Inner ear pain/pressure

I have inner ear pain/pressure, hissing inside my head, and sound sensitivity. Now I know that hyperacusis tends to go away with time, but I'm wondering if inner ear pain/pressure and hissing are ever going to go away? What if I reinstate to taper off, will the same symptoms return when you start tapering? What about other drugs? Anyone have first-hand experience with anticonvulsants (oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine, gabapentin) with regards to ear symptoms?

 

It seems to me that you will only harm yourself with these drugs.

Pacenik...oh man I know you are feeling rough and maybe desperate...please do not add meds to the mix....remember this is how it all went bad?

 

Reinstating will not guarantee relief and many have found it creates a bigger problem. It is my opinion you have been off too long now to think about reinstating. And even carefully executed tapers do not guarantee a smooth ride when it comes time for the jump off the meds.

 

Lamotrigine was one of the last meds they tired to give me in my polydrugging nightmare. the side effects are brutal. I do not know how seizure patients handle it. Gabapentin you'll just have to taper of of anyway.

 

I've had your symptoms..they've lessened a lot  and just visit now. I know those symptoms for me were not as severe as for some ppl, but they will go.

My friend, please do not trade one hell for another. i know this is like torture.

 

Is there anything that distracts or brings relief? Has it ever reduced or stopped even for a bit?

It seems to me that you will only harm yourself with these drugs.

Well, I have a full drawer of them. Couldn't really bring myself to try any.

 

 

Pacenik...oh man I know you are feeling rough and maybe desperate...please do not add meds to the mix....remember this is how it all went bad?

 

Reinstating will not guarantee relief and many have found it creates a bigger problem. It is my opinion you have been off too long now to think about reinstating. And even carefully executed tapers do not guarantee a smooth ride when it comes time for the jump off the meds.

 

Lamotrigine was one of the last meds they tired to give me in my polydrugging nightmare. the side effects are brutal. I do not know how seizure patients handle it. Gabapentin you'll just have to taper of of anyway.

 

I've had your symptoms..they've lessened a lot  and just visit now. I know those symptoms for me were not as severe as for some ppl, but they will go.

My friend, please do not trade one hell for another. i know this is like torture.

 

Is there anything that distracts or brings relief? Has it ever reduced or stopped even for a bit?

It went bad with amitriptyline, before that I was asymptomatic. That's the real tragedy, even though I was in withdrawal and thus a bit sleep deprived I've never felt psychologically better in my life.

 

 

I don't know. I now regret not reinstating right away after amitriptyline setback. I've listened to people who said not to reinstate and, oh boy, have I paid for it. By now I would've tapered off the benzos, and I'm pretty sure would've been as asymptomatic as before. Here I'm wondering what was I thinking? Who on Earth would voluntarily surrender themselves to cold-turkey benzo-withdrawal when they know better, and don't have to?

 

 

AFAIK anticonvulsants are supposed to be slowly titrated up, otherwise they can not only cause neurological side-effects, but also deadly allergic reactions.

 

 

When did your ear symptoms lessen?

 

 

I'm able to bear the symptoms, what I'm not able to bear is the though of them being permanent, or worse, worsening with time. And that's the problem, ear symptoms are always there. They become worse in wave, but never go away. I'm 4 months off from the last rescue dose, and 3 months since ear symptoms reared their ugly head (diazepam has a very long half-life). Of course, that I complain about ear symptoms is a very good thing, because at times they seemed completely trivial.

So I had a "whooshing" tinnitus from the beginning of the rapid taper...It would be intense and only in one ear (weird..). It eventually would only last for hours then go. Then it would be like every other day. Around month 5 I noticed it was far less, only showing up in a wave. And thats basically how it is.

BUT..this past month it decided to change into a higher pitched tinnitus..piercing. The first time it happened I yelled out and jumped in my seat it took me so much by surprise. It didn't last long. Just comes and goes now.

 

So at 4 months out please don't stress too much over it. I'm at 10 months and the ear stuff is soooo much better than it was.

Honestly Pacenik, we all get freaked out that one symptom or another is going to be permanent or get worse - thats just our fear shouting at us.

I have a some symptoms right now that are very much concerning me, but I have to remind myself the last time I got super worried about a possibly permanent symptom - it left or lessened. some days its just so hard to be objective.

 

You know what the problem is...you're highly intelligent and over think everything

I’m pretty sure gabapentin is why it took me 3 years to see a window. I got off it a year ago and my healing got faster.

 

 

The ear stuff sucks but it goes away. Yes

Pacenik I would say part of all this process is mindset. The cold Turkey you did should not be a cold Turkey in my case.Two days after a taper is not a ssetback.I have a feeling you are going through a Normal withdrawal from the taper.Not cold Turkey. I will tell you from my experience.

Bexlan

Kindly don't add other poisons.

Kindly don't add other poisons.

I don't want this to be permanent.

 

Pacenik I would say part of all this process is mindset. The cold Turkey you did should not be a cold Turkey in my case. Two days after a taper is not a setback. I have a feeling you are going through a Normal withdrawal from the taper. Not cold Turkey. I will tell you from my experience.

Bexlan

No it's not a normal withdrawal. I was asymptomatic before I took those huge doses. I was lionized by your experience, by in my case not reinstating was most definitively a huge mistake. I would've reinstated at a low dose, and by now I would've been benzo-free and in a much better place symptoms-wise.

 

My first month was asymptomatic. I thought I was out of the woods.Didn't have a slight symptom. May some occasional palpitations. Hell broke loose the second month.I was in the worst of withdrawal. Try to check my april posts.I was wondering whether withdrawal can start one month off.That led to my rescue doses.

My first month was asymptomatic. I thought I was out of the woods.Didn't have a slight symptom. May some occasional palpitations. Hell broke loose the second month.I was in the worst of withdrawal. Try to check my april posts.I was wondering whether withdrawal can start one month off.That led to my rescue doses.

Wasn't that because of amitriptyline, just like with me, except it happened a little sooner to me, because I took amitriptyline sooner (not post-jump like you)? Also, right after those rescue doses I started feeling off.

My first month was asymptomatic. I thought I was out of the woods.Didn't have a slight symptom. May some occasional palpitations. Hell broke loose the second month.I was in the worst of withdrawal. Try to check my april posts.I was wondering whether withdrawal can start one month off.That led to my rescue doses.

Wasn't that because of amitriptyline, just like with me, except it happened a little sooner to me, because I took amitriptyline sooner (not post-jump like you)? Also, right after those rescue doses I started feeling off.

The amitriptyline was after all hell broke loose.When I wasn't sleeping. In the second month. I tried amitriptyline and it made things worse so I decided to have some rescue doses.

I've had that inner ear pressure, like congestion. Ironically, one thing that gives me relief is lying down. It goes away when lying down, but returns eventually once I get up (within a few hours).

I've had that inner ear pressure, like congestion. Ironically, one thing that gives me relief is lying down. It goes away when lying down, but returns eventually once I get up (within a few hours).

Did it go away when you reinstated?

I've had that inner ear pressure, like congestion. Ironically, one thing that gives me relief is lying down. It goes away when lying down, but returns eventually once I get up (within a few hours).

Did it go away when you reinstated?

I could get relief for a few days then I get worse again.It was utter despair after.So I figured it is amitriptyline messing me as it always gave me full blown akasthia. To tell you what, I made mistakes in life but going on ADs is a major one.It was tolerable and ADs made it worse. Thank God it got better.

Bexlan

I've had that inner ear pressure, like congestion. Ironically, one thing that gives me relief is lying down. It goes away when lying down, but returns eventually once I get up (within a few hours).

Did it go away when you reinstated?

 

For the most part yes, I still have brief periods as I am still in the process of stabilizing. I'm still building up a therapeutic level of Memantine (been on it almost 2 weeks), which I am hoping will lessen this problem once I can begin tapering again. The pressure comes and goes, I can have days of feeling really stable, and then it hits me. Today I'm having a benzo headache, haven't had that for a week. I just lie down with an ice pack to relieve the headache. The ear pressure hasn't been too bad, it comes and goes and is fairly mild. But the headaches are still a b*tch when they happen.

For the most part yes, I still have brief periods as I am still in the process of stabilizing. I'm still building up a therapeutic level of Memantine (been on it almost 2 weeks), which I am hoping will lessen this problem once I can begin tapering again. The pressure comes and goes, I can have days of feeling really stable, and then it hits me. Today I'm having a benzo headache, haven't had that for a week. I just lie down with an ice pack to relieve the headache. The ear pressure hasn't been too bad, it comes and goes and is fairly mild. But the headaches are still a b*tch when they happen.

What worries me is that if I reinstate and ear symptoms don't go away, I'm afraid that they'll get wrose as I taper. On the other hand maybe they can go away completely, but I don't want to go too high with the dosage. This is all so strange to me because I was (for all intents and purposes) asymptomatic whenever I withdrew from benzos before. How are you feeling on memantine?

 

 

pacenik, Have you decided to reinstate?

pacenik, Have you decided to reinstate?

No, I'm just keeping it as an option. I regret simply not restarting the taper after my setback. I would've been fine, and off the benzos by now.

How are you feeling on memantine?

 

Not well, it has side effects that will eventually go away as my body gets used to it. Mostly backache and stomach upset and bloating. Backache is down considerably, stomach is slowly improving. It can take up to 4 weeks for side effects to go away, as of Monday, I will have been on it for two. Looking at the list of possible side effects, I could have been worse. I plan on sticking it out, because my Endo thinks this will make w/d mild or possibly nearly non-existant. My Psych provider agrees and managed to access a study with positive outcomes for the participants. W/D complaints were very mild and tolerable. 

Pacenik you really need to let go of the past. We can’t go back in time and every post you make seems to be the regret of taking a few pills and not tapering off those. No one can tell you what will or won’t happen as there are no experts and pretty much no one has the same exact experience with this kind of thing.

 

You minds well regret going on them in the first place. Point is thinking about what you should’ve done constantly isn’t helping you. You need to make a decision and keep with it and not be influenced by what someone here might suggest because then you might regret doing what they tell you to do too.

 

Many people get on the other side of this and put it behind them. From what I’ve seen anecdotally 2-3 years seems to be the time frame of being functional again for those with strong dependencies. Of course there’s those outside these timeframes as everyone is different. Everyone should be getting checked by their doctor though to rule anything out.

Pacenik you really need to let go of the past. We can’t go back in time and every post you make seems to be the regret of taking a few pills and not tapering off those. No one can tell you what will or won’t happen as there are no experts and pretty much no one has the same exact experience with this kind of thing.

 

You minds well regret going on them in the first place. Point is thinking about what you should’ve done constantly isn’t helping you. You need to make a decision and keep with it and not be influenced by what someone here might suggest because then you might regret doing what they tell you to do too.

 

Many people get on the other side of this and put it behind them. From what I’ve seen anecdotally 2-3 years seems to be the time frame of being functional again for those with strong dependencies. Of course there’s those outside these timeframes as everyone is different. Everyone should be getting checked by their doctor though to rule anything out.

I don't know. It's kinda normal to feel regret when you ruin your life in two days. What makes me worried is not too much positive feedback on tinnitus/hyperacusis thread. I'm willing to try a non-benzo solution for that.

Pacenik you really need to let go of the past. We can’t go back in time and every post you make seems to be the regret of taking a few pills and not tapering off those. No one can tell you what will or won’t happen as there are no experts and pretty much no one has the same exact experience with this kind of thing.

 

You minds well regret going on them in the first place. Point is thinking about what you should’ve done constantly isn’t helping you. You need to make a decision and keep with it and not be influenced by what someone here might suggest because then you might regret doing what they tell you to do too.

 

Many people get on the other side of this and put it behind them. From what I’ve seen anecdotally 2-3 years seems to be the time frame of being functional again for those with strong dependencies. Of course there’s those outside these timeframes as everyone is different. Everyone should be getting checked by their doctor though to rule anything out.

I don't know. It's kinda normal to feel regret when you ruin your life in two days. What makes me worried is not too much positive feedback on tinnitus/hyperacusis thread. I'm willing to try a non-benzo solution for that.

 

Yes it is normal. It doesn’t do you any good to dwell on it though. You’re stuck in that negative thought loop and it doesn’t change anything anyway except you’re focused on what you should’ve done in hindsight. We all would do things differently or we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I almost have every symptom in the book other than seizures but I refuse to stay in that negative mindset for too long. You also don’t know if you ruined your life yet. Plenty of people get better. I don’t think there’s many medication options to treat tinnitus though. My mom has it from an antibiotic and she lives life in the mindset of it being permanent. There’s many success stories though of it going away/getting much milder. Have hope.

Yes it is normal. It doesn’t do you any good to dwell on it though. You’re stuck in that negative thought loop and it doesn’t change anything anyway except you’re focused on what you should’ve done in hindsight. We all would do things differently or we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I almost have every symptom in the book other than seizures but I refuse to stay in that negative mindset for too long. You also don’t know if you ruined your life yet. Plenty of people get better. I don’t think there’s many medication options to treat tinnitus though. My mom has it from an antibiotic and she lives life in the mindset of it being permanent. There’s many success stories though of it going away/getting much milder. Have hope.

Life was maybe a strong word. I didn't mean to imply that symptoms are permanent. But some things did happen, e.g. I finished writing my thesis but couldn't defend it because of withdrawal and missing the deadline got me expelled from the university. I don't know why I considered restarting the taper so great a tragedy that I refused to do it. It would've been a small dose, and after all, I live in a culture where half-the-country is on benzos and/or alcohol for life. My friend's grandpa drank 1.5 litres of rakia daily, and lived into deep old age without developing dementia, or health problems. But, he would've probably had a lot of problems had he attempted to stop drinking.

Benzo-induced tinnitus has been known to respond to anticonvulsants (either going away completely with a single large-enough dose, or getting worse). There are people who take gabapentin during the taper only when tinnitus appears, and it goes away.

Yes it is normal. It doesn’t do you any good to dwell on it though. You’re stuck in that negative thought loop and it doesn’t change anything anyway except you’re focused on what you should’ve done in hindsight. We all would do things differently or we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I almost have every symptom in the book other than seizures but I refuse to stay in that negative mindset for too long. You also don’t know if you ruined your life yet. Plenty of people get better. I don’t think there’s many medication options to treat tinnitus though. My mom has it from an antibiotic and she lives life in the mindset of it being permanent. There’s many success stories though of it going away/getting much milder. Have hope.

Life was maybe a strong word. I didn't mean to imply that symptoms are permanent. But some things did happen, e.g. I finished writing my thesis but couldn't defend it because of withdrawal and missing the deadline got me expelled from the university. I don't know why I considered restarting the taper so great a tragedy that I refused to do it. It would've been a small dose, and after all, I live in a culture where half-the-country is on benzos and/or alcohol for life. My friend's grandpa drank 1.5 litres of rakia daily, and lived into deep old age without developing dementia, or health problems. But, he would've probably had a lot of problems had he attempted to stop drinking.

Benzo-induced tinnitus has been known to respond to anticonvulsants (either going away completely with a single large-enough dose, or getting worse). There are people who take gabapentin during the taper only when tinnitus appears, and it goes away.

 

I’m sorry that happened to you regarding university. This experience does ruin lives, it has for me as well. My point is that as far as we know though, this is a temporary syndrome.  It can be a long time but there are so many people who get their life back and return to functional lives. Maybe with a few residual symptoms that can be lived with. It’s your choice whether you want to be dependent on benzodiazepines or not. People live normal lives on them. Regarding anticonvulsants, talk to your doctor. Gabapentin has the potential to be just as dangerous as benzos though as does Lyrica and the rest. You have to weigh the pros and cons of it maybe treating your ear problems but at the price of possibly becoming dependent and the subsequent withdrawal of you decide to calm off.