Medication and Hearing Loss, Part 1

There are many research studies proving top-volume music and excessive loud noise can cause hearing loss. Hearing loss patients who have spent their entire lives protecting their ears may not understand exactly why or how they lost their hearing anyway. There is a surprising study, called the Health Professional’s Follow Up Study, which may prove a commonly used group of medications can cause hearing loss. Acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen are three of the most commonly used over-the-counter medications in the United States. All three, used on a regular basis, can cause hearing loss in older Americans.

The study followed 27,000 men of varying ages in the United States who provided information regarding their use of analgesics and their levels of hearing loss. They provided the information to researchers every two years from 1986 until the conclusion of the study. The researchers formulating the results found in men under the age of 50 the risk of hearing loss close to doubled for those who used acetaminophen more than twice per week. Other men in the study who used ibuprofen at least twice per week also showed a significantly higher risk of hearing loss than men who used analgesics less often. Even aspirin, used more than twice per week, resulted in a one-third higher risk of hearing loss. In those men who reported using acetaminophen and ibuprofen, the risk of hearing loss increased the longer the men used the medication.  (continued part 2)

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