Clonazepam in the Pharmacological Treatment of Vertigo and Tinnitus
Mauricio Malavasi Ganança, Heloisa Helena Caovilla, Fernando Freitas
Ganança, Cristina Freitas Ganança, Mário Sérgio Lei
Munhoz, Maria Leonor Garcia da Silva, and Flávio Serafini
Division of Neurootology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative
Disorders, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina,
São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract:
We carried out a retrospective survey of 25 years of clinical experience with
the use of clonazepam as a vestibular and tinnitus suppressant in the pharmacological
treatment of vestibular or cochleovestibular disorders due to different causes.
We reviewed the medical records of 3,357 outpatients treated with a 0.5- or 1.0-mg
daily dosage of oral clonazepam during 60 - 180 days. Complete or substantial
control of vertigo or nonvertiginous dizziness was achieved in 77.4% of the vertigo
patients. Tinnitus was improved in 32.0% of the tinnitus patients. Light or mild
drowsiness, depression, nightmares, or lowering of libido, reported by 16.9% of
the patients as adverse side effects, tended to subside with continued therapy.
We concluded that clonazepam is a very useful and safe drug for the symptomatic
treatment of patients suffering from cochleovestibular disorders.
Key Words:
clonazepam; tinnitus; treatment; vertigo