Tinnitus is caused mostly by the use of drugs and medications. At the same time, it must be said that tinnitus is a side effect of such medications. The medicines that give relief to tinnitus symptoms are far lesser than the medicines that cause tinnitus. Accidental discovery of drug related tinnitus symptoms are too many to enumerate. In a similar case, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics in 1928.
The first time drug related tinnitus came to light was in 1944.the antibiotic Streptomycin was used to cure tuberculosis, a fatal disease of the times. And it resulted in a strange reaction to the drug most patients reported. It caused dizziness, instability and buzzing of the ears. These reports were investigated and studied. It came to light that some permanent changes had occurred in cochlear and vestibular areas due to the use of Streptomycin. A variety of vertigo related problems and problems of hearing were a result. Ototoxic drugs were the name devised to describe drug families that caused tinnitus by their use. This was a new area in medicinal science that saw the light of day.
List Of Drugs That Cause Tinnitus – There Are Other Culprits Too
Streptomycin was soon found to be not the only medicine which caused tinnitus. Ototoxicity is caused by many other medicines. It includes most of the aminoglycoside family of antibiotics, quininem loop diuretics, platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, and salicylates that are common homely medicines for treating slight fevers or headache, and some more medicines. The high level of toxicity in these medicines affects the human cochleo/vestibular structure. This in turn causes the partial loss of hearing and ringing noise in the ear.
There is a humungous list of drugs that cause tinnitus. The list of names will cover many pages. Thus, they have been arranged in groups with major subheads for each group. See the list below:
Antibiotics include Erithromycin, Aminoglycosides and also Vancomycin. In most cases they belong to the medications in the ‘mycin’ group. Examples of these are kanamycin, streptomycin, gantamycine, neomycin as well as fresh derivatives of erythromycin. This includes EES, E-mycin, Pediazol, Eryc, Zithromax, Biazine, Ilosone and a more which are ototoxic when used intravenously in doses of 2 to 4 grams every 24 hours. But low oral doses are far less toxic in nature. Vancomycin (Vincocin), when administered in single doses or with aminoglycosides, is mostly ototoxic when administered in an intravenous way.
Salicylates comprises of aspirin or drugs that have the same properties of aspirin and these are referred to as NSAIDs. A few of them are Aleve, Advil, Anaprox, Poradol, Indocin, Nuprine, Clinoril, Lodine, Naprosyn and some others. The toxicity level with such medication increases with the consumption of 6 to 8 pills every day but luckily, the symptoms can be reversed with the stoppage of the medication.
Chemotherapy agents comprises of Nitrogen Mustard, Cisplatin and even Vincristin which are prescribed for treating of cancer. However, the ototoxic nature can be diminished by continuous monitoring of the blood toxicity level and serial audiograms, if these are done at timely intervals. But the ototoxicity level often goes out of control when patients have already been prescribed an ototoxic medication such as Lasix or Bumex that are actually loop diuretics and even aminoglycosides.
Loop diuretics which are formed of Endecrin, Bumex and Lasix that are prescribed in treating serious cases of renal failure or hypertension that is clinically severe. The oral dosage of the medications is not so ototoxic and this is good news indeed. The doctors see an advantage in this and thus prescribe oral doses to all those people who are suffering because of chronic cases of kidney failure.
Anti-malarial drugs such as Quinine in various derivates and forms too. It is good that the ototoxicity level in quinine can be turned back when there is no need for the medication any more.
Muscle relaxants are drugs which keep under control the night cramps. These can also lead to ototoxicity. Some of these drugs are Q-Vel, Legatrin, Aralen, Atabrine and few more.
It is still being probed by researchers to figure out the ototoxicity levels of recently discovered drugs which are being turned out at a regular pace for the mankind’s benefit and to cure the incurable diseases.
The Best Tinnitus Treatment
Conventional medicine has a major drawback. It cures one disease and starts off another disease with the side effects of their toxic drugs. Tinnitus is one such disease caused by conventional medicine. The holistic method of treatment has proven itself to be the most enduring relief for tinnitus. This method involves a treatment of the body as a whole. Conventional medicine, on the other hand, treats the body as a sum of its constituent parts. Holistic treatment finds out the root cause of ailment and cures it, thus making permanent relief for the symptoms. Conventional medicine tried to relieve the symptoms, whereas the root cause of the ailment remains uncured. The symptoms are temporarily relieved but they return to haunt the patient once the medicines have run their course. The holistic method is not just popping a pill – it is far more profound than that. It entails a complete overhaul of the lifestyle. The various tenets of holistic method are: staying away from drinking alcoholic beverages, leading a life of austerity, not eating meat, banishing tobacco in any form and all other material having toxic substances or extracts, practicing Yoga and a diet of only fruits and vegetables. After practicing these, the root cause is cured, and thus the symptoms are cured as well.