This article was requested via my tinnitus support group. Can benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety drugs such as diazepam) treat tinnitus, and what happens to your tinnitus if you stop taking benzodiazepines.
Firstly, there is no consensus on medication for tinnitus. Tinnitus has a wide range of types, symptoms, causes and effects, and it has effects that are very individual to people. There’s no one-size fits all medicine, and it has been extensively researched.
Anti-depressants* are routinely prescribed, not because they help the tinnitus necessarily, but because they can help the low mood and anxiety that can come with it. Dalrymple et al, 2021 gives a good explanation of why medications are or are not used/recommended specifically for tinnitus, but there is a wealth of quality studies that all conclude there is no “medicine for tinnitus”.
Benzodiazepines in particular are not a helpful long-term strategy. Not only have they not been found to be consistently helpful in reducing tinnitus ‘volume’ or distress, they can have serious unwanted effects, along with high probability of dependence (addiction) and tolerance.
For those who are currently prescribed benzodiazepines, there are questions on whether coming off them may help or worsen their tinnitus.
There are not many good (large, recent, controlled) studies on this subject, but from what I am reading, it looks like long-term benzodiazepines can cause new tinnitus, or worsen existing tinnitus when withdrawing from the drug. The tinnitus also seems to persist after withdrawal - these case studies are reporting tinnitus for many months after the patient stopped their medicine.
Laskey & Opitz, 2020
Single case report, 40yo male who was slowly tapered off clonazepam developed tinnitus at week 7 of the taper. There were other side effects too, but the tinnitus did seem to develop first. He continued to have tinnitus for months, even when he was returned to 75% of his original benzodiazepine dose.
Schweizer et al, 1990.
This is an old study, that found that 7/63 patients withdrawing from (at least 12 months of daily) benzodiazepines developed tinnitus. The authors noted that long half-life benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, were associated with tinnitus more often than shorter ones such as lorazepam.
Ashton, 1984
A very small study with a few patients on longer term (3-22 years) benzodiazepines, found that a) patients developed tinnitus and b) existing tinnitus got worse when tapering off.
Busto et al, 1988 was a 40 person study. This one was placebo controlled, and the group who came off benzodiazepines onto a placebo reported tinnitus more frequently than those who were tapered off.
With long- term users of benzodiazepines, it’s difficult to work out whether they would have acquired tinnitus during the treatment period. Perhaps the tinnitus was suppressed until the drug was withdrawn? That’s the sort of issue with these studies. If you had a group of 100 patients in their 20’s with no distress or tinnitus, randomly gave 50% diazepam for a year, 50% placebo, you would be able to conclude that diazepam was/wasn’t responsible. It’s not possible to justify doing such a study.
I also found a couple of placebo controlled case studies. These show tinnitus severity correlating with the amount of diazepam the doctor has reduced the patient by, which would add to the weight of evidence.
So, there are lots of caveat and not much solid evidence, but it certainly does look like a proportion (one study shows ~10%) of people coming off long-term benzodiazepines will get tinnitus as a side-effect of the withdrawal. It seems as though if there’s no other underlying cause, such as hearing loss, the tinnitus can gradually get better over several months and can be gone after a year.
My opinion on coming off benzodiazepines when you have tinnitus, is that:
Your doctor should be tapering you off very gradually, and you should adhere to their instructions.
You may be one of the unlucky ones who notices a temporary worsening of your tinnitus. This is more likely if you’ve been prescribed them for months/years, and it should settle down as time passes.
Statistics do not show what will happen to you, personally. If ~10% of people may have problems, it is more likely than not that you will be unaffected.
It is unlikely that benzodiazepines are genuinely helpful for tinnitus, therefore if you and your doctor are in agreement that you want to stop, it’s a positive step to come off them.
Given that tinnitus may worsen when withdrawing, now is the best time to look at proven methods of reducing tinnitus distress/severity. Ask your doctor about cognitive behavioural therapy for your tinnitus. If they are unable to help, consider seeking private treatment from a fully qualified** and experienced practitioner.
If you cannot find a practitioner who specialises in tinnitus CBT, consider my Active Habituation private consultation. This will look at your individual tinnitus, your personal triggers and how much of what you hear can be controlled by you. We will strip away any incorrect information and work out what will help you, personally. Armed with this information, you can make use of the general techniques that a good CBT practitioner will teach you.
©️ Sally Jackson BSc (Audiology), RHAD, MSHAA
Senior Audiologist
Hearing and Tinnitus Care
*Although there is no “medicine for tinnitus”, your doctor may recommend you try an anti-depressant. Such treatment can have an overall positive effect on you, by treating the depression and anxiety that can come along with tinnitus. I recommend all my patients be open-minded about this. If you feel you are being ‘fobbed off’, ask your doctor why they recommend it. Ask about other treatment options such as cognitive behavioural therapy, which has been proven to help improve tinnitus distress.
** The British Psychological Society have a register of qualified professionals.
©️ 2025
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