Xanax which is the tradename for alprazolam is an anti-anxiety drug used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks. There is some evidence that it can be effective at also reducing tinnitus anxiety and stress leading to alleviated tinnitus ringing. Xanax places the body into a less stressed state which can reduce the negative emotional response one connects to their tinnitus. As the suffer places less emphasis on the effects of their tinnitus, they become less aware and the brain processes the single just like any other background sound.  The user becomes habituated to their tinnitus.

A study in 1993 discovered that out of 17 tinnitus patients receiving Xanax for 12 weeks, 13 reported a reduction in tinnitus severity while only one patient in the placebo group of 20 people reported any reduction in noise.

Dr Jack Vernon, author of Tinnitus: Questions and Answers and one of the world’s foremost experts on tinnitus is a supporter of the use of Xanax as an effective treatment for tinnitus, especially when the tinnitus noise cannot be masked.

However, there are others that argue there is insufficient evidence that Xanax is an effective therapy for tinnitus. It cannot be directly prescribed by your doctor for tinnitus but can be administered for the anxiety caused by it. There are also a number of side effects including drowsiness, fatigue and the potential of physical dependency.

If medication is stopped without gradual reduction, there can be withdrawal symptoms ranging from rebound-anxiety to seizures. The severity of these withdrawal symptoms will generally intensify with increasing dosage and length of usage, but even short term users should be tapered off the medication gradually.