on Amazon that I don't know which one to get.
  10. GaryTH

    Constant Fight to Prevent Worsening of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Is Worthless

    This is an English speaking site. Most people in the world do not speak English, hence the smaller number of people on this site. You are correct however, that tinnitus distress is only suffered by a very small percentage of people with tinnitus. According to recent studies, there seems to be a...
  11. GaryTH

    Loudness Question — When People Talk About How They Can Hear Their Tinnitus Over Things...

    I'm in the same boat, going on 6 months. What really helps me calm down is hikes out in nature or near the ocean. Natural masking ambient sounds are much more soothing. Sometimes, the artificial masking sounds will drive my anxiety as well.
  12. GaryTH

    Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

    Possibly, although 300mcg of melatonin which equals .3mg seems like nothing considering I was taking 5mg.
  13. GaryTH

    Hyperacusis and Reactive Tinnitus — Help with Sound Generators & Treatment Methods?

    I got you. Someone in the forums provided this page on broadband noise. I'm not a doctor and this information is not to be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor: https://sites.google.com/site/johnsaudiopage/broadband-noise-therapy-1
  14. GaryTH

    Is It Safe to Take Ashwagandha Long-Term? Can It Make Tinnitus Worse?

    How have those two supplements been working for you? I wake up with morning jitters/anxiety. Looking for something to calm that.
  15. GaryTH

    Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

    Well, you don't want to compound your health issues with possible diabetes, sleep apnea, or whatever might accompany that rapid weight gain. Some people have gained 60-100 lbs.
  16. GaryTH

    Can You Habituate to Hyperacusis?

    I know in my case, my hyperacusis fluctuates during certain times. One of them is after running. Endorphins make me feel more normal and the hyperacusis tones down. Fewer high frequencies bother me and sounds don't seem as loud. I can listen to my car radio at a higher volume without it making...
  17. GaryTH

    Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

    My psychiatrist discouraged it because she said it caused most of her patients fast weight gain. Have you experienced this?
  18. GaryTH

    Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

    Yes, I've tried both. Valerian seems to have no effect. Melatonin gets me tired and ready to sleep but does nothing to keep me asleep. I'm also concerned that the extra strength 5mg pills might be overkill causing some other hormonal imbalance.
  19. GaryTH

    Be Careful with Benzos

    Definitely a catch 22, and there are no solid answers so it's like rolling the dice with anything you take.:banghead:
  20. GaryTH

    Can You Habituate to Hyperacusis?

    It seems that most of the posts about people successfully habituating have to do with tinnitus only. Are there folks who have fully habituated with both hyperacusis and tinnitus or even just hyperacusis? It would seem to me that one would have to become desensitized to hyperacusis before any...
  21. GaryTH

    Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

    Lately, I wake up every night after only 3 hours of sleep in a panic attack. My heart races, I'm sweating, nervous and jittery and my stomach is full of butterflies. They aren't due to any conscious thoughts, and I don't recall any nightmares, or dreaming at all for that matter. I run to take a...
  22. GaryTH

    Be Careful with Benzos

    Actually sir, you are doing a service to people like me for thinking I was paranoid for coming to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, I can never get back to baseline after a few weeks of taking lorazepam and temazepam for sleep. I'm six months in with bilateral tinnitus and hyperacusis, and...
  23. GaryTH

    Poll: Do You Mask Your Tinnitus When You Sleep?

    Stop masking and start sound enrichment instead. This simply means turn down the volume of your sound device so it's barely audible. Mask the silence, not the tinnitus. It worked to bring down the morning volume for me.
  24. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    Could your cognitive and memory impairment have anything to do with the side effects of any medication you may be taking?
  25. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    I've tried CBD oil, tincture and various cannabis edibles. They've all raised my tinnitus and made something in the back of my brain feel like it's sizzling. I'm always looking for the benzo alternatives to sleep, but nothing else seems to work.
  26. GaryTH

    Suicidal

    Sounds like a scene from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." You should write a book or a screenplay.
  27. GaryTH

    Super Loud Tinnitus with Facial Twitching

    It could be a side effect of your antidepressant. Google "mirtazapine dyskinesia"
  28. GaryTH

    Tinnitus and Brain Function — Can Tinnitus Cause Muscle Twitches and Other Neurological Issues?

    I've had my left eyelid twitching for the past week and a half. I've had tinnitus and hyperacusis for the past 6 months. My ENT says it's just from insomnia induced anxiety and should resolve once I start getting good sleep. I don't know when that will be. I'm too scared of the sleep meds that...
  29. GaryTH

    Tinnitus Masking: MP3s, CDs, YouTube, Other Audio

    Get an Echo or Echo Dot from Amazon, way more selection of sleep sounds. It can be programmed to turn on at a certain time, enable a certain sound, set the volume etc. You can even use it a s a Bluetooth speaker and stream tracks from your phone over it.
  30. GaryTH

    Impact of Benzodiazepines on TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) Brain Plasticity?

    Dr. Jastreboff, inventor of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy states in his book and in this YouTube video presentation (fast forward to 6:46) that patients who take benzodiazepines are not good candidates for TRT because these drugs decrease brain plasticity, which is an essential element to the...
  31. GaryTH

    Insomnia Post Tinnitus Habituation — Will My Normal Sleeping Patterns Come Back?

    Why do you sleep with earplugs? I thought sleeping in silence made tinnitus worse?
  32. GaryTH

    Losing Short-Term Memory / Cognitive Ability Due to Tinnitus?

    This new retrospective study concludes that there is a correlation with tinnitus and both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69243-0
  33. GaryTH

    Tinnitus Masking: Bone Conduction Headphones (e.g., Aftershokz) — Share Your Experience

    If you can't quantify this risk, what good is it? It's like taking medication that is possibly ototoxic. Almost every medication used to treat tinnitus distress has tinnitus as a possible side effect. But unless you can quantify it, it's impossible to make a risk/benefit analysis.
  34. GaryTH

    Spontaneous Recovery Stats: Many Recover (3 Studies)

    Interesting take, crying usually lowers my tinnitus volume. It's like a release of tension.
  35. GaryTH

    Spontaneous Recovery Stats: Many Recover (3 Studies)

    Which sleep medications induced your tinnitus?
  36. GaryTH

    Hyperacusis in Early Stage: Give Ears a Break or Expose Them to Everyday Sounds?

    Please point me to these studies on overprotection, as I have not seen a single one.
  37. GaryTH

    Healing from Tinnitus / Hyperacusis Is Accelerated Through Silence — My Personal Experience

    I have yet to find a study that supports this idea that overprotecting your ears lowers your sound tolerance, or increases the severity of hyperacusis. Do any exist?
  38. GaryTH

    Tinnitus, A Personal View

    I have heard this idea that overprotecting your ears long term can make the auditory system more hypersensitive to sound. Is this advice based on anecdotal evidence or has there been a scientific study that supports it? I have been searching the internet and have yet to find one.
  39. GaryTH

    Protecting? Overprotecting? Not Protecting?

    I constantly hear people on here warning others not to over use earplugs or earmuffs, as they have been known to increase the level of noise sensitivity in people. Googling it has only given me websites that state the same thing, but never a link to a reference. I'm all for anecdotal evidence...