• This Saturday, November 16, you have the chance to ask Tinnitus Quest anything.

    The entire Executive Board, including Dr. Dirk de Ridder and Dr. Hamid Djalilian are taking part.

    The event takes place 7 AM Pacific, 9 AM Central, 10 AM Eastern, 3 PM UK (GMT).

    ➡️ Read More & Register!

Xanax (Alprazolam) Gets Me 90% Back to Normal — Anything I Can Do Long-Term?

GBB

Member
Author
Hall of Fame
Sep 1, 2020
1,464
NYC
Tinnitus Since
2016-2019 (Mild, Cured) 8/2020 (Severe)
Cause of Tinnitus
Virus / Microsuction / Acoustic Trauma
When I take Xanax my tinnitus and distortion/dysacusis go away about 90%. I feel happy that I can maybe do this 1-2x a week, but sad that when I wake up tomorrow it will be back to painful sounds of metal and glass and dentist drills, and thoughts of suicide.

I understand Klonopin, another benzo is sometimes prescribed with Gabapentin, and some members here are on that combo indefinitely, knowing that at some point if they ever try to withdraw their brain may be fried. I could also mortgage my future and try that, but I'm not sure what to make of the idea.

My question is, is there any way I can use the knowledge that a benzo helps me to find a more sustainable solution, or am I just caught in a state of in-between, where I can have some "normal" days and other hellish days.

I can't help but feel sad that as I eat dinner with my parents, I'll be plunged back into torture in the morning...
 
When I take Xanax my tinnitus and distortion/dysacusis go away about 90%. I feel happy that I can maybe do this 1-2x a week, but sad that when I wake up tomorrow it will be back to painful sounds of metal and glass and dentist drills, and thoughts of suicide.

I understand Klonopin, another benzo is sometimes prescribed with Gabapentin, and some members here are on that combo indefinitely, knowing that at some point if they ever try to withdraw their brain may be fried. I could also mortgage my future and try that, but I'm not sure what to make of the idea.

My question is, is there any way I can use the knowledge that a benzo helps me to find a more sustainable solution, or am I just caught in a state of in-between, where I can have some "normal" days and other hellish days.

I can't help but feel sad that as I eat dinner with my parents, I'll be plunged back into torture in the morning...
So what did you do?
 
Kava has benzo like effects, ostensibly without most of the downsides. I have been taking that semi regularly. Not cured but meaningful improvement.
Interesting, I tried all kinds of Kava including stuff sourced from Hawaiian indiginous people. There's some effect and I thought it had an interesting visual space but no real change to tinnitus.

Hence, I take Klonopin daily, it's not great but :dunno:
 
When I take Xanax my tinnitus and distortion/dysacusis go away about 90%. I feel happy that I can maybe do this 1-2x a week, but sad that when I wake up tomorrow it will be back to painful sounds of metal and glass and dentist drills, and thoughts of suicide.

I understand Klonopin, another benzo is sometimes prescribed with Gabapentin, and some members here are on that combo indefinitely, knowing that at some point if they ever try to withdraw their brain may be fried. I could also mortgage my future and try that, but I'm not sure what to make of the idea.

My question is, is there any way I can use the knowledge that a benzo helps me to find a more sustainable solution, or am I just caught in a state of in-between, where I can have some "normal" days and other hellish days.

I can't help but feel sad that as I eat dinner with my parents, I'll be plunged back into torture in the morning...
I discussed this very question with a drug scientist. His response was what they don't know about benzos far eclipses what they do know about them, and there really is no good answer at this time.

That said, a doctor I've been working with who has a lot of experience treating tinnitus favors Klonopin over Xanax, and finds that his patients tend not to run into problems, particularly if given in the short term, or as needed.
 
Interesting, I tried all kinds of Kava including stuff sourced from Hawaiian indiginous people. There's some effect and I thought it had an interesting visual space but no real change to tinnitus.

Hence, I take Klonopin daily, it's not great but :dunno:
I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me it's been giving me a reliable reduction of 2-3/10 - my tinnitus varies a lot on it's own so can't peg it at a solid level. Kava is basically the only "sustainable" thing I've found that helps, and I'm pretty damn grateful. It also kind of smooths out the sound so it doesn't have as much "friction" on my ears if that makes sense. I do 75 mg kavalactones from the Noble cultivar.

I don't have any history with benzos and am effected pretty strongly by other things - I can't take more than 75 mg of caffeine without getting nauseous/jittery for example, so maybe I'm just particularly receptive. Just hoping it doesn't downregulate GABA receptors long term, but the kava community seems to say it doesn't.
 
I discussed this very question with a drug scientist. His response was what they don't know about benzos far eclipses what they do know about them, and there really is no good answer at this time.

That said, a doctor I've been working with who has a lot of experience treating tinnitus favors Klonopin over Xanax, and finds that his patients tend not to run into problems, particularly if given in the short term, or as needed.
I can't really take it 'as needed'. It does not have an immediate effect for me. I take it at bedtime and the next day is usually better. Typically I take 1 mg, but if my tinnitus gets loud, I'll take 2 mg. Then I take 1/2 mg in the morning. If I don't take my nighttime pill, the next day it's a little louder. 2nd day louder yet. 3rd day too loud and I have to get back on the program. But if my tinnitus is loud and I take 1mg during the day, it doesn't do anything for me.
 
Hello. Can you take Kava while withdrawing from Klonopin? Klonopin initially helped my anxiety but I quickly felt the need to updose.
 
All hail the mighty Klonopin! It has a great symbiotic relationship with cannabis for me. It just crushes any anxiety brought about by THC. I take 0.5-1mg daily and that's usually all I need. I tear thru an OZ a week and I'm no longer perturbed with pesky anxiety.

Benzos really stabilize the thrusters during liftoff, allowing the Marijuanaut to achieve maximum propulsion into orbit. :rockingbanana:
 
Hello. Can you take Kava while withdrawing from Klonopin? Klonopin initially helped my anxiety but I quickly felt the need to updose.
For my part I'm not sure - I would Google it.
 
When I take Xanax my tinnitus and distortion/dysacusis go away about 90%. I feel happy that I can maybe do this 1-2x a week, but sad that when I wake up tomorrow it will be back to painful sounds of metal and glass and dentist drills, and thoughts of suicide.

I understand Klonopin, another benzo is sometimes prescribed with Gabapentin, and some members here are on that combo indefinitely, knowing that at some point if they ever try to withdraw their brain may be fried. I could also mortgage my future and try that, but I'm not sure what to make of the idea.

My question is, is there any way I can use the knowledge that a benzo helps me to find a more sustainable solution, or am I just caught in a state of in-between, where I can have some "normal" days and other hellish days.

I can't help but feel sad that as I eat dinner with my parents, I'll be plunged back into torture in the morning...
I'm so sorry you're going through this. If you are truly thinking of hurting yourself, please contact someone who can help you. You are worth it! :huganimation:
 

Log in or register to get the full forum benefits!

Register

Register on Tinnitus Talk for free!

Register Now