Medications that harm your hearing are remarkably common. From popular pain medicine to tinnitus medicine, learn which of them has an impact on your ears.
Your Ears Can be Impacted by Medicines
The US makes up almost half of the $500 billion dollar pharmaceutical market. Are you getting medications over-the-counter? Or are you taking ones that your doctor prescribes? All medications carry risk, and even though risks and side effects might be listed in the paperwork, no one ever thinks they’ll be impacted. So it’s important to point out that some medications increase the chance of having loss of hearing. On a more positive note, some medications, such as tinnitus treatments, can actually help your hearing. But how do you know which medications are safe and which are the medications will be harmful? And what to do if a doctor prescribes drugs that lead to loss of hearing? Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly on medications.
1. Your Ears Can be Hurt by Over-The-Counter PainKillers
The fact that such an ordinary thing could cause loss of hearing. How often loss of hearing took place in people who were using many different kinds of pain relievers was studied by researchers. This link is backed by several studies of both men and women. A collaborative study among Harvard, Brigham Young and Women’s Hospital found something surprising. Ongoing, day to day use of over-the-counter pain relievers impairs hearing. 2 or more times per week is described as regular use. You generally see this frequency in people with chronic pain. Temporary hearing loss can result from taking too much aspirin at once and eventually can become permanent. NSAID medications that contain ibuprofen, acetaminophen and naproxen appear to be the most prevalent. But you might be shocked to find the one with the strongest link. The culprit was acetaminophen. For men under 50 there’s nearly double the risk of hearing loss if they were treating chronic pain with this drug. Just for the record, prescription painkillers aren’t any better. Loss of hearing may be caused by the following:
- Fentinol
- Methadone
- Oxycodone
It’s unclear precisely what causes this loss of hearing. These drugs may lessen the flow of blood to your sensitive inner ear, which over time would kill nerves that pick up sound. That’s why extended use of these drugs could result in irreversible hearing loss.
2. Some Antibiotics Are Ototoxic
Most antibiotics are probably fairly safe when taken as directed and you’re not allergic. But the type of antibiotic known as Aminoglycoside might raise hearing loss. Research is in the preliminary stages so we haven’t seen reliable facts on human studies as of yet. But there certainly seem to be certain individuals who have noticed loss of hearing after using these medications. Results from animal-testing are persuasive enough. There could be something to be worried about as indicated by the medical community. Mice that were fed these antibiotics, over a period of time, eventually lost their hearing permanently, every single time. The following conditions are generally treated with Aminoglycoside antibiotics:
- Certain other respiratory diseases
- Bacterial meningitis
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Cystic fibrosis
In contrast to the majority of antibiotics, they’re usually used over a long term period of time to manage very persistent infections. Pneumonia and children’s ear infection were, until not long ago, typically treated by Neomycin. Alternatives are now being prescribed by doctors because of concerns about side effects. More investigation is needed to figure out why some antibiotics could contribute to hearing loss. It appears that long term damage might be caused when these drugs create swelling of the inner ear.
3. How Your Hearing is Affected by Quinine
You are aware of what quinine is if you’ve ever had a gin and tonic. Quinine is the key ingredient that creates the bitterness in tonic and is sometimes used to treat people with restless leg syndrome or malaria. While research that studies the correlation between quinine use and hearing loss aren’t that well-known. Reversible hearing loss has been observed in some malaria patients.
4. Chemo Drugs May Injure Your Hearing
When you go through chemo, you understand that there will be side-effects. Doctors are loading the body with toxins in order to kill cancer cells. Healthy cells and cancer are usually indistinguishable by these toxins. Some of the drugs that are under scrutiny at are:
- Cisplatin commonly known as Platinol
- Carboplatin commonly known as Paraplatin
- Bleomycin commonly known as Blenoxane
Unfortunately, chemo-induced hearing loss is an integral trade off when dealing with cancer. You might need to speak with your hearing care professional about monitoring your hearing while you’re going through cancer treatments. Or you may want to look into whether there are any recommendations we can make that may help in your individual situation.
5. Loop Diuretics and Hearing Loss
You could be using diuretics to help control the balance of fluids in your body. But the body can inevitably be dehydrated by taking it too far in one direction when trying to manage the problem with medication. This can lead to inflammation when salt vs water ratios get out of balance. This can cause hearing loss, which is typically temporary. But loss of hearing may become irreversible if you let this imbalance continue. The drugs listed in this article are ototoxic and if taken with loop diuretics could worsen permanent hearing loss. If you’re using the most common loop diuretic, Lasix, your doctor can advise you regarding which medications can have side effects if combined with it.
What to Do If You’re Using Drugs That Might Cause Loss of Hearing
Never discontinue using a drug that was prescribed by a doctor without talking to your doctor first. Note all of the medications you use and then consult your doctor. You can ask your doctor if there is an alternative to any drugs that trigger loss of hearing. You can also reduce your need for medications with some lifestyle changes. In certain cases, small changes to your diet and exercise routine can put you on a healthier path. These changes may also be able to reduce pain and water retention while fortifying your immune system. If you are or have ever used these ototoxic drugs, you should schedule an appointment to have your hearing evaluated as soon as you can. It can be hard to notice loss of hearing at first because it advances quite slowly. But make no mistake: you might not realize the ways it can influence your happiness and health, and you will have more options for treatment if you catch it early.