Hyperacusis Cured/Reduced by Clomipramine

I got lucky and didn't experience many side effects: mostly dry mouth, heavy sweating, obviously a hard time to climax (as always with antidepressants), and a bit of constipation and urinary issues (if I'm not mistaken, that's because Clomipramine has atropinic effects).

I had had hyperacusis for 6 months before I started Clomipramine.

 

Ah, okay. The fact that you had hyperacusis for only 6 months makes it difficult to determine if the Clomipramine actually was the reason for your improvement. Most people see drastic improvement around 6 - 18 months of careful conduct.

Either way, I'm glad you are doing much better!

 

I was worsening DAILY until the very first pill of Clomipramine. I find it very intriguing that people challenge a good truth here and prefer to stick to the doom a gloom most of the times...

I don't blame anyone for that though, really. It's the depression that comes with tinnitus + hyperacusis that makes this so difficult to deal with. So I come here again, with willingness to share my positive experience.

• 4 days on 25 mg/day (1 pill), hyperacusis improved 20%
• 10 days on 50 mg/day (2 pills), hyperacusis improved 50%
• 10 days on 75 mg/day (3 pills), hyperacusis improved 70%
• 10 days on 100 mg/day (4 pills), hyperacusis improved 80%
• 20 additional days on 100 mg/day (4 pills) + sound exposure, hyperacusis GONE.

I've been on 75 mg (slow release tablets) for a while now without return of hyperacusis. Dropping to 50 mg in January.

I use headphones (AirPods Max, locked at 75 dB max in the iPhone settings). I don't protect anymore. I vacuum, use the mixer/blender without protection. I go to loud pubs, bars and restaurants without protection. I take the metro without protection. I go to the gym with my headphones and I listen to all my favorite electronic music songs without any issue while I work out vigorously. I work with my work headset without an issue, I have hours of calls a day and it's not an issue.

I haven't worn my custom protections in over 40 days. I only wore it once when I saw my Apple Watch detected 90 dB of sound. And I'll only protect in such cases. Anything else doesn't require it.

Tinnitus did not get worse and is LOUD still but STABLE. And I'm 100% habituated today. It does not stop me from doing things that I truly love. I can stay in silence and in piece with the loud noise. I don't even have to mask it...

So life can go back to normal, just saying. I gave a try to Clomipramine and it saved my life and cured my hyperacusis. Most importantly, it gave me the peace I needed to befriend my dear tinnitus.

 

Thanks for sharing your story.

For the record, could you describe your hyperacusis symptoms, what you think caused them and for how long you had them before your first Clomipramine pill?

To what extent did you use hearing protection before taking Clomipramine? Could you still listen to music?

 

I'm really glad Clomipramine worked for you. I'm considering trying it again myself.

Did you have loudness hyperacusis, noxacusis, or both?

BTW, I'm not doom and glooming here. Ask anyone who has been on these forums for several years. Almost everyone recovers within 6 - 18 months and never comes back. That's why the literature on sound therapy is BS, as it doesn't compare to a group of people with hyperacusis for around the same time who are not using sound therapy. If the normal recovery timeframe is 6 - 18 months, and you start people on sound therapy after 6 months of them having hyperacusis, then of course the expected outcome is they will get better. It's the same with Clomipramine.

What's interesting about Clomipramine though, is that it does seem there is anecdotal evidence that it can really help people. All I'm saying is that it's difficult to judge whether Clomipramine is the reason for someone's recovery when they've only had hyperacusis for 6 months.

 

Most people who stopped coming back had not gotten better.

→ https://www.tinnitustalk.com/posts/672115/

 

And most of them hadn't got worse either! It was also from 2 months of non-activity; they could have got better after this time. And how many who had improved didn't respond to the survey?

 

That's a lot different than "almost everyone recovers". I believe it was only 10% of hyperacusis sufferers responding that they felt at least a little better.

I suppose people that are feeling miserable tend to not respond because they don't feel well, or the numbers would look worse. And some people who disappeared are no longer able to respond to anything, tragically.

 

You can find more details of my hyperacusis and tinnitus in one of my first posts on Tinnitus Talk.

Again, I only got better because of Clomipramine. First weeks were full of side effects but that's all.

 

It's nice that they ran this poll, but it's biased. Users who come to Tinnitus Talk are mostly those who have disturbing tinnitus and/or have a very strong attachment to it. This is not targeted to a wider audience. As everyone already noted, there's quite a LOT of people around us with tinnitus that didn't get as obsessed as we got initially.

My psychologist treats hundreds of tinnitus patients a year (she's specialized in that) and she stressed out that even those with very intrusive tinnitus habituate within a year. It's a very small percentage (less than 5%, according to her) of people who get obsessed over it enough to cause a neverending loop of emotional chaos.

Needless to say that spending hours a week on a tinnitus forum is counterproductive to habituation. You need go to days without thinking about it to call it habituation. @Marshall was my favorite recovery story and his last words here were an agreement to @Strawberryblonde's words: Tinnitus Talk is a hypochondriac's nightmare.

 

I didn't do so great and gave up after around 5 days due to some side effects. I'm really considering it again though.

 

Summing up the depression to the side effects isn't fun at all. It's actually extremely scary - so I can relate. And I understand why you've given up.

For me the side effects were intense for 5 days after starting a new dose, then it would start settling over the course of another 5 days where I'm like "OK, things are a bit better". Then I'd increase the dose and go through that cycle all over again. The perception of tinnitus being louder was also a thing for me, that was pure anxiety... So knowing your minimum and maximum tinnitus volume is useful to keep your feet on the ground.

Even now after many months on Clomipramine, the side effects still get better and better. My mouth doesn't get dry anymore, for instance.

There are new reports of Clomipramine success on the German Tinnitus Liga forum as well.

 

What were the main side effects that you experienced? I was getting really bad heartburn, although the doctor said my vitals were normal.

 

Extreme sweating, increased anxiety, very dry mouth, insomnia, heavy constipation, increased tinnitus perception, restlessness, sugar and carbohydrates cravings, difficulty to orgasm but increased libido.

 

Quite a handful! I remember I took it for the first time during the day and literally felt like I was on some heavy drugs. I was completely spaced out and just looking around at all the different colours and lights. The following days I took it at night and it seemed to help me sleep. However, I still felt spaced out in the morning upon waking.

 

Do you mind linking/quoting new reports from the German Tinnitus Liga forum? I cannot navigate any German site for the life of me.

 

Good for you. Nobody is trying to be doom and gloom; some people want reality. The majority seem to want false hope and to be coddled and lied to. This a different story but the reason I am so bad is because I listened to mild loudness hyperacusis patients who recommended to do sound therapy, not protecting hearing, positive thinking, pushing through the pain, and saying that silence makes it worse. I went from being pain free at home to permanent pain. People don’t give the whole truth and say they’re severe, but they have mild loudness hyperacusis which you can literally almost wish it away and exposing to sound almost always works. Getting severe noxacusis mixed up with that is dangerous.

It’s ridiculous because anybody who’s not a positive warrior is said to be doom and gloom and attacked on every forum. It’s not like we’re telling everybody of all severities that they’re doomed forever, they’re going to die? We’re trying to separate the realistic stories from the bullcrap ones. If you got better from a drug, I find that way more believable than a person who changed the way they perceived sound and told themselves it’s OK, I have to expose to harmful noise!

We were trying to figure out if Clomipramine helps people with noxacusis because it’s not the same condition as loudness hyperacusis.

 

Yeah, whatever damage you had wasn't anything. Clomipramine didn't save anything. It's poison IMO & the way you are carrying on could cause you to worsen significantly and find real hell. You are pumping damage directly into an already sensitive system.

There is no cure for damaged ears. Only rest and hope that you keep the damage done in a dormant state.

Best to proceed with caution and not do anything to worsen the mild damage you have. Drugs will eventually catch up to you.

 

I know hell, I was there for months. No speaking, barely eating. Believe it or not. I thought my life would never happen again. But it did and it was Clomipramine for me.

My caution is to protect above 90 dB. Everything else I have done did not worsen my tinnitus. I always carry my earplugs wherever I go if needed.

I know your case is atypical and I am sorry this felt like it was an attack. It was not. I was shocked that I made such an amazing progress with Clomipramine. It doesn't mean it'll work the same for anyone else. But the moment my life came 100% back to normal I felt like I needed to drop my experience. Maybe it'll save others too.

 

I’m glad you’ve recovered. Keep in mind loudness hyperacusis and pain hyperacusis are quite different conditions and treatment doesn’t always work the same on both. In fact the stuff that makes loudness hyperacusis better can make pain hyperacusis much worse! A lot of people here have had noxacusis for many years and have gotten worse from taking well-meaning but dangerous advice from those who had loudness hyperacusis. I’m not saying Clomipramine will make anyone worse but he’s not wrong for pointing out that people with recent hyperacusis tend to heal quicker and I’m also pointing out that pain hyperacusis doesn’t always heal the same way. It’s important that we are all on the same page with who is suffering from what and for how long. It’s nothing personal at all.

Again I’m glad you’re better and I believe you that the Clomipramine helped you and made the difference. It’s also possible that Clomipramine works for pain hyperacusis as well, none of us really know at this point. We just gotta make sure everyone is speaking the same language here.

 

Yeah, I understand where you are coming from and I agree with the essence of it.

However, it does feel off when you come here telling a good recovery story and people try to challenge your own truth while trying to frame you as crazy person who'll get worse again. I don't get anything back by posting this here so this will be my departure message from this forum - for real. Again, I protect my ears just like ANY NORMAL person should: for things louder than 85-90 dB.

I do know that it feels great to not have depression and hyperacusis. And for me, it was Anafranil/Clomipramine that gave me my life back. Believe it or not.

I've seen about 6-8 reports of Clomipramine success (Tinnitus Talk + German Tinnitus Liga Forum) for loudness hyperacusis and 1 for pain hyperacusis (Tinnitus Talk).

Since Clomipramine is also prescribed for neuropathic pain, maybe that's the reason it calms down the nerves and resolves hyperacusis? After all, it's the strongest antidepressant when it comes to affinity of the serotonin receptors. Perhaps damaged nerves require more serotonin to sustain the required throughput of communication between specific body parts and the brain - and that's where Clomipramine probably shines in cases like mine.

Good luck to everyone facing this horrible disease. I wish everyone well and a speedy recovery. Life DOES get back to normal with a lot of patience and self-care.

P.S.

I just wanted to also add that my severe hyperacusis was so bad that I had to have a towel inside my mouth the entire waking day FOR WEEKS to dry the saliva so I wouldn't have to swallow and hear the intense crackling my ears made when swallowing. It's one of the reasons I had stopped eating 3 meals a day to have just one.

So again, I've been to hell.

 

All good and well. I agree that you don’t need to take abuse from people here when you’re just offering your side of things. Enjoy life and hopefully you never have to come back here again unless it’s just dropping by in a year to say you’re still cured. That’d be awesome and I’m sure folks here would appreciate it.

For anyone with pain hyperacusis who may read this thread and try this medication, my sincere advice is to be careful when re-exposing yourself to loud sounds, even if you feel like you’re cured. It’s exactly how myself and several others drastically worsened.

I’ve since made a substantial recovery by slowly desensitizing my ears over the course of a couple years and avoiding loud sounds. So even pain hyperacusis and noxacusis can improve greatly. But there are different methods to get back to some semblance of normal, depending on what type of hyperacusis you have, how long you’ve had it, etc.

 

Thanks again for sharing your success story and best of luck to you mate. I will be trying some Clomipramine next.

 

Hello, I have tried to talk to my neurologist to get Clomipramine but he was not aware of the positive impact it can have on hyperacusis. Is there research that can be shown so that it is easier to ask for it? Thanks.

 

Study on anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of clomipramine in carrageenan- and lipopolysaccharide-induced rat models of inflammation

I'm trying to understand which aspects of Clomipramine could help with hyperacusis.

What is interesting that "the serum ratio of Clomipramine to [its metabolite] Norclomipramine is typically 1:2-2.5".

The question is how to interpret the Ki50 values of Clomipramine versus its metabolite.

To what extent do each of Clomipramine's versus Norclomipramine's site activities contribute to its hyperacusis alleviating properties?

For instance, do the norepinephrinergic effects predominate because of Norclomipramine's high affinity to that site, or do the H1 blocking properties of Clomipramine also play a role in alleviating hyperacusis, but perhaps only at higher doses?

 

Hey guys, I wanted to give an update.

I’m still doing great hyperacusis wise. Everything sounds “normally” loud and I have not felt the stabbing pain since 2022. I recovered by more than 90%, and it happened mainly in the first 3 months. I stopped taking Clomipramine 6 months ago and have not noticed any changes since then.

I ended up taking it for about 15 months in total. It took me about a month to get up to 150 mg, which I then took for about 5 months, then 112.5 mg for 7- 8 weeks, 75 mg for 7- 8 weeks, 37.5 mg for 7- 8 weeks, and approximately 15 mg for 4 weeks.

I was about to stop taking Clomipramine, but then an ambulance drove past me. My tinnitus spiked (luckily hyperacusis was not affected), so to help me sleep I decided to take 112.5 mg for 2 weeks, 37.5 mg for 2 weeks, and finally around 10 mg for 4 weeks.

Clomipramine has affected my vision a little. I still see tiny bright dots in darkness or when I close my eyes. I guess it started sometime when I was on 150 mg. It is relatively mild, so it's easy to ignore. All other side effects stopped the week I stopped the medication.

Overall, I've had a great experience with Clomipramine. It did not affect my tinnitus and TTTS.

 

Thanks for coming back to share an update and I'm happy to hear you're still doing well on the hyperacusis front! Is Clomipramine the first thing you tried that helped with hyperacusis? Did you specifically take it for the purpose of treating the hyperacusis? How long did you suffer with hyperacusis and how severe was it prior to starting the Clomipramine?

Sorry for the wall of questions. I'm just still trying to figure out my best treatment approach after 1 year of tinnitus/hyperacusis and a more recent worsening of both.

 

Hey,

Yes.

Yes. I took it because people reported that their hyperacusis improved after taking Clomipramine.

I had hyperacusis for about 8-9 months when I started taking the medication.

My hyperacusis was relatively mild compared to some of the severe cases here, as I could tolerate sounds to some degree without pain (and my stabbing pain did not last). For example, whispering was totally fine, but then a person speaking “normally” would sound too loud or painfully loud. Lowest volume on my cellphone was painfully loud, but I could usually tolerate 4% on my laptop without problem. I had no problems brushing my teeth or eating. Being outside in nature without hearing protection was pure agony.

 

Did you experience other side effects while taking it?

What are the dots in darkness and have you seen an ophthalmologist?

Thanks!

 

Mainly the ones I mentioned in the first post:

• Dry mouth
• Clomipramine has solved my problems with insomnia, it usually took me more than 1 hour and lots of Melatonin to fall asleep because of tinnitus – now it happens in around 10 to 20 minutes without Melatonin. It just “knocks” me out around midnight. I haven't slept that great in 10 years.
• Lower sex drive.

No idea. It's a bit like looking up at the sky at night and seeing the stars. I think it might be some kind of visual snow. I have not seen an ophthalmologist yet primarily because, based on my very limited research, it seems like there is not much one can do if it is, for instance, visual snow. But it probably wouldn't hurt to see a doctor.