Ototoxic Drugs

Ototoxic Drugs

Ototoxic drugs have the potential of hurting your ears. The effects of ototoxicity can be tinnitus, distorted hearing, loss of hearing sensitivity, increase in hearing sensitivity, feeling of fullness in your ears, imbalance or vertigo. This may be a temporary change or one that permanently affects your ears.

There are many drugs, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, which are potentially ototoxic. Some drugs have an especially high potential for ototoxicity, like cisplatin. Cisplatin is used in fighting cancer. Also, aminoglycoside antibiotics have a high ototoxic potential. Aminoglycoside antibiotics include amikacin, dihydrostreptomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, neomycin, netilmicin, streptomycin and tobramycin.

Whether or not a particular drug will indeed be ototoxic to you, depends on many factors. Your age, your genetic make up, any previous hearing problems, the drug, the dose and duration of the drug treatment all can play a part in how your ears will be affected, if at all.

Some drugs are more potentially ototoxic when taken in conjunction with other drugs. For example, taking a loop diuretic within 6 hours after an aminoglycoside antibiotic can cause a synergistic effect. That is, the two drugs together cause an effect that is greater than the sum of the individual drug effects. This means that you could experience a more serious hearing loss when taking these two drugs as described above than when taking them on their own. However, if you take the loop diuretic before the aminoglycoside antibiotic, there does not seem to be this same synergistic effect.

There are other ototoxic agents in our environment besides ototoxic drugs. Some chemicals are potentially harmful to our ears. Benezene is a solvent used in the manufacture of many paints and varnishes. Benezene (also called Benzol, mineral naphtha and other names) can cause tinnitus, hearing loss and dizziness. There are many such chemicals that can potentially harm your ears.

Noise exposure at the same time as treatment with some drugs can have a synergistic effect on your ears. Some chemicals and noise work synergistically as well.

Even aspirin has ototoxic potential and can cause your ears to ring (tinnitus) and can cause a temporary hearing loss.

Tinnitus and imbalance are often noticed before a hearing loss is noticed. If you notice a new ringing in your ears, or a new disequilibrium, you should consult with your physician concerning the drugs you are taking. Your prescribing physician may want to change your medications, if possible, to avoid a permanent affect on your ears from an ototoxic drug. Be aware of changes in your ears, and ask your physician and audiologist about these symptoms.

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