  This is a response to a recently reported comment [1] on paper [J. Math.
Phys.59, 082105 (2018)] regarding the quantization of damped harmonic
oscillator using a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with real energy eigenvalues. We
assert here that the calculation of Eq. (29) of [2] is incorrect, and thus the
subsequent steps via the Nikiforov-Uvarov method are affected, and the energy
eigenvalues should have been complex. However, we show here that the
Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian should be firstly achieved to make the correct
transition from classical Hamiltonian to quantum counterpart, and this can be
reached using the symmetrization rule. Applying the canonical quantization on
the resulted Hermitian Hamiltonian and then using the Nikiforov-Uvarov method
correctly, the energy eigenvalues will be real and exactly as given by Eq. (35)
of [2].
