Your hearing is dependent on having healthy ears, especially when it comes to your inner ear anatomy. Your body also relies on inner ear structures to stay balanced during movements like standing, walking, and maneuvering.
Certain medications and chemicals that you’re exposed to in your environment can damage your inner ear over time. These compounds are known as “ototoxic” and may negatively affect your hearing and balance.
What can you do about ototoxic hearing loss? Here’s what you should know about this problem — and what you can do about it.
What Causes Ototoxicity?
Ototoxic medications are the most common culprits of this issue. Certain drugs cause cumulative damage to your inner ear structures. However, industrial chemicals and existing risk factors also play a role in developing symptoms of ototoxicity.
If a patient needs a specific medication to manage a life-threatening disease like cancer, the medical benefits may outweigh the risks of ototoxicity. Doctors prescribe ototoxic medications to reduce your overall health risk, even if it means compromising your hearing.
Common medications that can lead to inner ear damage include:
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Antibiotics
- Loop diuretics
- Malaria drugs
- Aspirin
- Some over-the-counter medications
These drugs are able to damage the cells in your inner ear that manage sound impulses and balance. After a few years of taking them, you might start to notice ototoxicity symptoms.
Medications aren’t the only root cause of ototoxicity. Certain environmental chemicals, like mercury and lead, are ototoxic. In high enough concentrations, industrial chemicals like these can have the same effects on your inner ear as ototoxic medications.
Pre-existing ear health conditions increase your likelihood of inner ear poisoning (ototoxicity). Any weaknesses in your inner ear anatomy make the hearing and balance structures more sensitive to damage.
Older adults, cancer patients, and people with kidney issues are automatically at an increased risk of developing inner ear damage. The medications used to manage chronic diseases often list side effects such as hearing damage and balance problems.
Ototoxicity Symptoms
Symptoms of ototoxicity may develop suddenly or worsen gradually over time—most experts group ototoxicity symptoms into two categories: hearing symptoms and balance issues.
Hearing-related symptoms may include:
- Tinnitus (ringing in your ears)
- Hearing loss (gradual or sudden)
- Feelings of ear fullness
- Perception issues
These symptoms are also present in other hearing conditions, so it’s important to get checked out by a professional to rule out other causes of your hearing problems.
Ototoxicity negatively affects your balance and steadiness on your feet. You might feel dizzy or lightheaded, struggle to walk properly in low lighting, and experience vertigo. Vertigo can cause nausea and unpleasant sensations as you try to navigate the world around you.
Can You Prevent Ototoxicity?
Ototoxicity can be frightening to experience, but there are steps you can take to help prevent and manage it. Medication management and health monitoring are the two keys to keeping an eye on possible ototoxicity symptoms.
Make sure you attend your regularly scheduled appointments with both your doctor and your audiologist. Let them know if you experience any ototoxicity symptoms, and always communicate openly about your worries.
Schedule regular hearing tests to monitor your inner ear health. Hearing tests can detect subtle changes in your hearing health before you can. Early intervention may slow the progression of your hearing damage and balance problems.
You can always ask your provider about alternative medications if you’re worried about ototoxicity. For example, some bacterial infections can be treated with ear-safe antibiotics instead of aminoglycosides, which are known for their ototoxicity.
Always follow your physician’s instructions and take any medications you’re prescribed. Your provider probably knows the risks of ototoxic medications, and they might offer life-saving health benefits that far outweigh the risk of hearing damage.
Ototoxicity Treatment Options
If you’re already experiencing ototoxicity symptoms, all hope is not lost. As soon as you suspect you have hearing or balance problems, you should schedule an appointment with an audiologist. Early detection and intervention make a big difference in treatment outcomes.
Audiological monitoring helps you keep track of your hearing changes over time. You can also request vestibular rehabilitation, which essentially “retrains” your body’s senses of balance and motion detection. Vestibular therapy may reduce symptoms of vertigo and unsteadiness when performed correctly.
Hearing aids and assistive listening devices can help you manage ototoxicity symptoms by connecting you to the world around you. Modern hearing technology has come a long way; you might be surprised by how much these accommodations help you!
Talk to a Specialist Today
Getting help with your hearing problems early can reduce some of the long-term effects of ototoxicity. It’s time to reach out for professional help to get your hearing and balance back on track.
At Happy Ears Hearing Center, we’re all about innovation and patient education. If you’re experiencing ototoxicity symptoms, sign up for a hearing test with us, and let us guide you toward the right treatment.
Schedule an appointment with a professional audiologist at Happy Ears Hearing Center today!