Intermittent Tinnitus and Taking Clonazepam to Prevent a Loud Tinnitus Day?

[momus]

I'm in a pickle with angle grinder reactive tinnitus and dysacusis beeps. There are genuinely some evenings where I just can't take it anymore and need the relief Clonazepam provides but then await the rebound depression. Swings and roundabouts until something better comes along, my situation miraculously improves (9 months since worsening) or Dr. Shore's device comes out this century and I'm hopping on the first jet to California to have a crack at it...

I know exactly how you feel. I don't take anything for my tinnitus or nerves, mostly from fear it may backfire. Gabapentin has been my go-to form of relief when things get too crazy and as an all-around sleep aid. I've been taking it for around 6 years now, almost every night, w/ no ill effects. My nightly dosage is 30 minutes to an hour before bed w/ an 800 mg pill and 75 mg of Benadryl (another sleep aid because I have seasonal allergies, which makes the tinnitus louder).

This generally works pretty well in terms of getting to sleep, along w/ a fan by the bed. However, there are times when I know it will not be enough, so I take 1200 mg of Gabapentin w/ the Benadryl, and this almost always works. Thankfully, there is no brain fog in the morning when I awaken. If I don't get plenty of exercise during the day, it's usually much harder to get to sleep.

Whether or not 1200 mg of Gabapentin is a problem, I couldn't say, and I haven't found anything that might indicate that it is. It's used primarily for nephropathy, and I've read of a lot of people having to take more than twice that much regularly w/ no issues since it's not a narcotic and not addictive. There have been rare cases where it has been thought to build up and cause a toxic kidney problem in people who have stage 4 kidney disease, but generally, it has little to no effect on brain function, kidneys, or liver. I'm very grateful that an old girlfriend told me about it. It's a very interesting drug that works for many uses and is usually OK to take w/ other medications. It has a short half-life of only 5-7 hours, and normally it takes 30-35 hours to clear out of your system. So, by the time I take it the next night, it's almost completely gone.

 

[sspencermo]

Do you ever hear a hissing sound when you're sleeping?

Yes -- it can be so loud it wakes me up. If that happens, it often starts 90 minutes after I fall asleep, or in other words, at the end of one sleep cycle. Even if I fall back asleep, it'll be loud the next day. I think @Joe Cuber had a trick of waking up super-early that seemed to prevent a bad day, but I'm not sure that would work for me since for me it seems to be triggered by that first sleep cycle.

 

[Supersix]

Yes -- it can be so loud it wakes me up. If that happens, it often starts 90 minutes after I fall asleep, or in other words, at the end of one sleep cycle. Even if I fall back asleep, it'll be loud the next day. I think @Joe Cuber had a trick of waking up super-early that seemed to prevent a bad day, but I'm not sure that would work for me since for me it seems to be triggered by that first sleep cycle.

The trick is to wake up at 3 a.m. without any hissing sound. If you can manage to do so, then you will most likely get through the day with very little hissing. However, if you go back to sleep, the hissing sound will ramp up. It's going to increase, and you will have a full day of hissing.

 

[sspencermo]

You describe exactly what I have. For me, it's pretty much a 3-day cycle that has repeated since it started a year ago and hasn't changed. On the first day, it is a pretty loud electrical hissing (snake pit) with a very fast oscillation. It's like I can literally hear the hyperactive neurons jumping around every millisecond. Only the shower can mask the horrible noise. My hyperacusis is also at its strongest on day one (cars braking). On the afternoon of the second day, I always notice that the noise gets weaker. When I wake up on the third day, the noise disappears shortly after I get up, so I have a quiet day when I can hardly hear it. The hyperacusis is also much weaker then. On the fourth day, the cycle starts all over again. This makes the suffering even more pointless and brutal for me because although the brain still seems to have the ability to keep my head quiet, it simply can't or won't do it permanently. An eternal alternation of despair and hope, pure existence and real living.

I wonder how many of us have this sort of intermittent tinnitus? The audiologist I spoke with seemed to think I was just imagining the fluctuations in volume, but there are certainly a good number of people with the same symptoms on Tinnitus Talk. It is frustrating, because it implies that my ears/brain aren't so broken that I can't have quiet, but for some reason they aren't cooperating.

 

[Muggumbo]

I wonder how many of us have this sort of intermittent tinnitus? The audiologist I spoke with seemed to think I was just imagining the fluctuations in volume, but there are certainly a good number of people with the same symptoms on Tinnitus Talk. It is frustrating, because it implies that my ears/brain aren't so broken that I can't have quiet, but for some reason they aren't cooperating.

My right ear fluctuates constantly. I don't have the same volume or tone for more than a week or two.

 

[sspencermo]

I appear to have jinxed myself by writing my initial post. After five months of every-third-day hissing, for the last week, it's become every other day. I suppose round-the-clock hissing is next. I'm so depressed. Those quiet days were the only things making this tolerable. Could it be because of the Mirtazapine? I've been on it for about six weeks, ~ 5 mg/night.

 

[Jupiterman]

The audiologist I spoke with seemed to think I was just imagining the fluctuations in volume,

This is typical rhetoric bullshit that only an audiologist could come out with.

I appear to have jinxed myself by writing my initial post. After five months of every-third-day hissing, for the last week, it's become every other day. I suppose round-the-clock hissing is next. I'm so depressed. Those quiet days were the only things making this tolerable. Could it be because of the Mirtazapine? I've been on it for about six weeks, ~ 5 mg/night.

Are you protecting your ears?

 

[sspencermo]

Are you protecting your ears?

Well, I'm pretty quiet to begin with -- no loud music, etc... I haven't done anything out of the ordinary to protect my ears, but I haven't done anything unusually loud, either. Sigh. Just sad. I was hoping I'd be one of the people whose intermittent tinnitus stayed that way for years.

 

[DeanD]

The audiologist I spoke with seemed to think I was just imagining the fluctuations in volume

I damn hate the naive stupidity of audiologists at times!

What do they think we do, sit around making this shit up.

If they listened to the patients every once in a while without treating every one who complains as a 5-year-old or 90-year-old, one day we may be heard.

 

[Supersix]

I appear to have jinxed myself by writing my initial post. After five months of every-third-day hissing, for the last week, it's become eve

During allergy season my hissing would always ramp up.

Based on my experience, I have observed that particular audiologists possess more expertise in managing tinnitus than others. However, I rely only partially on their opinion, as they may become more knowledgeable with time and education. I have encountered some audiologists who provided accurate advice and guided me in the right direction. Nevertheless, I recommend consulting an experienced ENT or a neuro-otologist who has treated tinnitus patients before.

 

[BuzzyBee]

Mine definitely resets when I sleep; what I have when I wake up is what I have for the whole day. If it's the hiss, it will get louder in late afternoon/early evening and reach a roar around dinner time. It starts to back off around the time I go to sleep; when I wake up in the morning, it's gone for two more days. Lather, rinse, repeat. I'm sure there's some physiological cause for this... wish I knew what it was.

Me too! I wish they'd hurry up and figure this out. I feel like we are getting closer and closer now that everyone's pretty much agreed it's coming from the brain. Also, mine is usually a loud static sound, and it sounds coming from around the ear. When I get the dreaded tonal type, that sound is coming from deep within the ear. I just think it's funny how the ear doctors say "can't help, it's coming from the brain," and neurologists are all "can't help, it's coming from the ear." It's a little column a, a little column b, really. But why can't they figure out why it cycles?

 

[Jupiterman]

No one knows definitively where tinnitus comes from.

The most plausible explanation I have heard was tinnitus starts from damage in the ear. If the brain 'hears' the damage for a long period of time (6 months plus), then it becomes a brain problem (too).

However, if the damage heals in the ear(s) within a few short months, it doesn't 'spread' to the brain.

 

[Supersix]

When the barometer rises, check if your hissing increases. Additionally, try getting a Swedish massage to stimulate your central nervous system. It's worth a shot.

 

[AverageJoe12]

During allergy season my hissing would always ramp up.

Based on my experience, I have observed that particular audiologists possess more expertise in managing tinnitus than others. However, I rely only partially on their opinion, as they may become more knowledgeable with time and education. I have encountered some audiologists who provided accurate advice and guided me in the right direction. Nevertheless, I recommend consulting an experienced ENT or a neuro-otologist who has treated tinnitus patients before.

Neuro-otologists have little interest in tinnitus and I've seen two now at Johns Hopkins. Eventually, audiology, neurology, and ENTs will have to get in a room and sort this shit out.

 

[TinnAndy]

Interesting thread. I am not alone with this odd condition.

I have same symptoms that started 8 months ago for no reason. 3 day cycles in the left ear. Hissing that starts within the first few hours of sleep and is present until the next day. The next day the hissing is milder, and on the 3rd day I wake up with hissing but it quickly disappears within 10 to 20 minutes of waking up and I get a silent day. Sometimes, I don't know why, I might rarely get additional 1 or 2 good days.

Did Metalotin help anyone here with the cyclical tinnitus? For some reason when I took Melatonin on a good to bad day transition, it spiked my tinnitus and I ended up with more bad days and having a longer 4 or 5 day cycle. I tried this 2 times on a different month with same result.

I was avoiding taking Clonazapam, assuming it would behave like Melatonin affecting or modulating my sleep pattern and causing a spike.

 

[Supersix]

Clonazepam is effective for me, and I have never experienced any sudden increase in my tinnitus. If you fall asleep and your hissing starts, it's easy to blame the medication since it might seem louder.

Mirtazapine works well for me; it's my preferred medication with a dosage of 2-3 mg along with 1/4 of 0.5 mg of Clonazepam together, and I sleep like a baby.

 

[Varda]

For sleep, is Gabapentin safer for tinnitus than benzos? I heard benzos can cause an increase in tinnitus.

 

[Nick47]

For sleep, is Gabapentin safer for tinnitus than benzos? I heard benzos can cause an increase in tinnitus.

Benzos can sometimes cause tinnitus if abruptly stopped. Two benzos (Alprazolam & Clonazepam) reduce tinnitus in most people, but not all. The rest do nothing.

Gabapentin can reduce tinnitus in 20-30% of patients, with most responders having acoustic trauma-precipitated tinnitus.

 

[Stayinghopeful]

Mirtazapine works well for me; it's my preferred medication with a dosage of 2-3 mg along with 1/4 of 0.5 mg of Clonazepam together, and I sleep like a baby.

I agree. Mirtazapine is unreal. 7.5 mg knocked me out when I went through my spike.

 

[sspencermo]

Did Metalotin help anyone here with the cyclical tinnitus? For some reason when I took Melatonin on a good to bad day transition, it spiked my tinnitus and I ended up with more bad days and having a longer 4 or 5 day cycle. I tried this 2 times on a different month with same result.

I was avoiding taking Clonazapam, assuming it would behave like Melatonin affecting or modulating my sleep pattern and causing a spike.

I find Melatonin helpful -- well, anything that helps me sleep seems to keep my tinnitus stable. I take Melatonin and 5 mg of Mirtazapine, and I sleep pretty well. I think most evidence suggests that Melatonin helps alleviate tinnitus, or is neutral. I haven't heard any other reports of it making it worse.

I'm sorry to welcome you to this club. I wish I had some idea of how to extend the time between loud days.