When you begin on a course of medication, it’s natural to want to be informed about any possible side effects. Can it cause digestive issues? Will it cause dehydration? Cause sleeplessness? You may not even be aware of some of the more impactful side effects, such as hearing loss. Many different medications are known to cause this condition which medical professionals call ototoxicity.
Specifically how many drugs are there that can result in this issue? Well, there are numerous medications recognized to cause an ototoxic response, but just how many is still rather unclear. So, which ones do you need to watch out for and why?
What to know about ototoxicity
How can a pill wreak havoc on your hearing after you take it? Your hearing can be harmed by medication in three distinct places:
- The cochlea: That’s the seashell-shaped component of the inner ear that takes sound and translates it into an electrical signal that the brain can understand. When the cochlea is damaged, you will begin to lose some frequencies of sound, particularly in the high-frequency range.
- The vestibule of the ear: The cochlea is like a labyrinth, and sitting right in the center is the vestibule of the ear. It helps regulate balance. Vestibulotoxicity medications can cause you to get dizzy or feel like the room is spinning.
- The stria vascularis: Situated in the cochlea, the stria vascularis produces endolymph, the fluid in the inner ear. Too much or too little endolymph has a substantial impact on both hearing and balance.
Do different drugs have different threat levels?
The checklist of drugs which can result in temporary or permanent hearing loss may surprise you. Many of them you likely have in your medicine cabinet even now, and it’s likely that you take them before you go to bed or when you’re dealing with a headache.
Over-the-counter pain medications like the following top the list:
- Naproxen
- Ibuprofen
Aspirin, also called salicylates, is on this list too. The hearing issues due to these drugs are generally reversible when you stop taking them.
Antibiotics are a close second for well-known ototoxic drugs. You might have heard of some of these:
- Kanamycin
- Tobramycin
- Streptomycin
Tinnitus can also be triggered by a number of common compounds
Hearing loss can be the outcome of some drugs and others might trigger tinnitus. If you hear phantom sounds, that might be tinnitus and it typically shows up as:
- A whooshing sound
- Popping
- Thumping
- Ringing
Specific diuretics will also trigger tinnitus, here are a few of the primary offenders:
- Tonic water
- Caffeine
- Marijuana
- Nicotine
Each and every time you drink your coffee or black tea in the morning, you are subjecting your body to something that could make your ears ring. Luckily, once the diuretic has cleared your system, the ringing should recede. Ironically, some medications doctors prescribe to treat tinnitus are also on the list of potential causes such as:
- Amitriptyline
- Lidocaine
- Prednisone
After you discontinue the medication, the symptoms should go away, and your doctor will be there to help you with anything you may need to know.
There are very distinct symptoms with an ototoxic reaction
Depending on what specific medications you’re taking and the health of your hearing, your particular symptoms will differ.
Be on guard for:
- Difficulty walking
- Blurred vision
- Poor balance
- Vomiting
- Hearing loss on one or both sides
- Tinnitus
Keep yourself informed by always consulting your physician about the potential side effects of a medication, don’t hesitate to ask about ototoxicity. Contact your doctor right away if you experience any tinnitus symptoms that might have been caused by an ototoxic reaction.
Also, schedule a hearing examination with us, a baseline hearing test is a practical measure that can help you preserve good hearing health throughout your life.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7985331
