Many people don’t realize that there are more than 200 known ototoxic medications on the market today that can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss—-and some are over-the counter meds that are probably in your medicine cabinet.
A great deal of attention has been focused on the problem of over-medication and side affects that often accompany the use of prescription meds. But here’s one concern that has yet to receive the same scrutiny: the problem of ototoxic drugs that temporarily—or permanently—damage hearing. Rarely are there warnings on drug labels for this unintended consequence.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston have found there are more than 200 known ototoxic medications on the market today. They include some over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (the generic name for Tylenol) and ibuprofen, as well as prescriptions ranging from certain antibiotics to chemotherapy drugs. During its research, the team found in two separate studies that taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen regularly – two days per week or more – resulted in a higher risk of hearing loss in both men and women. Even some ear drops used for ear infections contain antibiotics called aminoglycosides, like neomycin, which are known to cause hearing loss when taken intravenously.
Of course, when it comes to certain life-threatening conditions such as cancer, a degree of hearing loss may be an acceptable trade-off when using chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin or carboplatin, which are known to cause hearing loss. A good practice for our hearing loss patients is that whenever you are prescribed a new medication to ask your doctor, “what are the risks of this medication to my hearing?”