Many medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, are ototoxic. Oto means ear, and toxic means poisonous or damaging; the term literally means “poisonous to the ear.” This may seem scary at first, so let’s discuss ototoxic medications and what they mean to you.
How Do Ototoxic Drugs Damage the Ear?
Chemicals in ototoxic drugs may damage the sensory hair cells in the cochlea, the main hearing organ. These sensory cells are responsible for collecting and transmitting sound information to the brain. Critically, they do not regenerate if damaged.
What Drugs Are Ototoxic?
Ototoxic drugs are more common than you might think. Many ototoxic drugs are widely prescribed to treat medical conditions, such as hypertension, arthritis, depression and cancer. Additionally, many over-the-counter medications, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, are ototoxic. There are more than 200 medications and chemicals that are known to cause hearing loss.
What Should I Do About Ototoxicity?
This number can, at first, make it feel like ototoxicity is unavoidable and hearing damage inevitable. We’re giving you this information, not to cause alarm, and certainly not to urge you not to take vital medications, but to make sure you’re fully informed on all side effects of your essential medications. Rest assured that your health team would never prescribe you a medication without fully considering the pros and cons.
We have three pieces of good news:
- The risk of hearing damage is fully dependent on the size of the dosage. Taking a couple of doses of ibuprofen in a single day to treat a headache is unlikely to cause harm.
- Often, hearing-related side effects of ototoxic drugs go away once you stop taking the medication.
- Should hearing damage occur, the condition is manageable.
How Can I Manage Hearing Health and Other Health Conditions Simultaneously?
Stay in communication with your health team about any potential concerns about your hearing health. If there are any alternative medication options that aren’t ototoxic, lead a discussion on whether that’s a better option for managing your health condition.
If you do notice any symptoms of hearing loss—muffled hearing, difficulty hearing in noisy environments, tinnitus—seek out the help of an audiologist. We can run a diagnostic hearing test to determine the extent of your hearing damage and recommend ways to manage your hearing loss.