Hearing loss has a few different causes, and one of them is medication side effects. These medications are considered ototoxic, and there are hundreds of them available both by prescription and over the counter.
While these medications are often used to treat serious infections, heart disease, cancer, and more, they can lead to some side effects as a result, including hearing loss, tinnitus, or balance disorders.
While some ototoxic medication effects can be reversed, sometimes the damage is permanent. If you believe that your medication has affected your hearing or balance, please don’t hesitate to reach out so we can help you address your concerns.
What Other Side Effects Are Present From Ototoxic Medications?
One of the first signs of ototoxicity is tinnitus, or the perception of a phantom noise with no external source. Over time, you may develop some level of hearing loss; this can often go unnoticed until your day-to-day life is affected, like not hearing instructions at work or missing parts of conversations.
Ototoxic medication may also affect your balance and make you feel unsteady on your feet.
What Happened in My Ear to Cause Hearing Loss From My Medication?
Some ototoxic medications can cause damage to the sensory cells in your inner ear that your body uses for hearing and proper balance.
Damage to these cells will cause hearing loss and balance issues, which, if left unchecked, can start to affect your quality of life and connections with other people.
What Can I Do to Protect Myself From Ototoxicity Before I Start Taking My Medication?
While there is no approved protective strategy to keep your hearing safe from ototoxicity, please do not shy away from taking medication to stop a life-threatening disease. Some medication side effects can be reversed after you stop taking them.
Hearing loss is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if it comes about due to caring for your bodily health with life-saving medication. With expert hearing care, you can correct and optimize your hearing so that you can continue to lead your happy, healthy lifestyle with clear listening.
Professional, Personalized Hearing Care With the Grand Island’s Hearing Clinic
As the only professional hearing clinic on the Cayman Islands, our team is here to help if you’ve been asking yourself, “Where can I get hearing tests near me?”
If you have reason to believe that your ototoxic medication has caused challenges to your hearing or balance, you can rest assured that your hearing health is safe with our team of professional audiologists in the Cayman Islands.
Please don’t hesitate to request a callback and we’ll get in touch with you as soon as we can to help with any questions or concerns you may have about your hearing and medication.
Don’t want to wait? Give us a call at (345) 946-9174.
