Hello Barry,
I have tinnitus since May 2025. It started to go away but came back worse than ever in January 2026. I’ve been on Xanax for about 6-7 months. I was on 1.5 mg and now down to .5 mg and believe I experienced some withdraw symptoms from that.
I want to wean myself off of it completely so i plan to cut down to .25 mg and then stop. I’d like to see if your Tinnitus Formula would help as well as trying a melatonin product for sleep. I have a constant hissing sound in my ear and it’s not too bad at night but I wake up to it early in the morning and it stays with me most of the day.
Best regards,
Andrew H.
Dear Andrew,
Benzodiazepine medications such as Xanax are powerful and addictive medications. Withdrawing from benzos frequently causes the symptoms for which they were originally taken to worsen. This may be why your tinnitus came back worse. You must withdraw at a very slow rate.
It may be possible to substitute another benzodiazepine for the Xanax that has a longer half-life. Then slow withdrawal for the new substitute may be easier as it leaves the bloodstream faster. Your doctor will be able to determine if there is a good substitute with shorter half-life.
Arches Tinnitus Formula may well help during the withdrawal period. It is necessary to use this for 100 days minimum (four bottles) before you can gauge how effective it will be for you. Melatonin should also be helpful in keeping you asleep at night.
I hope you can find relief through a slow withdrawal and the use of Arches products.
Sincerely,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
This morning really frightened me. I woke up with my heartbeat throbbing in my left ear very loudly, which is normally not too bad. My right ear is screaming and whistling as I type this. I think my hearing is now being affected. I took a Xanax and the left ear subsided a bit but the right is very bad. Is this typical of tinnitus? I’ve had it for 20+ years and never came close to this morning’s event. It changes sound frequently but not to the extent of filling my whole head. How bad can it get?
Thank you,
Diane M.
Dear Diane,
I’m very sorry this happened; it must be frightening. Pulsatile tinnitus is due to turbulent blood flow in an artery or vein close to the cochlea. There are many possible causes of this, among which are; increased pressure on cerebrospinal fluid due to hypertension, atherosclerosis and hyperthyroidism. The proper specialist to see is a vascular surgeon who can examine the entire vascular system to find the cause.
The fact you took a Xanax and it helped may indicate hypertension as the cause of your pulsatile tinnitus.
You mention that your tinnitus changes sound frequently. I don’t know what this means. I don’t think you mean it changes frequency, probably just loudness. If it changes frequency, that is a different type of tinnitus. If it changes sound level often, it may be a form of somatic tinnitus. This is when signals from the body interfere with auditory signals and cause or worsen tinnitus. Somatic signals can originate in muscle spasm in the head or neck, dental problems or TMJ, where the jaw is misaligned with the skull at the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ). Any of these will cause tinnitus to fluctuate in intensity. It is also possible you may have slept differently last night and twisted your neck.
Stress is also a huge aggravator of tinnitus. If you can find ways reduce stress such as meditation or yoga or daily exercise you may find the sounds decrease.
I hope this is helpful and your bad morning improves greatly.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
Do you think that things we eat make tinnitus worse? I can’t figure it out. What are we supposed to eat now, and what will help spikes? And your formula; how does that work and how long will it take? Is it a permanent fix or I would have to take it forever?
Thanks,
Ron R.
Dear Ron,
Diet is very important for controlling tinnitus. Many people don’t know salt is a major aggravator of tinnitus and may be chowing down on salty snacks wondering why their tinnitus is spiking. Caffeine and alcohol are also known offenders. There are many other considerations that are discussed in this article on Diet and Tinnitus.
It takes about three full months to get the full benefit of Arches Tinnitus Formula. This is consistent with all dietary supplements used to relieve any condition. After tinnitus is reduced you must continue to use the Tinnitus Formula to keep it that way. Many people find they can reduce the dosage of the Tinnitus Formula after the first three months and still get good results. This depends on the individual. We have a detailed article on the science behind Arches Tinnitus Formula and how it works to minimize symptoms.
Since it takes up to three months to get the full benefit, we recommend Arches Tinnitus Starter Kit, a three-month supply. It requires four bottles of the Tinnitus Formula. You can purchase these individually but there is a significant cost saving by purchasing the entire Starter Kit. Plus, you won’t run the danger of running out during the initial period.
I hope this is helpful for you and answers your questions.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
On the advice of my neurologist, I’m trying Arches Tinnitus Formula. Hopefully, I’ll obtain some relief.
As we’ve discussed previously, my T started on withdrawal from venlafaxine, an antidepressant. The tinnitus doctors I’ve consulted seem fairly convinced the chance that venlafaxine was the ultimate cause is minimal, despite the literature available on venlafaxine-related tinnitus.
In discussing with them, they still believe continued use of antidepressant SSRI’s, continued use of klonopin, or tricyclic antidepressants (TCA’s) such as nortriptyline, would benefit me with regard to if not tinnitus, then depression.
A few questions:
– I believe you have opined, and I tend to agree, that SSRI’s can, and often are, associated with increased tinnitus. Is that true, and why do you think this position is not widely held by tinnitus professionals in the medical community?
– The latest expert has indicated that, in the remote chance that SSRI’s do aggravate tinnitus, any resulting increase would likely abate over a couple of months and no increase in damage would likely be permanent. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Lee
Dear Lee,
I cannot get in a controversy with your doctors or explain why they don’t think SSRI anti-depressants are associated with tinnitus. The Physician’s Desk Reference, which all of them have, lists tinnitus as a frequent side effect of SSRI anti-depressants. In the case of Effexor, it states that 2% of people will develop tinnitus and some cases happen during withdrawal. I hear of many, many people like you who either got their tinnitus from taking these medications or from withdrawing from them.
Technically, Effexor is an SSNRI (selective serotonin and norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors) which has all the standard side-effects of SSRI anti-depressants.
SSRI anti-depressants are very dangerous for other reasons. They fool the brain into thinking there is adequate serotonin so the brain stops manufacturing it. When these people then try to withdraw from SSRI’s, they crash and crash hard. It is its own type of addiction and I know many people who are totally unable to get off them. They will remain taking them for life. The same is true for benzodiazepines, including Klonopin. They fool the brain into thinking there is plenty of GABA so the brain stops making that as well. The benzos are very addicting and should only be used for a short period of time.
Some people may be able to benefit from SSRI’s and I don’t totally condemn them. I do think they are very overused when other options exist. Please read my article on serotonin and then go to the link within that article to Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome.
My thinking has evolved some since I wrote the serotonin article. I now think 5-HTP may be a better supplement than Tryptophan. Tryptophan breaks down into several metabolites including 5-HTP and 5-HTP is the direct precursor of serotonin. It may take some time but I recommend 5-HTP taken for several months. It is very inexpensive and there are no side-effects.
Hopefully this will be helpful for you.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Dear Barry,
My mother had a “train” in her ear… She went to an ENT and he put a tube up her nose and much to her surprise the train was gone! The MD told her she was good for 25 years. Are there any ENTs out there who still use tubes? I cannot find one and would like one to try it on me. I have tinnitus in both ears, since 1990 and it is just awful. The pitch changes and I’ve even had it stop in one ear for seconds, so something happens to make it stop. if I could only figure out what that is I’d be a pretty happy camper! Know of an ENT who uses tubes?
Thanks,
Irene P.
Dear Irene,
I don’t know of any ENTs who use tubes anymore because they have better treatments available. What the tubes do is help to drain the sinuses and the Eustachian tube. This is effective for those with plugged Eustachian tubes. It sounds like this might be the case with you. I advise you to see an ENT specialist for this.
Common treatments today are use of a prescription nasal spray and an antihistamine. This works for most people. For those in whom it is ineffective, the physician will then insert a tube through the ear drum and drain the Eustachian tube this way. They are able to correct the plugged Eustachian tubes in 80-90% of people with these measures. This condition is known as conductive hearing loss and it frequently causes tinnitus.
Please see our overview of hearing loss.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
I’ve had tinnitus for over six years and I’m getting increasingly sensitive to loud “everything;” amplified music, loud speakers, clanking dishes and pots are the worst. They can bring me to my knees.
What is this called when the brain interferes with the ability to mitigate or dampen sound to something that is tolerable? My sensitivity is getting worse. I’ve worked with a doctor at a dizziness and hearing clinic and have given up on doing anything other than avoiding noise and wearing my Etymotic ear plugs whenever I need them. I even wear them in the steam room at my health club. Steam can be very loud.
Thanks, Tom L.
Dear Tom,
I’m sorry you have developed this condition. It is called hyperacusis and is the result of the brain not responding properly to incoming signals which causes loudness tolerance to collapse.
Wearing ear plugs to prevent hyperacusis from worsening is false security. Ear plugs can actually make hyperacusis worse. The practice allows people to develop a fear of sound and noise. The proper way to desensitize the ears is to provide them with sound therapy which will improve the threshold for sound tolerance over time. There are two primary ways to do this. One is with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy and the other is with pink noise. Both of these take time but they are effective in reducing hyperacusis.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
How can I tell if the ringing in my ears is from sinus or ear problems?
Thanks,
Chris A.
Dear Chris,
Thanks for sending in this question. It is a very important one and deserves a close look.
Hearing loss is most likely the cause of your tinnitus. There are two types of hearing loss: conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is not conducted through the eardrum and the small bones in the middle ear to the cochlea. The most common causes of conductive hearing loss are: fluid in the middle ear from colds, allergies or infection; otosclerosis, perforated eardrum, or impacted earwax.
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea or to the auditory nerves that connect the inner ear to the brain. This happens in the majority of cases of hearing loss. The most prevalent causes of sensorineural hearing loss are: noise exposure, ototoxic drugs, viruses, various diseases, head trauma, aging and tumors.
The two can be distinguished by means of an audiogram which shows examples from fluid build-up in the middle ear, age-related hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss. It clearly shows the differences in these three conditions.
So, you can tell what is happening by visiting an ear doctor or an audiologist and have a hearing test conducted. Then you can look at treatment options.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hello Barry!
I recently found an Arches pamphlet among my ENT papers from a few years ago after having sinus surgery. I picked it up because I have had tinnitus for some years and it hasn’t been too horrible. Recently I developed a pretty bad case of shingles (I’m only 42 by the way) while recovering from discectomy for a herniated disc and fusion of my c5-7 vertebrae.
The shingles affected my right ear and now I have hearing loss and intense tinnitus. It is horrible and is negatively impacting life. I will be ordering your product soon.
Have you come across any studies, success with your product, or anything useful about improvement in tinnitus caused from Shingles. I am currently half way through a strong month-long prescription of the steroid prednisone from my ENT in hopes of repairing and preserving my nerve.
Thanks, in advance for any insight.
Theresa I.
Dear Theresa,
I’m terribly sorry this happened to you but there is good news. Shingles is not a permanent problem and begins to scab over and clear up in 3 to 5 weeks. It definitely causes hearing loss and tinnitus but as the infection ebbs, hearing loss and tinnitus generally do also. About 95% of people who experience hearing loss due to shingles will have complete recovery of their hearing and tinnitus should abate.
Taking Arches Tinnitus Formula (ATF) should help this process along. Our higher potency Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo Max 26/7 in ATF is known to help prevent damage to the cochlea and auditory nerve and should help in recovery. It should also calm the auditory nerve and lead to reduced tinnitus.
I wish you a speedy recovery and hope Arches Tinnitus Formula is a great help for you.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
I have had tinnitus for about a year now. I have been taking Paxil for many years, so I don’t think it’s from the Paxil. Recently I found out that I have a toxic level of cobalt in my system from a metal on metal hip replacement. Once I get a revision done and the cobalt is gone will the tinnitus get better or is it irreversible?
I thank you for any information you can find out for me. Sometimes I feel like it is driving me crazy.
Thanks,
Gayle P.G.
Dear Gayle,
I did a little research and found that cobalt does indeed cause hearing loss and tinnitus. Cobalt can be chelated out of the system. Perhaps that is what you mean by a revision. There is no research I can find about whether or not tinnitus is reduced after chelation, or revision. If you have sensorineural hearing loss from the cobalt, this means nerve damage and is probably permanent. One way to find out is by having an audiologist give you a hearing test. Audiograms can tell if the hearing loss is there and, if so, if it is sensorineural or caused by something else. Our article, Hearing Loss: An Overview will show you how the audiograms differ and what they mean.
Even if it is sensorineural hearing loss, there are many therapies that can be helpful. Millions of us have this condition. I developed sensorineural hearing loss from loud noise in the military and have had tinnitus for the last 50 years. Most people adapt to a certain degree and over time the tinnitus doesn’t bother them as much. Please know that the stress caused by tinnitus is the greatest aggravator of it and will always make it worse. If stress can be reduced, tinnitus is reduced.
Helpful therapies include acupuncture, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, biofeedback and hypnotherapy. You can read about these therapies in our Tinnitus Library. There is a search engine there where you can look up the articles.
Arches Tinnitus Formula was developed specifically for tinnitus caused by sensorineural hearing loss and has been clinically shown to be helpful for the great majority of these patients. It can be used in conjunction with any of the above therapies. It takes up to three months to get the full benefit of the product so we recommend the Arches Tinnitus Starter Kit, a three-month supply.
Another article, The Science Behind the Product discusses the exact scientific basis of Arches Tinnitus Formula and how it works.
I hope this is helpful for you and you can reduce the sound level.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
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