From the article: Ototoxic Drugs
Many drugs have a risk of ototoxicity, and they range from antibiotics to drugs used to treat cancer. Being "ototoxic" means the drug may cause hearing loss as one of its side effects. The ototoxic link may be proven or only suspected.
If you have lost your hearing due to an ototoxic drug, were you made aware of this risk before taking the drug? What would you recommend other people ask their doctors if they are prescribed an ototoxic drug?
Learn more about causes of hearing loss.
Amikacin for TB
- Good day. I was diagnosed with a MDR Tuberculosis in my right ear. I had to take Amikacin as it is part of the MDR treatment. I lost some of the hearing in my left ear and most of the hearing in my right ear. I also suffer from a tinnitus, but tinnitus training has helped me a lot.
- —Guest Annelize
Streptomycin
- I was 2 years old with ruptured appendix and they gave me Streptomycin. This was is 1965. I lost 60% of my hearing. Apparently this Streptomycin affected thousand of others in the 1960's too.
- —ajj_la
Childhood Antibiotics
- I was 4 yrs old, living in SoCal (1944-1945) when I contacted Chickenpox and Measles, back to back. I was in pre-school. The Doctor administered an overdose of antibiotics, which caused a slow loss of hearing, culminating in a total loss at the age of 21. No one traced the cause of hearing loss back to that situation; no one had much of a clue what had happened. I figured it out myself back sometime in the '90s.
- —4getfulmare
Multiple Drugs
- The otoxic drugs have caused additional hearing loss which included an increase in my Tinnitus. Due to having 3 disc problems in my back the pain doctor put me on Lyrica. After the first week I noticed my hearing became weaker. By the 3 week I could barely hear with my aids on. I called the doctor and told him the side affect I was having and told him I was coming off of it. It took 5-6 weeks for my hearing to improve but never came back to where it was before. I was having pain in a limp nod and the PA put me on Tramadol an RX pain killer. I took one pill and loss hearing in both ears and the hearing never returned. Since I knew the 3 ED drugs were bad for hearing I ordered an all natural drug for my ED. I ued it one time and again another hearing loss. I was getting terrified trying any drugs. Due to my good cholestorol being low my PA put me on Fish Oil with Omega 3 in it to help raise it up to normal. Again one pill and another loss. I have severe/pround loss hearing loss.
- —Guest Joe Risha
