When you think about medication side effects, things like nausea, fatigue or headaches are probably the first to come to mind. While these are some of the most common, one more you might not have heard of is ototoxicity—a medication side effect that causes damage to your inner ear.
What Are the Side Effects of Ototoxicity?
Common signs of ototoxicity include:
- Hearing loss in one or both ears
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- Trouble balancing
- Trouble walking in the dark
- Perceiving stationary objects as moving
Symptoms of ototoxicity can begin as early as the start of treatment or may take up to five years to appear. Usually, the first sign people notice is tinnitus.
What Medications Are Ototoxic?
There are over 200 known ototoxic medications. A few examples include:
- Aspirin
- Loop diuretics (used to treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, etc.)
- Quinine (used to treat malaria)
- Aminoglycoside antibiotics (used to treat severe bacterial infections)
- Chemotherapy (used to treat cancer)
While it may seem like the obvious choice to stop taking ototoxic medications, many of them are used to treat life-threatening conditions like cancer or high blood pressure. The life-saving benefits of these drugs usually outweigh the negatives of hearing damage.
How Likely Is It That I Will Develop Ototoxicity?
Several factors can increase your likelihood of inner ear damage, like the type of medication, dosage, duration of treatment and possible interactions with other drugs.
Some ototoxic drugs are more likely than others to cause damage. For example, a 2016 study involving 488 North American male germ cell tumor (GCT) survivors found that nearly one in five developed profound hearing loss after treatment with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. In contrast, other medications may only cause hearing damage when taken in extremely high doses.
Can I Protect Against Ototoxicity?
You can’t always prevent ototoxicity, but managing your hearing and balance symptoms early can help prevent them from negatively impacting your life. If you’re taking an ototoxic drug, schedule regular hearing tests to track your hearing health and set yourself up for early treatment.
In addition to regular hearing tests, you should employ safe hearing practices like avoiding loud noise exposure, wearing noise protection, scheduling regular ENT checkups and maintaining good whole-body health through a healthy diet and exercise.
Schedule Your Checkup Today
If you’ve started taking an ototoxic drug, don’t wait until you see symptoms to start protecting your hearing. Contact River ENT today to schedule a hearing test.
