How Can Benzo Fully Remove Tinnitus and Hyperacusis and Hearing Distortion for a Few Hours?

[__nico__]

Benzos don't eliminate my tinnitus, but it makes it much lower in intensity.

It's a toughie because now I'm spiking and before the benzo weekend I was doing markedly better. Earplugs had more hissing than ringing / wavering. Feels like it's all undone.

Regardless? 1 mg Clonazepam + 900 mg Gabapentin and a Scopolamine patch is the most I used. Freaking tired, but I noticed things were... very quiet. I could go outside and not worry about it.

As I came off, I spiked and it's as if I didn't improve at all.

When you're on benzos, do you ever find that it reduces sound distortions for like 2 - 3 days well outside the half life of them until things slowly go back to baseline? Like I intently, extremely intently listen for my sound distortions, and they're not there until nearly a week later they're back to being loud AF.

Staying on benzos indefinitely doesn't sound so bad then if it helps me so much. I'm still waiting for my scans on April 8 though.

 

[Matchbox]

When you're on benzos, do you ever find that it reduces sound distortions for like 2 - 3 days well outside the half life of them until things slowly go back to baseline?

I don't get that much peace. But yes it cuts shit down a lot. I actually did better on my hearing test on benzos than not. It gives some hope that the receptors can downregulate themselves eventually.

 

[grate_biff]

It gives some hope that the receptors can downregulate themselves eventually.

You mean the NMDA receptors?

 

[Matchbox]

Thanks for your response. When you say you "came off" do you mean you came off the Clonazepam? If you've been on that for a while I think you probably already know you should do a really slow taper. But I don't know if you take it every once in a while or if you take it daily. I take about .75 mg daily to sleep. I'm trying to slowly decrease that. I was completely off of them until I lost more hearing and got a new tone in my ear about a month and a half ago. Totally. Stinks.

Does the Gabapentin help?

I have to say mixed. I'd like to think it helped the more intense thuds but I can't be positive. I stopped after reading anecdotes of people getting tinnitus on similar doses. It's certainly a different drug as it affects calcium channels more than GABA... I think for noise trauma it might therefore be invaluable to prevent that calcium ion swelling of the neurons post trauma.

I've been playing the pharmacy roulette a bit.

About your tinnitus... I read you had lightsabers at one point and it went away? I'd kill for the low stuff to be banished... I can deal with hisses and rings.

 

[__nico__]

I don't get that much peace. But yes it cuts shit down a lot. I actually did better on my hearing test on benzos than not. It gives some hope that the receptors can downregulate themselves eventually.

Benzos really help me but then a hot bath will reverse all my progress and my ears are back to full on sound distortions. Why do you think that is?

 

[Matchbox]

Well. People with MS are known to have symptoms worsen in heat. Could be similar with auditory nerves. That or vasodilation in the cochlea.

Could also be promoting inflammation. For me I've found exercise worsens me which sucks a ton... and it's totally related to pressure.

 

[__nico__]

Well. People with MS are known to have symptoms worsen in heat. Could be similar with auditory nerves. That or vasodilation in the cochlea.

Could also be promoting inflammation. For me I've found exercise worsens me which sucks a ton... and it's totally related to pressure.

Yeah I realized noise exposure just doesn't do a thing to my condition. It's always drugs, pressure, or diet. Now I do have noise induced pains and such. But I never get permanent "setbacks".

 

[__nico__]

Personally I would not be trying to chelate out chems potentially consumed in 2003, barring the input of an actual doctor who had some clinical reason for thinking this is useful based on some measurable thing. I say this not because I think heavy metals are especially well understood, but because chelating agents can be quite dangerous, and, even if they work, if you don't know what you're doing you are freeing trapped heavy metals into your bloodstream.

Well I was given 6 rounds of high dose Cisplatin (and other chemo agents like Doxorubicin) in 2003 resulting in significant hearing loss, not to mention I was 2 at the time, and seeing one of the top neuro-otologists in my area who exclusively works with long term cancer patients, he says it's almost certain that residual Cisplatin is still in my cochlea degrading my hearing, and it makes sense that oral Prednisone usage has accelerated that process, resulting in losing huge chunks of hearing. In pediatric patients Cisplatin is far more damaging in the long, indefinite term.

So, looks like I'm shit out of luck, I'm unfortunately on the path of deafness as of the last few months.

 

[Matchbox]

I'm on benzos, .75 mg Clonazepam and 900 mg Gabapentin, right now.

While tinnitus isn't poof gone, and my main right ear tone is still there (only steroids obliterated it with Zopiclone) and I have my baseline low frequency wavering buzzing, the sound distortion in the world is far less. The high ringing is less. You're definitely more cool with it when on drugs but it's not a substantial change anymore in volume.

I have more hissing but that was happening without benzos involved too.

It sure makes it easier but the wavering and thumping seems worse on benzos... with the middle high frequency distortions gone.

The tonal tinnitus tone itself is there and the volume has been pretty rock solid no matter what I do to it. That tone is oddly not bothersome unless taking a shit in a quiet bathroom. The wavering drone REALLY SUCKS... and is still there. Maybe a bit quieter... but tbh this is the max dose I would do. I'm already pretty tipsy from this and working would be a pain in the ass.

When I come off the benzos, I expect a rock concert and nail biting tinnitus for about a week.

All in all? Worth to try. Not worth to keep doing long-term.

 

[Matchbox]

Well I was given 6 rounds of high dose Cisplatin (and other chemo agents like Doxorubicin) in 2003 resulting in significant hearing loss, not to mention I was 2 at the time, and seeing one of the top neuro-otologists in my area who exclusively works with long term cancer patients, he says it's almost certain that residual Cisplatin is still in my cochlea degrading my hearing, and it makes sense that oral Prednisone usage has accelerated that process, resulting in losing huge chunks of hearing. In pediatric patients Cisplatin is far more damaging in the long, indefinite term.

So, looks like I'm shit out of luck, I'm unfortunately on the path of deafness as of the last few months.

FX-332 and the other meds aren't out of the game yet. If benzos help you, I'd imagine the new Retigabine would greatly help too and be something we can take regularly... it wouldn't help the hearing loss itself though.

There's the Otonomy trials for an NDMA blocker in your ears going on RIGHT now in the United States (North Carolina).

Maybe you should give that a go and register? You'd probably be a good fit (ototoxicity is included in requirements).

 

[ajc]

There's the Otonomy trials for an NDMA blocker in your ears going on RIGHT now in the United States (North Carolina).

Maybe you should give that a go and register? You'd probably be a good fit (ototoxicity is included in requirements).

The OTO-313 trial requires unilateral tinnitus.

@__nico__ has bilateral tinnitus I guess which would disqualify him?

Here is the North Carolina trial location where he could ask for more details:

United States, North Carolina
Piedmont Ear, Nose & Throat Associates, PA
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27103
Contact:
Jessica Mack-Gill
336-768-3361
jmack@piedmontent.com
Principal Investigator: Kenneth S Maxwell, MD

 

[linearb]

Well I was given 6 rounds of high dose Cisplatin (and other chemo agents like Doxorubicin) in 2003 resulting in significant hearing loss, not to mention I was 2 at the time, and seeing one of the top neuro-otologists in my area who exclusively works with long term cancer patients, he says it's almost certain that residual Cisplatin is still in my cochlea degrading my hearing, and it makes sense that oral Prednisone usage has accelerated that process, resulting in losing huge chunks of hearing. In pediatric patients Cisplatin is far more damaging in the long, indefinite term.

So, looks like I'm shit out of luck, I'm unfortunately on the path of deafness as of the last few months.

I am sorry to hear that, I know Cisplatin is guaranteed to cause hearing loss but did not realize it bioaccumulated like that. I assume you needed this treatment to not die, that sucks.

 

[Matchbox]

Ever thought of chelation therapy?

Sure you'd need supplements for a while and it's a bit scorched earth approach but if a chelator has platinum effects (and more importantly can displace ammonia bound) and is a strong binder, one would think at the least it would neutralize the reaction sites on Cisplatin and at best help you excrete it all if it's bound up in lymph fluids/CSF/peri/endolymph.