Clonazepam Ototoxicity

[Alex Senkowski]

Is Clonazepam commonly ototoxic or is it just with a small % of users? Also, is ototoxicity reversible?

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Hi Alex -

Thank you for your interesting question.

The operative word there is "ototoxicity." Some would have us believe that anything that can potentially aggravate tinnitus even temporarily is by definition ototoxic. I totally reject that concept, which I find ludicrous. Is stress ototoxic? Is fatigue ototoxic? Is Thai food (for me, anyway) ototoxic? Of course not. So, too, the list of drugs that might potentially aggravate tinnitus, a list that can pretty-much circle the globe, is not a list of drugs that are known to potentially cause permanent auditory damage (the medical definition of ototoxic) - it is merely a list of drugs that, like stress, can potentially aggravate tinnitus ... or not. And if you devote your life to avoiding anything and everything that can potentially aggravate tinnitus, then it's going to be one hell of an empty life.

Clonazepam is not ototoxic.

Dr. Stephen Nagler