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Description and Possible Medical Problems

Sometimes when a midlife adult complains of hearing loss or a low, constant buzzing and his physician comes up empty-handed, the diagnosis is simpler than either one may have thought.

It’s ironic, but sometimes a drug that is used to treat an ear infection can actually contribute to heating loss. Several kinds of drugs are notorious for inducing a temporary hearing loss that’s usually accompanied by buzzing.

To determine if your hearing loss is due to medication, go through the following checklist:

1. Do I take a lot of aspirin?

2. Has my doctor recently prescribed an antibiotic to treat another illness?

3. Do I frequently take diuretics to control my weight?

If you answered yes to any of these questions and you’ve recently had a noticeable loss of hearing, it’s possible that the medications—both over the counter and prescription—are responsible.

Treatment

Though three classes of dtugs—diuretics, antibiotics, and aspirin—are among the most commonly used and prescribed, they can be exttemely toxic to the eat, or ototoxic. The inner ear is affected since these drugs can damage the tiny hairs and other parts of the inner ear. The ensuing hearing loss, especially in the elderly, may be irreversible. And patients who already have substantial hearing loss shouldn’t be prescribed these ototoxic drugs at all.

Fortunately, less toxic formulations of these drugs are available, so if you’ve had any problems with your hearing in the past, be sure to alert your doctor before he prescribes these medications.

Special Mention for the Elderly

Elderly people with chronic health problems frequently visit several different doctors, who may not always be aware of the medications their colleagues are prescribing. Even though one may prescribe a low-toxicity antibiotic, if another doctor prescribes a similar medication for a separate condition, the combination might be enough to permanently damage an adult’s hearing.

Make sure that each doctor you or an elderly family member sees knows about all the medications that are being taken.

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