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Opioids Hearing loss associated with opiate use

HamOnRye

HamOnRye

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
6
I remember reading some time ago about hearing loss from prolonged use of hydrocodone and then, of course Herr Limbaugh's coclear implant apparently due his oxycontin addiction. I understand that there aren't any studies done on oxycodone (and probably even hydrocone, as all evidence seems to be anecdotal) and hearing loss but assuming it is true and follows the same mechanism as hydroconone and perhaps, to a further extent; I ask then, would it also affect the vestibular system and cause an individual to lose their sense of balance?

A friend of mine has had a large (100+ 80mg) prescription of oxycontin for about 5 years (she not only runs through her script but will buy them illicitly as well) and I have noticed that she stumbles and bumps into things a lot, more so as time goes on. Of course this could be due in fact that she is high every day but she doesn't show any other signs of over intoxication, i.e., slurred speech, nodding, uncoordinated thoughts, etc. I abused oxycontin for about a year and never really noticed any problems, and then switched to heroin which, of course has not been implicated as a cause of aforementioned issues.

Thanks for any opinions-
 
Hearing loss is and can be attributed to drugs that are ototoxin. There a few classes of drugs that are ototoxin including: salicylates and quinines. Other drugs include:

Salicylate
Ethacrynic Acid
Furosemide
Bumetanide
Amikacin
Gentamicin
Netilmicin
Tobramycin
Vancomycin
Minocycline
Capreomycin
Erythromycin
Amphotericin B

Capreomycin
Carmustine
Chloramphenicol
Colistin
Deferoxamine

And that is a small list. I am not sure about oxycodone, but some heroin contains cuts with quinine and there have been reports about hearing loss associated with long term heroin use from the cuts.

My guess would be that oxycodone and acetaminophen which contains salicylamide could be the culprit. Although rare, it could be the case and that would be my guess.

A lot to read but hopefully informative.....
 
i do find that when i am high on opiates that it is much harder for me to hear, especially when people are speaking to me. i also have to repeat myself a lot and sometimes even shout when talking to others who are high because they experience the same thing. coincidence?
 
I always thought it was APAP toxicity that caused hearing loss for people taking large amounts of opiates like hydrocodone. I could be totally wrong though. And Rush Limbaugh said his hearing loss came from an autoimmune disorder. It could be a total coincidence that he lost his hearing while on pills, but that seems unlikely. Esp. when his hearing loss came before he acknowledged his pain pill addiction.
 
i don't take pills which have apap and my lack of hearing always diminishes when coming down and isn't permanent. i think it's just a side effect of opiate use.
 
Hello. I just joined BL after reading for a few days. I take Tramadol, but no other opiates. As far as hearing loss goes, I have suffered some since beginning this 7 years ago. Another side effect I read about, on the John Hopkins website, wa.s that your ears would fill with fluid, and brother do mine ever fillup! I never did equate this with my tram consumption, but after reading that, I realized that the ear fluid began about a year after I had been on the Tramadol. I don't know if it is dose related, but I take 1500 to 1600 mg's a day of this stuff over three doses; 600mg, 600mg, 300mg/400mg.

Anyway, I wanted to add this as I thought it might be relevant. Although I am actually unsure if it was John Hopkins or another website.
 
Tramadol isn't an opiate though...

Thats my understanding at least. I've never had an opiate-like experience with it. Could be just me though.

edgewise1 said:
I take 1500 to 1600 mg's a day of this stuff over three doses; 600mg, 600mg, 300mg/400mg.QUOTE]

Dear lord thats a lot of tram!! I've always heard the max daily dose is 400mg!
Click to expand...
 
Lando138 said:
Tramadol isn't an opiate though...

Thats my understanding at least. I've never had an opiate-like experience with it. Could be just me though.

edgewise1 said:
I take 1500 to 1600 mg's a day of this stuff over three doses; 600mg, 600mg, 300mg/400mg.QUOTE]

Dear lord thats a lot of tram!! I've always heard the max daily dose is 400mg!
Click to expand...

I actually meant to say quasi opiate. It is way too much and I am attempting to reduce the amounts and titrate downward. Time will tell though. Tramadol has a lot of SSRI actions that give an immediate boost. But as you found out, it works for some, but not for others.
Click to expand...
 
hearing is definetly affected by opiates. here are two ways ive experienced it:

from overdose. the overdoses ive had that did not require hospitalization i woke up not being able to hear...at all the first time. there was severe ringing and i couldnt hear someone talking to me 3 ft away. second time i woke up with bad ringing and deaf in one ear for an hour. also, i notice when i fix i can my audio level "drop" or get blocked/muffled....not ringing but like a noticeable drop in the clarity of my hearing.
 
That's still anecdotal. Whoever is using that horrid blue color may want to reconsider, lol. Nothing personal and maybe its just me but, it's hard to read. Maybe it's the APAP with my oxy;)
 
Edgewise & Lando^^...

Tramadol is a synthetic opiate which means it mocks what a real opiate would do. It can be addictive just like an opiate because it mocks the same effects of a opiate. It can also be used to help with acute opiate withdrawals.

I also get ringing in my right ear. It's weird, I thought I was the only one that had this problem. It doesn't happen very often tho.

Does anyone have a link of some sort of proof we can base this on??

~DJ Play~
 
Read my post above, I stated APAP/salicylamide is a possible but rare explanation for hearing loss....
 
Opiatesrarely said:
It's also harder to see in the dark when you are on opiates, which is because of the constricted pupils.
Click to expand...

Very true. I hate driving at night with constricted pupils, as I have a difficult enough time seeing in the dark without Opioid-induced miosis.

Interesting thought on hearing loss, though I have taken Hydrocodone regularly for years, and have never experienced any problems. That's not to say it's not possible, however.
 
I understand that there are many peripheral sensory side effects while on opiates. These are usually specific to the individual and in no way relate to any long damage (blurred vision, muddy hearing, night-blindness).

I was not aware that the hearing damage was caused by the apap in vicodin. I remembered hearing that he, Mushmouth Limbaugh blamed it on the OCs. Maybe it was just the news (liberal media vultures!) making bald impliclations.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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