Your Hearing and Medications

Medications

According to the Government Accountability Office, only 1 to 10% of all adverse side effects are reported to the FDA.

In a case of notable regulatory short-sightedness, drug companies are only required to report adverse effects they deem “statistically significant.” Many medications cause hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), cognitive disorders and memory loss. These adverse reactions are not listed in the manufacturer’s “warnings of adverse side effects.”

THE LINK

It is well known that drugs and treatment that save the lives of patients with cancer cause permanent and irreversible hearing loss.

It is also known that many antibiotics and pain relieving, anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, Motrin, NSAIDs) damage the auditory system. It is less well known and rarely acknowledged, that drugs such as Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs directly affect hearing.

In addition, diuretics used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, statin medications to lower cholesterol and even many over-the-counter and herbal medications can cause hearing loss, balance disorders and severe tinnitus.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Get a baseline hearing test now. Bring a comprehensive list of the medications that you are taking. If you are associated with hearing, balance, tinnitus or dizziness, your audiologist will contact your doctor to discuss alternative medications that are not ototoxic.

Dr. Ronna Fisher, Au.D.
Founder & President
Hearing Health Center, Inc.

Ronna Fisher

Dr. Ronna Fisher, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA is the founder and president of Hearing Health Center, which she established in 1984 in memory of her father, who suffered from untreated hearing loss and died at 53. That personal loss has shaped her entire career. Under her leadership, Hearing Health Center has been voted the best hearing practice in Illinois three years in a row by Hearing Review. In 2005, she expanded her mission by founding the Fisher Foundation for Hearing Health Care, a nonprofit dedicated to making auditory care more accessible. Dr. Fisher earned her doctorate in audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists.

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