A lot of drugs have the potential to cause a variety of side effects. Some of these undesired side effects sometimes include conditions such as tinnitus (when you have a constant ringing within the ears) or a loss of hearing. In fact, and this may come as a surprise to you, but there are more than about 200 medications that have been linked to some sort of hearing loss and/or balance problems. This finding has been made by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
The medical term for this is known as ototoxicity. “Oto” implies the ear and “toxic” indicates that there is something harmful present.
Medications that are linked to loss of hearing
The extent to which you suffer from a loss of hearing and/or tinnitus will really completely depend on the drug you were taking, what dosage of the drug you took, and also the last factor that comes into play is how long you took the drug. Normally, the longer you took or are taking the drug, the more chances you have of developing this horrible condition, ototoxicity. The loss of hearing that you suffer as a result of this may be temporary or it can be permanent as well.
In the following few passages, we will take a more in-depth look at some of the more well-known cases of hearing loss that have been traced back to some drugs. If by chance, you are taking one or more of these drugs and are also experiencing a loss of hearing and other types of problems with balance, contact your doctor as soon as possible. Never stop medications without the strict supervision of a doctor. Oftentimes these medications need to be weaned off and just stopping taking them altogether can cause a lot of issues.
Hydroxychloroquine,Quinine, Chloroquine
Quinine has been used as a drug for treating malaria very often. The other two drugs that we mentioned here, hydroxychloroquine and also Chloroquine, are basically two drugs that are synthetic and mimic the structure of Quinine. These two are made use of in order to treat some autoimmune disorders such as lupus.
In 2020, the FDA approved the use of hydroxychloroquine in order to treat the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19. The safety and effectiveness of this drug in that regard are, however, moving targets.
All of the above-mentioned drugs, and also a few others, have been known to cause hearing loss that is temporary in nature and also caused tinnitus in a host of situations. This usually happened after these drugs were administered as a form of long-term treatment. This finding was made public by the American Academy of Audiology. Although it is very rare, there have also been instances where people who were using this drug for only a short time, also reported developing tinnitus and also hearing loss. The good news after having said all of the above is that the impact is generally quite temporary and they usually go away on their own when the person involved stops taking the drug.
Antibiotics
These are drugs that are specifically made use of for the treatment of infections that are bacterial. There happen to be a whole host of different types of these antibiotics. It is important to note, however, that a specific type of these antibiotics that go by the name of aminoglycosides are more generally linked to a loss of hearing. These antibiotics are generally prescribed in order to treat really serious infections such as meningitis. These antibiotics are usually the last resort when all other types of antibiotics have failed.
Chemotherapy drugs
One type of chemotherapy drug, known as Cisplatin, is quite regularly used in order to treat ovarian, bladder, and also testicular cancers which have spread throughout the body of the patient. Some of the types of hearing loss side effects that these chemo drugs have the potential to cause include vertigo, tinnitus, and also temporary as well as permanent damage to hearing. The stats regarding this drug is quite scary as about half of those who take it experience some sort of ototoxicity.
Pain relievers
Some of the more common pain relievers which can be found over-the-counter, such as acetaminophen and aspirin, also have the potential to cause loss of hearing. However, it is important to note that these side effects normally take place only after prolonged use of this drug at doses that are very high. These drugs have two types of medical names that are commonly associated with them and they are,”non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs”(NSAIDs) and “analgesics”. Studies have been able to determine that there happens to be a correlation between the consumption of these drugs and a loss of hearing. This was particularly applicable for men who are under the age of 60 and who used NSAIDs quite frequently.
Diuretics
These drugs are normally made use of in order to reduce the total amount of fluid that is present within the body. These drugs are prescribed in order to treat a whole host of conditions that include things such as glaucoma, edema, and also high blood pressure. These drugs also have the potential to sometimes cause a loss of hearing and also tinnitus. The reasons as to why this happens are as of yet, completely unknown.
Remember that Side Effects Can Never Be Predicted
It is very important that you understand that just because you may need to take one of these medications that you will lose the hearing abilities that you have. Remember, everyone reacts to medications much differently to each other and therefore, these unfortunate side effects can never be predicted. Remember that if you have made your hearing concerns known and have still been prescribed these medications, then that means that you have a health concern that takes precedence over your hearing at that point in time.
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