How Ibuprofen Can Lead To Hearing Loss

It’s true what they say about age leading to hearing loss, but you may feel like there’s not much you can do to help that aside from avoiding very loud situations. Now there is concrete evidence that ibuprofen, a common pain relief medication, has been connected to increased incidents of hearing loss in people as they age. This translates to the avoidance of certain medications in an effort to protect your hearing health. This is all prompted by a new study that emerged to back up this finding.

Causes

Even though researchers have done studies on ibuprofen and hearing loss occurring in men, no studies up till now had been done on women. Now we know. Do your part to improve hearing by refraining from taking certain medications. You should talk with your doctor to find out what’s best for your unique situation. You may wonder how pain relievers such as ibuprofen can bring on hearing loss. This, then, can reduce the flow of blood to the cochlear located in the inner ear. This makes it not work as it should normally. When you ingest acetaminophen, especially, you can harm the ear structures that are in place to protect your cochlea. Tinnitus, dizziness and vertigo can all be brought on through the ingestion of ibuprofen. Plus, some analgesics can damage your kidneys as well as your ears, characterized by ototoxicity.

Conclusive Findings

A study, conducted by the American Journal of Advanced Epidemiology, followed about 60,000 women over 14 years to conclusively determine that pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can bring on hearing loss in women. It showed that a quarter of those women who ingested ibuprofen and acetaminophen more than twice in one week found a lessening of hearing ability.

More Research

The need for more research is important. That’s why the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is studying 150,000 women across the nation to determine all the many factors that can contribute to hearing loss. These factors impacting hearing loss can include hormones, diet and alcohol consumption, along with exposure to loud noises over a long period of time.

What to Do

Secure your doctor’s approval before taking ibuprofen, so you know how it can potentially incur hearing loss. Also, be sure to inspect all labels on cold and sinus medications found over the counter, because ibuprofen can be in them without you knowing. You may still ingest non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen muscle pain or headaches hit but if hearing loss is an issue with you, refrain from taking this medication to be safe. One alternative for you is to take naproxen instead, which is fine for your hearing.