Cant sleep at night for the constant horrific screeching in my ear .

High Tanney,

Can i ask if your taking ativan for meniere'rs ?

I used to take Ativan years forty years ago i cant remember

the dosage but i remember that they where strong and hard to

get off..so maybe there different now.. i'v mentioned this to emma

as i feel she needs to be aware..the dose you mention probably

would be safe but ativan did have a bad reputation back in my day..

When i was younger 20 or so i was was perscribed ativan we used

to have a guy living with us who stole about 15 ativan from me

he then went on to sell them to the local bikers in the pud we used

yeah you guessed it ..they where falling of there bikes if that wasn't

bad enough they where comming back for more..lol...take care...

Stephen and those who have concerns about Ativan.....0.5 to 1.0mg is a tiny amount. Taken when needed will not cause addiction or other side effects.   My ENT who specializes in inner ear diseases and my psychiatrist treating me for MD caused anxiety and panic attacks recommend Ativan at these low doses.  I've had great success with Ativan in lowering tinnitus level and ear fullness and anxiety just with the low dose.  I only take the Ativan when needed which is usually once or twice a week when things are quite annoying.  It's worth discussing with you doctor.  Historically I've been to 4 ENT and they all prescribed Ativan for MD flairups.  Good luck.

Hello Tanney,

Thanks for clearing that up (safe in small doses),

I was in a bad way when i took it, i was on it for 4 yrs,

It was also prescribed for a an anxiety disorder but i can't

remember the dosage only that i had to take it every day

and if i missed a day i would feel awful and shaky..

i hope you don't think i was criticising you as i was only

making the group aware of what there taking

and to ask there doctor.. 

i take propranolol for anxiety there a betablocker...

sorry to hear you also go through panic attacks

take care...

Hi Tanney

I saw my GP today and he is aware of my plight with the screeching in my ear .He prescribed Temazepam 30 mg when the noise becomes too much at night  Its only for night time when I cant hack any more. The pharmacist told me its an antidepressant and an anxiety drug. Side affect drowsiness  go figure

I mean the whole idea is to be able to fall asleep. I dont suffer from anxiety and definitely not depression although I must admit when I cant sleep night after night I definitely get stressed out

Trust me I always keep busy that's my nature  (right now I am renovating my upstairs bedroom ) and for the most part can ignore the noise  but at night it seems to increase in volume and drives me crazy

I will mention Activan to my Doctor . It seems like a good way to tone the noise down Thanks Tanney for sharing

When you take activan how long does the effect last.

I just looked up my husbands anxiety prescription and realized its Activan.

He was only given the prescription today so he has not taken any so far he also suffers from tennitis  but does not have MD like I have

So I guess we will both try again thanks

I have AFIBB and a leaky heart valve along with MD .

For my AFIBB my cardiologist prescribed xarelto to prevent clotting and metoprolol to slow down my heart rate.

As you probably know Propranolol and metoprolol are both the same family of beta blockers used to slow down the heart rate. Anxiety causes your heart to beat faster therefore a beta blocker like the ones I mentioned slows and calms your heart and often relieves anxiety  I dont suffer from anxiety my cardiologist just does not want my heart to work so hard , but

I can see how this would help with anxiety. my husband finds it helps him with his anxiety

my issue is the unbearable noise in the ear I should mention that I have suffered from AFIBB and have had several strokes one very bad one for many years but MD is new to me it has only been less than a year . This is what I am trying to deal with, and its driving me crazy I am thankful for all the help I can get. take care and God Bless you all

Hello Anna - lise,

I'm sorry to hear of your heart condition and that you'v

had strokes it must be awful for you,

you said you was doing renovation to a bedroom i hope

your aware of the dust paint fumes i'm in the building trade

I was a plasterer and no first hand of pulpitations from the 

dust of plaster saw dust and may be atributed to my C.O.P.D

It can certainly cause stress especialy if your working hard

as you breath in all the nastys ..I'd suggest useing a mask

and not to push your self to hard to get it done..

Your doctor new or not should no whats best to treat your

condition so you should him/her before taking anything..

I'm very surprised you don't have a anxiety or depression

problem keeping busy seems to work for you but you must

be aware of your limitations..as i said i was a plasterer

and its a very stressful job as you have to work to the plasters

going off..I used to work really hard so as to be so tired i

would fall asleep but all it really done was make my mind

over active and done nothing for my anxiety condition.

now i'm more into calming my mind with meditation and 

breathing exercises..it might help you to deal with stress

but ask your doctor first..hope this helps ..god bless.. 

or doing any  

Regarding frequency of using Ativan.....I believe most ENT suggest no more than twice/day and only until things settle down....usually takes me a day to notice improvements.  I take 0.5mg which I believe is the lowest dose available.  One pill usually takes about 20 minutes to "kick in"....as mentioned earlier.....put it under your tongue until it dissolves....it works quicker this way.  It's hard to tell how long the improved effects last...in my case once the tinnitus settles down I'm good for a week or so.....or at least a few days.  Of course everyone is different. 

Ativan can be addictive but at much higher doses than necessary for MD relief.  I've had MD for 40 years in my left ear and 1 1/2 years in my right ear.  I've had gentamicin injections, intratympanic steroid injections, allergy shots and I'm currently on Betahistine (16mg x 3), and diuretics (50mg/day).....so I've been through it all except for major surgery.  If anyone wishes to discuss any of the above with me in more detail please send personal message and I'll be glad to write or call you. 

It's great that we have such an involved community at this site.  I think I speak on behalf of all of us that the more info we have and the more we can talk to others who have maybe more experience with this terrible disease the greater our ability becomes to handle, manage and survive all of this.

So I tried 1mg of activan  and  did not feel any lowering of the tinnitus. the next day I thought it had lowered the volume but not sure. 

then the following day it drove me crazy so I took 2mg and half an hour later felt the tinnitus was sooo much more quiet.

it lasted a couple of days Now I know it is addictive but just a few days of quiet was worth it

so now I will only take 2mg when it really becomes more than I can handle.

I will also talk to my doctor when he comes back from his holidays in 3 weeks about Betahistine 

Its nice to be able to talk on a forum where folks have an idea of what we are going through           God Bless all of you

Hope your well,

I have an air filtrater that sounds like a cross between

running water and the iss of a radiator that distracks me..

I use it for C.O.P.D..the sounds of water are really soothing

to me even when its raining being wrapped up warm in

bed is great but some people the water sounds send them straight to

the toilet...