by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
As many of you know, I am not a fan of taking prescription drugs, especially when there are safer alternatives, and almost always, there are safer alternatives. These safer alternatives will not only save your ears from the ototoxic side effects of the drugs, but they can also save your life.
“A recently published study in the United Kingdom has found a more than threefold increase in risk of death in those using tranquilizers or sleeping pills compared with people not using these drugs. The results were similar to those of a study published two years ago examining sleeping pill use in people in the United States, which found a more than threefold greater risk of dying in people using these drugs compared with a control group not using them.” (1)
In this study of approximately 35,000 people who used tranquilizers, 47% used benzodiazepines and 14% used the “Z” drugs.
Benzodiazepines include drugs such alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clonazepam (Klonopin), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), estazolam (ProSom), flurazepam (Dalmane), lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam (Versed), oxazepam (Serax), temazepam (Restoril) and triazolam (Halcion) among others.
Z-drugs include zopiclone (Imovane), and its close derivative eszopiclone (Lunesta), zoleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien).
Researchers found that in the first year after the study began, “the overall risk of death for those using these drugs was 3.3 times greater than the risk for non-users. Increased doses of drugs further increased the risk of death.” (1)
The benzodiazepines increased the risk of death 3.7 times while the “Z” drugs 3.2 times. (1) Did you get that? According to this study, taking benzodiazepines increases your risk of death 370%, not to mention all the ototoxic (and other) side effects you will have to deal with.
This is a pretty serious side effect, considering that an effective alternative in dealing with your anxiety is by talking to someone about it.
I’m not the only one that says this. “British doctors who have written about nondrug alternatives for the treatment of mild to moderate anxiety (and similar problems) say that:
‘The best treatment is likely to be brief counseling provided by a general practitioner or another professional. Such counseling need not be intensive or specially skilled. It should always include careful assessment of the causes of the patient’s distress. Once these have been identified, anxiety may often be reduced to tolerable levels by means of explanation, exploration of feelings, reassurance, and encouragement.’
What else can be done? Talking to non-medical people—a friend, a spouse, a relative, a member of the clergy—may help to identify causes of anxiety and potential solutions. Gathering the courage to talk about difficult concerns would generally be a better solution than taking pills.” (1)
So there you have it. Start looking for effective, natural alternatives to drug use. Then you’ll never have to worry about the ototoxic side effects of drugs, and in the process, you may even save your life, and that is definitely worth it!
If you want to look up the ototoxic side effects of the benzodiazepines or the Z-drugs if you are considering taking them, see my book Ototoxic Drugs Exposed 3rd edition. This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 877 drugs, 35 herbs and 148 chemicals.
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(1) New Study Shows Increased Risk of Death with Sleeping Pills and Tranquilizers. Worst Pills, Best Pills News. July, 2014, Vol. 20. No. 7.
Hi Neil, it’s now 10 days since i stopped that 3 day use of Venlafaxine and the increased tinnitus is still here. Now, i’ve read on the the internet there is a drug called Keppra, which might help. It’s an anti-seizure medication. Should i try risking or not? I don’t seem to be able to cope.
I intend to start with 250 mg twice a day and upp the dose to 500 mg twice a day.
Hi Christian:
You’ve had “damage”–tinnitus and ear pain–from taking Venlafaxine. Why would you want to take another drug–Levetiracetam (Keppra) that can also cause those same symptoms, not to mention hearing loss, and all sorts of balance and other problems to try to “cure” it. You are just compounding the risk of making things worse and worse.
In my opinion, drugs are the CAUSE of the problems, NOT the cure. That is why I keep telling you to learn to ignore your tinnitus. If you want to take something that won’t hurt your ears (or the rest of your body) and have a likelihood of helping with your tinnitus, I’d suggest getting a three-month supply of Arches tinnitus formula which contains a therapeutic dose of ginkgo biloba. (Note: almost none of the ginkgo supplements on the market contain a therapeutic dose so are basically worthless. Arches tinnitus formula is on of the exceptions.) You can read more about it and get it at https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/ginkgo-max-26-7-for-tinnitus-treatment/.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you Neil for your help. I won’t bother taking drugs and go instead buy Gingko and Taurine, i’ve heard the latter can also help.
Hi Christian:
Sounds like a better plan. Be aware that Taurine works in some people, not all. One study showed it only helped 12%, not a very high percentage. It seems you have to take around 1,000 mg 3 times a day for up to three months before you’ll notice any changes in your tinnitus–so if you take Taurine and/or Ginkgo, be prepared to persevere for at least 3 months before expecting results.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr Neil, I have tinnitus in the right ear. I have mild hearing loss in that ear. I have been taking Ambien, 5mg for the last 15 years. The tinnitus started four years ago and went away last year but came back after a Covid infection in November. Due to the anxiety it has caused, I now take .25mg of Clonazepam as needed, usually three times a week.
Do you think Ambien caused my tinnitus after 15 years of taking it?
Can Clonazepam also make the problem worse?
It is the only thing that helps me when I am having a very bad tinnitus day..,
Hi Patricia:
I doubt the Zolpidem (Ambien) caused your current tinnitus since your tinnitus had gone away for a year or so.
I think your tinnitus is related to your COVID infection. COVID (and the COVID vaccines) can both cause tinnitus. This seems the most likely scenario.
Your anxiety can make your tinnitus worse.
Taking Clonazepam (Klonopin), even semi-regularly is not a good idea as you can become dependent on it–much like an addiction–making it very hard to stop taking this drug without worse side effects appearing. Note that hundreds and hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking Clonazepam.
Instead of taking such drugs, you’d be better off in my opinion to learn how to control your anxiety, and also learn how to successfully deal with your tinnitus. When you do this, you won’t need to take any drugs for it.
Cordially,
Neil
I have recently been blaming my tinnitus on crestor. I went off crestor and I was getting better. Then I recently traveled some and I take Xanax when I fly. So I took about 5 pills over a course of about 9 days. That is when my tinnitus spiked like crazy. Could the Xanax have caused that with just a few pills. I just saw this on your website. I didn’t know this medicine could be linked to tinnitus. Thank you so much for helping me.
Hi Pam:
All the psychotropic drugs can cause ear problems including tinnitus. Many, many people have reported getting tinnitus from taking Alprazolam (Xanax). And one of the nasty tricks of taking benzodiazepines such as Xanax is that when you try to get off the drug, you are hit with severe tinnitus. So you can get tinnitus from taking the drug or from getting off it. Not nice.
I take it that you are anxious when you fly. Rather than taking a drug like Xanax, I’d suggest learning various relaxing breathing and other exercises that you can practice anywhere and anytime including in airports and on planes.
Cordially,
Neil