If You Have Benzo Induced Tinnitus (Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, etc.), What Does It Sound Like?

[JasonP]

I'm just curious for those people that have taken these drugs long term and have got tinnitus, what the sound was like (ex. static, electrical, whistle, tonal, etc.).

Also, if you got the tinnitus while withdrawing from the drug please state that and also put down the type of sound it gave you.

If you can, tell how long you took the drug and what dosage before the tinnitus started and also if some event happened right before the tinnitus started.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Tinniger]

What the sound was like

Sorry, I doubt there is any correlation between the cause of tinnitus and the nature of tinnitus.

 

[GregCA]

Sorry, I doubt there is any correlation between the cause of tinnitus and the nature of tinnitus.

There is, at the very least for some types of causes.

For example, hydrops/Meniere's generally trigger low frequency tinnitus.
Otosclerosis also generally triggers low frequency tinnitus.
Vein/Artery related tinnitus is often a whooshing sound.
Presbyacusis/high-frequency hearing loss is often high pitch tinnitus.

These are general observations, they are not strict rules (exceptions exist).

 

[Chinmoku]

The Ashton Manual says this:

One of the most distressing sensory symptoms is tinnitus, a constant ringing or hissing in the ears which has been noted in several studies of benzodiazepine withdrawal. One lady described her tinnitus as a "needle of sound" piercing deep inside her head. Tinnitus is often associated with a degree of hearing loss and is not uncommon in people with partial nerve deafness who have never taken benzodiazepines. Nevertheless, it often makes its first appearance during benzodiazepine withdrawal in people who have had hearing loss for years. Also, it may be unilateral or precisely localised, even in those with symmetrical bilateral hearing loss. Whether people who have taken long-term benzodiazepines are particularly prone to tinnitus and if so why, is not known. It can persist for years and does not always respond to the usual treatments for tinnitus (maskers, etc); nor is it always relieved by restarting benzodiazepines.​

This is my tinnitus, due to an ear infection but worsened by an attempt to come off Pregabalin. A very high frequency sound, painful and super intrusive, electric hiss.

 

[Chinmoku]

I'm trying to revive this thread. I'm trying to establish how drugs worsened my tinnitus (originated by a virus). Coming off Pregabalin and now on Clonazepam. It keeps worsening more and more and the only cause I can think of is GABA drugs and tolerance.

My tinnitus is not tonal, it's a super-loud broadband high frequency hiss/static (range probably centered around 11 kHz) with a very intrusive quality. It makes me desperate 24/7 and I need to push through every minute. It's agony.

If others have similar tinnitus from benzos or Gabapentinoid, please let me know.

Edit to give you an idea, to mask I need to play this at volume 6-7 in my phone with headset:



Or this at volume 8-9:

 

[Ken77]

My tinnitus may have been caused by benzos (Lorazepam). It appeared a month after I took my last benzo. I am not sure the Lorazepam was the cause, but based on what I have read online it seems at least possible.

My tinnitus constantly changes. In a quiet room it is a quiet buzz, in a moderately loud environment it is a high pitched hiss, combined with a buzzing. It is extremely reactive to sound.

 

[JasonP]

I had a static hiss too that was able to be helped by glutamate medications like Riluzole and Lamictal. Looking back though, I am wondering if Lamictal sometimes increased the tonal tinnitus that I already had.

 

[Chinmoku]

I had a static hiss too that was able to be helped by glutamate medications like Riluzole and Lamictal. Looking back though, I am wondering if Lamictal sometimes increased the tonal tinnitus that I already had.

Jason, I also have a non-tonal static hiss that got worse and worse under benzos. I'm still on Clonazepam. A neurologist suggested Lamictal as he told me two patients benefited from it in the past, but I am reading the usual mix of stories. Can you tell me more of your experience with Lamictal? Thanks.

 

[JasonP]

Jason, I also have a non-tonal static hiss that got worse and worse under benzos. I'm still on Clonazepam. A neurologist suggested Lamictal as he told me two patients benefited from it in the past, but I am reading the usual mix of stories. Can you tell me more of your experience with Lamictal? Thanks.

Hey, my experience was that it helped me reduce the static type tinnitus caused by Klonopin. However, I had previous tinnitus caused by other things that it did not seem to help at all. I found it to be stimulating most of the time but not all the time. HOWEVER, I believe that was due to the fact that I have dysautonomia and it was having an interaction with that. I'm not saying that would happen with you. You may want to ask your neurologist if it is safe to take with benzo withdrawal if you decide to try it.

 

[Chinmoku]

Hey, my experience was that it helped me reduce the static type tinnitus caused by Klonopin. However, I had previous tinnitus caused by other things that it did not seem to help at all. I found it to be stimulating most of the time but not all the time. HOWEVER, I believe that was due to the fact that I have dysautonomia and it was having an interaction with that. I'm not saying that would happen with you. You may want to ask your neurologist if it is safe to take with benzo withdrawal if you decide to try it.

Thank you, Jason, I will ask. Do you recall on what dose of Lamictal you were and how long it took to improve the static tinnitus? Did you have any problems coming off the drug?

 

[JasonP]

Thank you, Jason, I will ask. Do you recall on what dose of Lamictal you were and how long it took to improve the static tinnitus? Did you have any problems coming off the drug?

I think I noticed a drop after either 50mg or 75mg but I can't exactly remember. I know its a drug people are supposed to titrate up slowly with or some people can get a dangerous rash. I remember sometimes taking it and I felt like I had some breathing problems or that sometimes it caused welts or red marks. I'm not sure but the breathing problems could have had something to do with an interaction with the drug due to my prior dysautonomia. I don't really know. I personally didn't find it hard to get off of but I don't know how it would be for you. I hope it didn't screw me up long term and I hope it didn't interfere with benzo withdrawal. Honestly, I haven't felt "normal" in a while but that could be due to many reasons. Anyways, I hope you get better soon.

 

[Ela Stefan]

The Ashton manual says this:

One of the most distressing sensory symptoms is tinnitus, a constant ringing or hissing in the ears which has been noted in several studies of benzodiazepine withdrawal. One lady described her tinnitus as a "needle of sound" piercing deep inside her head. Tinnitus is often associated with a degree of hearing loss and is not uncommon in people with partial nerve deafness who have never taken benzodiazepines. Nevertheless, it often makes its first appearance during benzodiazepine withdrawal in people who have had hearing loss for years. Also, it may be unilateral or precisely localised, even in those with symmetrical bilateral hearing loss. Whether people who have taken long-term benzodiazepines are particularly prone to tinnitus and if so why, is not known. It can persist for years and does not always respond to the usual treatments for tinnitus (maskers, etc); nor is it always relieved by restarting benzodiazepines.

This is my tinnitus, due to an ear infection but very probably worsened by an attempt to come off pregabalin. Needle of very high frequency sound, painful and super-intrusive, electric hiss

Do you take any benzo at the moment?

 

[Chinmoku]

Do you take any benzo at the moment?

Yes, Clonazepam, but I'd rather have never started it.

 

[DreiT]

I've been on Valium for a year but still have tinnitus. Mine sounds like whistling. It's a combo of tonal and hissing. It's very intrusive.

 

[GBB]

I've been on Valium for a year but still have tinnitus. Mine sounds like whistling. It's a combo of tonal and hissing. It's very intrusive.

Did it impact your tinnitus at the beginning / does it continue to impact you at all?

 

[Matchbox]

Did it impact your tinnitus at the beginning / does it continue to impact you at all?

I can confidently say benzos absolutely lowered my distortions and tinnitus in the beginning.

Now they do very little, I can halve the distortion volume by taking an ungodly (for me) amount.

Not worth the dependence/worse tinnitus.

 

[GBB]

I can confidently say benzos absolutely lowered my distortions and tinnitus in the beginning.

Now they do very little, I can halve the distortion volume by taking an ungodly (for me) amount.

Not worth the dependence/worse tinnitus.

Thanks for weighing in - when you developed tolerance, what was the frequency you were taking it at?

 

[Matchbox]

when you developed tolerance, what was the frequency you were taking it at?

Almost every night for 6 weeks, the dose depended wildly on what I was hearing.

Things were still unfun, got up to 14 mg Zopiclone, 0.5 mg Clonazepam, started tapering off it all, less and less (once every week, now every two weeks, soon to be three weeks).

While coming off started hearing crazy stuff, but I'm also a fun case.

One thing is for sure, I can relate to the "needle of sound", that was a frequent occurrence as I was coming off. It's gone down a lot since (that sound only).

I also made a post about Kava Kava kind of working for me (need 3-4 pills in one shot with no food that day, volume reduction by 1/3 to 1/2). I treat it as benzos.

 

[GBB]

Almost every night for 6 weeks, the dose depended wildly on what I was hearing.

Things were still unfun, got up to 14 mg Zopiclone, 0.5 mg Clonazepam, started tapering off it all, less and less (once every week, now every two weeks, soon to be three weeks).

While coming off started hearing crazy stuff, but I'm also a fun case.

One thing is for sure, I can relate to the "needle of sound", that was a frequent occurrence as I was coming off. It's gone down a lot since (that sound only).

I also made a post about Kava Kava kind of working for me (need 3-4 pills in one shot with no food that day, volume reduction by 1/3 to 1/2). I treat it as benzos.

Thanks, that's really valuable data in general.

For me the Kava Kava may seem to lose efficacy over time, but it never left me, so far as I can tell, worse than where I started. When I go off Kava Kava for a period of time it also regains some potency. It's not a cure by any means but I don't suffer the same rebound noises/spikes which you've highlighted (which I don't doubt you legitimately experience).

 

[Forever hopeful]

Interesting. My prescriber said a very slow and safe taper often prevents the withdrawal tinnitus, which for most is generally temporary. 6 months or so. I've come on and off of Clonazepam several times in my life without any issues.

 

[twa]

Interesting. My prescriber said a very slow and safe taper often prevents the withdrawal tinnitus, which for most is generally temporary. 6 months or so. I've come on and off of Clonazepam several times in my life without any issues.

I also took Clonazepam after I injured my back, a very low dose. I micro-tapered so as not to have side effects, such as tinnitus. My tinnitus began after stopping but it was so mild I barely noticed it. I didn't know it could increase. I just thought it would fade. It never changed, most of the time I did not hear it at all. There was no habituation, no anxiety, it was just there when I listened for it. I had read that it would eventually go away and it might have, had it not been for the stress of the pandemic and an acoustic trauma. It was starting to get better, more like static and then I had the vaccines. It has been mostly a high pitched ringing since then along with dizziness. It has been a challenge to say the least.

 

[Brian P]

I also took Clonazepam after I injured my back, a very low dose. I micro-tapered so as not to have side effects, such as tinnitus. My tinnitus began after stopping but it was so mild I barely noticed it. I didn't know it could increase. I just thought it would fade. It never changed, most of the time I did not hear it at all. There was no habituation, no anxiety, it was just there when I listened for it. I had read that it would eventually go away and it might have, had it not been for the stress of the pandemic and an acoustic trauma. It was starting to get better, more like static and then I had the vaccines. It has been mostly a high pitched ringing since then along with dizziness. It has been a challenge to say the least.

Have you improved since the vaccine? I have Ménière's and my tinnitus went through the roof after the vaccine and still has not gone down since February.

 

[twa]

Have you improved since the vaccine? I have Ménière's and my tinnitus went through the roof after the vaccine and still has not gone down since February.

@Brian P, I'm so sorry to hear about your tinnitus and side effects from the vax. I am better, I recently have had improvement with the dizziness. It's been about 17 weeks since my 2nd vax in April. I still have weird symptoms, like extreme fatigue, high pitched ringing, shakiness, tingling, etc. Prior to the vax, my tinnitus was mostly static. I try to ignore the symptoms and move forward with my life as much as I can.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

@Brian P, I'm so sorry to hear about your tinnitus and side effects from the vax. I am better, I recently have had improvement with the dizziness. It's been about 17 weeks since my 2nd vax in April. I still have weird symptoms, like extreme fatigue, high pitched ringing, shakiness, tingling, etc. Prior to the vax, my tinnitus was mostly static. I try to ignore the symptoms and move forward with my life as much as I can.

I'm trying as well, glad you're doing better.

 

[PaulBe]

One lady described her tinnitus as a "needle of sound"

That is the best descriptor I've ever seen for tinnitus.

 

[Brian P]

@Brian P, I'm so sorry to hear about your tinnitus and side effects from the vax. I am better, I recently have had improvement with the dizziness. It's been about 17 weeks since my 2nd vax in April. I still have weird symptoms, like extreme fatigue, high pitched ringing, shakiness, tingling, etc. Prior to the vax, my tinnitus was mostly static. I try to ignore the symptoms and move forward with my life as much as I can.

Geez this is devastating to hear. My only symptom left is high pitch tinnitus that is fucking loud now and intrusive. I'm hoping it gets better as my titers go down.

Which vaccine did you get?

 

[Brian P]

I also took Clonazepam after I injured my back, a very low dose. I micro-tapered so as not to have side effects, such as tinnitus. My tinnitus began after stopping but it was so mild I barely noticed it. I didn't know it could increase. I just thought it would fade. It never changed, most of the time I did not hear it at all. There was no habituation, no anxiety, it was just there when I listened for it. I had read that it would eventually go away and it might have, had it not been for the stress of the pandemic and an acoustic trauma. It was starting to get better, more like static and then I had the vaccines. It has been mostly a high pitched ringing since then along with dizziness. It has been a challenge to say the least.

How long were you on Klonopin for?

 

[Brian P]

I also took Clonazepam after I injured my back, a very low dose. I micro-tapered so as not to have side effects, such as tinnitus. My tinnitus began after stopping but it was so mild I barely noticed it. I didn't know it could increase. I just thought it would fade. It never changed, most of the time I did not hear it at all. There was no habituation, no anxiety, it was just there when I listened for it. I had read that it would eventually go away and it might have, had it not been for the stress of the pandemic and an acoustic trauma. It was starting to get better, more like static and then I had the vaccines. It has been mostly a high pitched ringing since then along with dizziness. It has been a challenge to say the least.

How long were you on Klonopin for?

 

[twa]

How long were you on Klonopin for?

About 5 months on a very, very low dose and I started a micro-taper within 2 months.

 

[Brian P]

About 5 months on a very, very low dose and I started a micro-taper within 2 months.

I was at 1 mg for 1.5 months. Then off for 3 weeks. Then back on 2 mg for 1.5 months but started tapering at only 2 weeks down. I've been tapering .25mg/week. I'm down to .25 and the tinnitus has taken on an electrical tone.