Are you really going deaf, or is it a drug you’re taking?

Maybe you’re getting tired of cranking up the TV volume just so you can hear your favorite show.

Or sitting out conversations with friends and family because you’re only catching a few words here and there.

But sooner or later it hits you. You’re losing your hearing and it’s time to do something about it.

Well, before you schedule a test at your doctor’s office or start flipping through brochures for hearing aids, there’s something else I want you to flip through first.

Your medicine cabinet.

Because certain types of drugs, including some of the most widely used on the market, can steal your hearing without you or your doctor ever realizing it.

It’s a drug side effect that almost nobody is talking about.

But learning how to spot the symptoms — and which drugs may be causing them — just may help you save your hearing.

Before it’s too late.

Up to your ears in trouble 

We’ve all been conditioned to believe that hearing loss is just a natural part of aging.
And in many cases, it is.

But one of the greatest threats to your hearing is the increasing number of meds that seniors take.

As we’re now finding out, lots of drugs — more than 450, according to one estimate — are “ototoxic” That means they can disrupt the delicate mechanism by which sounds are transmitted from our ears to our brains.

And because this side effect has only recently been discovered, it’s usually not listed on medication labels.

Even worse, lots of these drugs that can cause hearing loss (I’ll show you how to get a full list in a moment) are popular meds that are being taken by millions of people — maybe even you or someone you love — right now. For example:

• “Erectile dysfunction” meds, including such popular brands as Viagra and Cialis, have been known to cause sudden deafness — especially in one ear. And it may be irreversible. (So much for those “sweet nothings” whispered in your ear — because nothing is exactly what you may end up hearing.)
• OTC painkillers, which can have adverse effects on your hearing when taken frequently or over an extended period. And that goes for the entire range of such meds, including ibuprofen, acetaminophen, (Tylenol) and naproxen (Aleve), as well as aspirin, which can cause temporary hearing loss. And how many Americans have been taking a daily aspirin for years?
• Certain types of antibiotics –especially those in the “mycin” family known as aminoglycosides, as well as Cipro and Lavequin. The resulting hearing loss may be either reversible or permanent, depending on the particular drug involved.

The reasons these drugs cause hearing loss isn’t always clear. But it appears some of them may be harmful to cochlear hairs in the inner ear, which help convert sounds into nerve impulses that travel to our brains.

Drug-induced ear damage can also result in tinnitus — that ringing, buzzing or whooshing in your ear — as well as dizziness or vertigo, due to the inner ear’s involvement in helping you maintain your balance. Either of these problems can accompany hearing loss — or can be a sign that it’s about to strike.

Of course, even when a drug is prescribed for a serious medical problem, the best way to avoid hearing damage is to find out whether an alternative therapy might be available. You might, for example, try acupuncture instead of Tylenol or aspirin for pain.

But the most important thing you can do right now is to recognize these three signs of hearing loss frequently caused by medications. Because the sooner you’re able to get off of these meds, the more likely it is that your hearing will return to normal. Watch out for:

1. A ringing or buzzing in your ears. If you have tinnitus already, it may suddenly get worse.
2. Loud noises that used to be just annoying becoming downright painful.
3. Having a hard time hearing in a crowded room.

For a list of some of the meds that can damage your hearing, check here. If you find a drug you’re currently taking on this list, talk with your doctor right away about how you can get off it, or switch medications as soon as possible.

And even if your medication isn’t listed, but you’re having one or more of the above symptoms, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if a drug could be causing your problem.

Sources:
“Drugs that cause hearing problems” Worst Pills Best Pills Newsletter, November, 2015, worstpills.org

“Drugs that harm your hearing” Margery D. Rosen, AARP, aarp.org