So I had a consultation with Dr. De Ridder. He looked tired and lacked
the charisma of his podcast for sure.
He basically suggested Cyclobenzaprine for somatic tinnitus, but I told him it is not available in the UK. It has a unique Mechanism of Action so there is no alternative. He gave me a prescription for Flupentixol 0.5 mg, LDN 5 mg and Aripiprazole 2 mg. He warned me to take Clonazepam with it to prevent tardive dyskinesia that can occur but unlikely to at low dose Flupentixol. He did stress this, and that it can be hard to reverse even if it's rare. He said a low dose of Clonazepam would prevent this.
I introduced my research to a new medication called Latuda. He looked up the pharmacology as he was not familiar with it. After doing so, he said in theory it's a good choice based on action at specific receptors known to be involved in tinnitus.
He mentioned Mirtazapine can make tinnitus worse. He didn't seem well prepared in terms of looking at my MRI and audiogram I sent the week before the consultation. He seemed tired and flat looking, but easy to talk to. The appointment cost €85.