Jump to content

Tenacious Tinnitus Club – Ear Pressure, Noise and Hyperacusis


[Bi...]

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I have tinnitus from going off paxil c/t. I swear there's a refrigerator or some kind of appliance

in my left ear. Nothing in the right one. I have no idea...

There's buzzing and hissing too. If I read, or watch tv, I am totally distracted from it.

Playing games on the computer is totally distracting too.

What's with tinnitus? Strange stuff.

Iggy  :smitten:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Iggy,  I this is very normal for SSRI withdrawal.  Some people get it just for being on for too many years and their ears just start ringing.  I sure it will go away in time.

 

Bird  :smitten:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is my favorite sound mixer on the net.  You can make any frequency you like to much your T (tinnitus)

 

Then you can export the custom sound and download it.  Then load it onto a cheap MP3 player and melt your T away with the sound playing through a set of ear buds.

 

http://www.ata.org/sound

 

Enjoy :smitten:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey birdman,

 

Good thread! I have been plagued with tinnitus since the beginning. It is not IF it will be there but rather how loud it will be on any given day. I was at work today and really busy. Making no headway at all b/c I could not hear. I have someone standing directly in front of me talking am I am buzzing at a level that was so loud. I am paradoxical. I came home and took my p.m. dose and abt 1 hour later I am buzzing louder and feeling lousy.

 

Cheers from Colorado :idiot:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey birdman,

 

Good thread! I have been plagued with tinnitus since the beginning. It is not IF it will be there but rather how loud it will be on any given day. I was at work today and really busy. Making no headway at all b/c I could not hear. I have someone standing directly in front of me talking am I am buzzing at a level that was so loud. I am paradoxical. I came home and took my p.m. dose and abt 1 hour later I am buzzing louder and feeling lousy.

 

Cheers from Colorado :idiot:

 

Hi Colorado, I can totally relate to paradoxical reactions.  They say it's when a critical number of receptors have flipped over and are working backwards so benzo's excite some brain areas.  I had it bad when I reinstated. The more I took the more I went into cold turkey, it was FREAKING scary as the benzo's stopped working!!  YIPS!!!    At that point all you can do is to be experimental by taking lower and higher doses and see what works.  I found that taking one big dose at night ended my paradoxical effects pretty fast and I was stabilizing fast after only 2 weeks.

 

Are you still going to skydive with me and snoball when your healed?  :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

birdman...Thanks for the heads up on one dosing it.

I want to start living again after being under a wet blanket for a year. I have been stone cold crazy all of my life. I will jump if you guys will have me. If I am lying I am dying and I am not going anywhere.

It is below zero in Colorado tonight. I have a fire lit, I am feeling really good tonight after a cut 5 days ago. I start to dream. I am well and dancing in circles...I am walking on sunshine. It takes being down at the bottom to dream about being on top again. Hell yeah I'll jump.

 

8) Big wink from the high country

Link to comment
Share on other sites

L:  Thanks for starting this thread.  There are so many of us plagued with tinnitus.  We all wish for the day it all goes away.  My hyperacusis was so bad a few months back, the sound of typing on a keyboard hurt my ears like you would not believe.  Bad hyperacusis is complete misery, complete.  From what everyone says, the T is the last to go.  We just have to live through it day by day.  Be strong all, we will get through this.

 

GOGA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My tinnitus began with my very first cut and now 48 days post jump, tenacious is a perfect symptom.

I can best relate to the description of the sound as cicadas... About a million of them! Describing the sound as a dentist's drill is close second. The sound intensity comes and goes, but I haven't been able to connect the swings to any external stimulus such as stress or diet. Generally the tinnitus is not present when I initially  awake, but neither are my constant leg/joint aches. Usually in less than a minute both are in full swing although the intensity varies with both.

 

I experienced hyperacusis about midway through my taper and it's almost as bad as the tinnitus. At times it seemed people were almost screaming and everything around me was very LOUD which occasionally triggered mild benzo rage. The recurrence of hyperacusis has greatly diminished post jump although I still get a brief taste now and then. I'm happy to report it usually doesn't last longer than thirty minutes or so.

 

While extremely annoying, I consider these sxs a small price to be benzo free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hyperacusis  which is so bad that I feel noises in my body and it's pretty agonizing. I have to go to my bedroom and close the door because my partner making dinner in the kitchen and making normal kitchen sounds is too much for me.

 

i have to so the same thing. the kitchen noises are the worst and so are the slamming of the car doors even from miles away.  i am happy to report that the hyperacusis is getting just a little better. now it's more annoying and i still have a startle factor but doesn't feel like i am in a freezing cold pool of knives going through the body. (how's that for description ;) )?

 

Bird, thanks for hte pink noise vid. i have it on now. where do you get white noise machines and do they have pink noise machines and what is the difference?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hyperacusis  which is so bad that I feel noises in my body and it's pretty agonizing. I have to go to my bedroom and close the door because my partner making dinner in the kitchen and making normal kitchen sounds is too much for me.

 

i have to so the same thing. the kitchen noises are the worst and so are the slamming of the car doors even from miles away.  i am happy to report that the hyperacusis is getting just a little better. now it's more annoying and i still have a startle factor but doesn't feel like i am in a freezing cold pool of knives going through the body. (how's that for description ;) )?

 

Bird, thanks for hte pink noise vid. i have it on now. where do you get white noise machines and do they have pink noise machines and what is the difference?

 

Hi Pretty,  There is brown, pink and white noise and some people swear by FAN noise

 

Here is white noise  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KaOrSuWZeM

 

Here is fan noise 

 

If you want to down load the sound and put it on an ipod, iphone or MP3 player

 

just cut and past the youtube URL here  http://www.vidtomp3.com/

 

Then load it on your device and you have portable masking sounds.

 

Enjoy and may it bring you some peace  :smitten:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

  My best friend has Hyperacusis since birth. Its painful for her to go to places. Now I understand why.

  Thank you, Bird for this valuable resource regarding not only Tinnitus but Hyperacusis.

 

  I know that my hearing has always been extremely sensitive, I startle really easily like someone has shot a

  gun next to me. Happens a lot. I wonder if this is just sensitive to noise or a form of hyperacusis. NOT that I am

  Looking for anything. T is enough to deal with.

 

  To those suffering with Huperacusis, I really feel for you!

 

    NFM :angel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

  My best friend has Hyperacusis since birth. Its painful for her to go to places. Now I understand why.

  Thank you, Bird for this valuable resource regarding not only Tinnitus but Hyperacusis.

 

  I know that my hearing has always been extremely sensitive, I startle really easily like someone has shot a

  gun next to me. Happens a lot. I wonder if this is just sensitive to noise or a form of hyperacusis. NOT that I am

  Looking for anything. T is enough to deal with.

 

  To those suffering with Huperacusis, I really feel for you!

 

    NFM :angel:

 

Hi NFM,  I have been talking with goga and he had is so bad I am glad he is healing now. I had it in C/T  and it was brutal.  When my dog barked it was like a firecracker exploded in my ear and I jumped.  Things are better now but I have a long battle ahead of me in benzo hell :'( :'(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, this is the important one.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

I have been taking it for the past 4 months.  It's proven to protect the ear against high glutamate levels.  Most of the studies are about loud noises and not benzo's since no one study's benzo w/d (as we all know >:()

 

The idea is that when you are exposed to a loud sound like a bomb or gun shot the hairs in your ear vibrate so hard they stimulate glutamate release and then you hear tinnitus for a few days after.  In benzo w/d the glutamate comes from inside the cochlea and dorsal cochlear nucleus as the benzo is withdrawn.  So what happens is the nerves start firing the fusiform cells and you have tinnitus in benzo w/d. 

 

So tinnitus in benzo w/d is a chemical imbalance of the dorsal cochlear nucleus

 

The chemical that is missing is gaba as too much glutamate is physically around due to taking benzo's and the receptors up and down regulate to match this very real and measurable chemical imbalance.

 

Since N-acetylcysteine (NAC) protects the brain and cochlea from glutamate over excitation it could be one of the most useful supplements to take during withdrawal to protect brain cell's and the cochlea and will lower tinnitus after 3 weeks of use.  I know as I stopped taking it and after 2 weeks it got worse again.  It will not help w/d s/x but it may protect cells from excitation damage and promote quicker healing.

 

Do you own research but the data is out there (most of it is for LOUD sounds but the chemical imbalance of a loud noise is VERY similar to the chemistry of a person in benzo w/d.  And like I said no one is researching for our small community so we have too read in-between the lines of the data available.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22122955

 

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2012/may2012_Strategies-Protect-Preserve-Your-Hearing_02.htm

 

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&site=&source=hp&q=nac+protects+hearing&oq=nac+protects+hearing&gs_l=hp.3..0.1544.10530.0.10838.31.29.0.0.0.0.883.5827.4j6j0j5j2j1j2.20.0....0...1c.1.32.hp..20.11.1695.Jx_aTINYcfk

 

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&q=nac+protects+glutamate+receptor&oq=nac+protects+glutamate+rec&gs_l=serp.1.0.33i21l2.25002.27116.0.29721.4.4.0.0.0.0.920.2403.4-2j1j1.4.0....0...1c.1.32.serp..3.1.475.jqpxy31aG-w

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi birdman,

anything on sizzling sound in the brain?

mine is getting worse. especially at night time. sigh.

had this crap for 19 months now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still take 600mg of NAC three times a day

 

what brand do you take Bart?

 

thanks for all the links Bird! i actually like the pink noise the best. the others are a bit too strong still. i really feel for Goga because the hyperacusis i had just a few weeks ago for months and months was so unbelievably bad it cut right through me like knives in cold water and i'm here to say that it's much better. so it will get better for you too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still take 600mg of NAC three times a day

 

what brand do you take Bart?

 

thanks for all the links Bird! i actually like the pink noise the best. the others are a bit too strong still. i really feel for Goga because the hyperacusis i had just a few weeks ago for months and months was so unbelievably bad it cut right through me like knives in cold water and i'm here to say that it's much better. so it will get better for you too!

 

I take the Jarrow brand. I'm yet to see them and the Doctor's Best line have a product fail a consumerlabs test. I'm sure there are other good brands out there

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still take 600mg of NAC three times a day

 

what brand do you take Bart?

 

thanks for all the links Bird! i actually like the pink noise the best. the others are a bit too strong still. i really feel for Goga because the hyperacusis i had just a few weeks ago for months and months was so unbelievably bad it cut right through me like knives in cold water and i'm here to say that it's much better. so it will get better for you too!

 

I take the Jarrow brand. I'm yet to see them and the Doctor's Best line have a product fail a consumerlabs test. I'm sure there are other good brands out there

 

i use to take the Jarrow brand. i'll probably just get Jarrow for both NAC and ginkgo. i am "brand" girl i really don't like a lot of unecessary shit in supplements, the less the better and the higher the quality the better. i really try to do as much research as possible with different brands before i ingest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi birdman,

anything on sizzling sound in the brain?

mine is getting worse. especially at night time. sigh.

had this crap for 19 months now.

 

Hi PO. It sounds like low frequency tinnitus.  If the sound balance is perfect you get the STEREO effect and it sounds like it's right in the center of your brain or even the in the back of the skull.  If the balance is off just a tad its easier to just hear it in the left or right ear and then that horrible stereo effect is no more.  I think that's what your hearing.  It does get better.  Have you tried the NAC?  After about 30 days of treatment it made a noticeable improvement for me.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone asked about this so I thought I'd post an answer and hope it doesn't get removed for being a commercial plug.

 

Go to amazon and put "white noise machine" into the search box. You will get a ton of them. Mine is the HomeMedics with nature sounds. It cost about $27. I use the "rain" setting. It sure helps drown out the tinnitus. I put it next to the bed on my night table on LOUD.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Okatz

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tinnitus, mostly in my left ear. It's frustrating because I used to meditate a lot and now when I try all I can hear is the tinnitus so it makes it much more difficult to concentrate on my breathing. I do have moments where it will stop in my left ear and switch to my right ear as if dials are being turned up and down.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I had the hyperacusis where it was like knives in the ear and electric zaps.  It was truly unbearable for months--complete misery--i wish it on no one, ever.  Truly.  It was hard to get through it.  Thank you for listening to me during those time, Bird, thank you.  I still have the hyperacusis but it has improved.  So one day, I hope to have it totally gone.  Its unreal how bad I had it.  I also have tinnitus in one ear, but hoping that will pass too.  I am 3 months and 10 days benzo free.  Never again will I touch a benzo in my life, NEVER.

 

GOGA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I had the hyperacusis where it was like knives in the ear and electric zaps.  It was truly unbearable for months--complete misery--i wish it on no one, ever.  Truly.  It was hard to get through it.  Thank you for listening to me during those time, Bird, thank you.  I still have the hyperacusis but it has improved.  So one day, I hope to have it totally gone.  Its unreal how bad I had it.  I also have tinnitus in one ear, but hoping that will pass too.  I am 3 months and 10 days benzo free.  Never again will I touch a benzo in my life, NEVER.

 

GOGA

 

GOGA,

 

so happy to hear that it's improved for you. mine has too. on the weekends there are million of these motorcycle dudes on the freeway (and i live pretty close to the fwy) and they also come around my house. for 30 minutes straight i have to plug up my ears because it's just too unbearable. but today, i didn't seem to have the need to plug up my ears, although it was still pretty loud and annoying. so, that was a good thing. i thought about you today when they came by full blast with their choppers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty: Thanks.  I am so glad it has gotten better.  I think that is one of the worst benzo w/d sx when its super bad.  Literally, all sounds hurt.  It was unreal.  Just unreal.  I did not know if I could live through it.  I am so so so thankful it has improved, cant even tell you.  Severe hyperacusis is complete torture.

 

GOGA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Goga, I know you are worried that your T and H will never heal (me too :-\)  but maybe someone who has healed can tell us that they have healed. Anyone??? 

 

I have read that T completely healed for many people in  "success stories" .  I should have book marked them.  They did say it was the very last s/x too heal. 

 

Hope and patience is needed for T and H healing.

 

I hope you get better soon :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...