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Opioids Can oxy and other opiates really cause tinnitus and hearing loss?

FunctionalJnkieGrl

FunctionalJnkieGrl

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Messages
810
Location
OK/TX, USA
Just wondering 'cause my ears have been ringing for the past couple of years, my hearing is worse, and I've been told by several people that I'm a loud talker. It could just be due to working in a loud bar every Friday since 2007, I suppose. I also read somewhere that Rush Limbaugh has gone deaf and I know he was/is an oxycontin addict.
 
Yes there is some association between the two. I believe opioids as a class are generally ototoxic to some degree (which some opioids being bigger offenders). Not sure the mechanism through which they exert their toxicity but I remember reading it could have to do with oxygen deprivation of the cochlea or something to that effect.

Like the ototoxic antibiotics, intravenous administration of opioids probably puts you at a higher risk of hearing loss.
 
FunctionalJnkieGrl said:
It could just be due to working in a loud bar every Friday since 2007, I suppose.
Click to expand...

That could certainly be part of it.

Have you ever had your ears cleaned out (from a doctor)? They will suck out more wax than you can imagine and you will be hearing perfect after. Especially if you use q tips, there is no doubt massive wax in your ears from the years. I think they make machines were you can do it yourself.

But can say after 20 years on / off opiates my hearing is fine.
 
Interesting. For me, out of the 100+ disasters opioids has caused me, my hearing remains completely normal. That's one thing I have never heard, actually (pun intended ;) )
 
Have to say I agree with @TheInvisibleStoner. It’s more likely that your work in a loud bar environment caused your issues. I was a sound engineer and I have tinnitus due to it. Not much can be done other than accepting you have it. The more you focus on it the more aware of it you are and the more annoying it becomes. When I just accepted I had it I was able to forget about it. At the start though I did use white noise at night to go to sleep.

I’ve also been on opioids since 10 for a medical condition and when I had my ears tested they said it was the loud noise that damaged them.

I definitely would advise going to get your ears tested though and defo get a proper clean out.
 
I think that the posts in here suggests that there is a correlation between hearing and opiate use that is worth looking into. It's not something most people notice often though. My hearing is fine but my soul is scarred from the withdraws destroying me from the inside out ;)
 
My hearing has been affected , but I do ( as well as Dr. ) feel that hearing loss, slowly is most often a host of long issues that should have been addressed earlier.
So now I am Off to get fitted for hearing adds 😠
 
TheInvisibleStoner said:
That could certainly be part of it.

Have you ever had your ears cleaned out (from a doctor)? They will suck out more wax than you can imagine and you will be hearing perfect after. Especially if you use q tips, there is no doubt massive wax in your ears from the years. I think they make machines were you can do it yourself.

But can say after 20 years on / off opiates my hearing is fine.
Click to expand...
I clean out my ears with q tips daily after I shower, so that probably isn't helping. I've considered ear candling. Here recently I've had a earraches as well, but they were very mild. Not near as bad as the ones I use to get as a child.
 
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When I take high doses of tramadol or tapentadol I notice that it affects my hearing. Very loud noises and high pitched voices make my ears ringing. Apparently this is called hyperacusis.
 
Considering how overdoses have floored the nation to an incomprehensible level--along with creating millions of addicts that literally cannot quit opiates or escape addiction for several lifetimes...

Being deaf is the least of anyone's problems ;) Not to be insensitive and I know this post is borderline offensive! It's just.... one thread was about whether the heroin might or might not be infected with corona... I was like the least of your problems if the corona virus when you're in stone cold heroin addiction lol! I suppose anxiety is weird like that though. The brain considers every possible enemy/worst-case scenario and blows them up out of proportion.
 
I have tinnitus as well but I started getting that ringing in my ears a good decade before I became addicted to opiates. I don’t think I’m affected that much by my past opiates addiction (1 actual relapse in 3 years, just a handful of times I’ve eaten a few percs or something the cravings pretty mich gone totally for meth) but I have heard that story about Rush Limbaugh having his hearing wrecked by a heavy oxy addiction or whatever it was. I’m pretty sure it’s a true story. Can happen... source..

www.sciencedaily.com

Opioid use can trigger deafness

Opioid receptors in the inner ear can cause partial or full hearing loss, according to new research.
www.sciencedaily.com

Like whathas been said already try getting your ears flushed. I had a big chunk of wax flushed out of both ears when I was 19 and it was amazing how much better my hearing was after. Could probably get that done again myself.
 
CfZrx said:
Def from loud environments. Also never use earphones or god forbid earbuds. Nothing wrecks hearing as well...
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True, working in a bar every Friday since 2007 probably is a big factor. Also, I agree about the headphones. My best friend puts hers in every day when she walks to work and she can't hear for shit. Haha.
 
GetMeOutOfThisCRAP said:
Considering how overdoses have floored the nation to an incomprehensible level--along with creating millions of addicts that literally cannot quit opiates or escape addiction for several lifetimes...

Being deaf is the least of anyone's problems ;) Not to be insensitive and I know this post is borderline offensive! It's just.... one thread was about whether the heroin might or might not be infected with corona... I was like the least of your problems if the corona virus when you're in stone cold heroin addiction lol! I suppose anxiety is weird like that though. The brain considers every possible enemy/worst-case scenario and blows them up out of proportion.
Click to expand...
No, your statement doesn't seem offensive to me at all. In fact, I agree. Covid-19 is the least of my problems, being an addict and all. Also, I'm prone to MRSA/staph infection flare-ups, which can be deadly if it attacks deep inside my nose or my brain. That being said, I'm not sweatin' over the 4% mortality rate of Covid-19 when staph/MRSA is everywhere and has a 10% - 30% mortality rate in general or a 50% mortality rate if it ever infects my brain or spinal cord (aka meningitis).
 
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negrogesic said:
Yes there is some association between the two. I believe opioids as a class are generally ototoxic to some degree (which some opioids being bigger offenders). Not sure the mechanism through which they exert their toxicity but I remember reading it could have to do with oxygen deprivation of the cochlea or something to that effect.

Like the ototoxic antibiotics, intravenous administration of opioids probably puts you at a higher risk of hearing loss.
Click to expand...
No, that's not right, there are certain studies that link a few opiates with ototoxicity (namely Hydrocodone) however it has never been proven that Hydrocodone itself is ototoxic, most likely, Acetaminophen aka Paracetamol is the one causing the ototoxicity when using Hydrocodone combined with Acetaminophen (Paracetamol is ototoxic at high dosages) it has never been proven conclusively that any opiate is ototoxic.

Overdoses are a different story and they can damage your hearing as well as mostly any other organ via oxygen depravation, it's actually one of the most common symptoms following a minor OD, but opiates are not conclusively ototoxic and even if they were it would likely be exclusive to certain opioids such as Hydrocodone.
 
Jaredborgetti said:
No, that's not right, there are certain studies that link a few opiates with ototoxicity (namely Hydrocodone) however it has never been proven that Hydrocodone itself is ototoxic, most likely, Acetaminophen aka Paracetamol is the one causing the ototoxicity when using Hydrocodone combined with Acetaminophen (Paracetamol is ototoxic at high dosages) it has never been proven conclusively that any opiate is ototoxic.

Overdoses are a different story and they can damage your hearing as well as mostly any other organ via oxygen depravation, it's actually one of the most common symptoms following a minor OD, but opiates are not conclusively ototoxic and even if they were it would likely be exclusive to certain opioids such as Hydrocodone.
Click to expand...

It's not well studied but I would imagine heavy abuse of any opioid puts the user at risk of complications arising from their presumptive ototoxicity: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13181-020-00785-5

Overall they may be more likely to experience hearing impairment than the general population, all else equal.
 
Jaredborgetti said:
No, that's not right, there are certain studies that link a few opiates with ototoxicity (namely Hydrocodone) however it has never been proven that Hydrocodone itself is ototoxic, most likely, Acetaminophen aka Paracetamol is the one causing the ototoxicity when using Hydrocodone combined with Acetaminophen (Paracetamol is ototoxic at high dosages) it has never been proven conclusively that any opiate is ototoxic.

Overdoses are a different story and they can damage your hearing as well as mostly any other organ via oxygen depravation, it's actually one of the most common symptoms following a minor OD, but opiates are not conclusively ototoxic and even if they were it would likely be exclusive to certain opioids such as Hydrocodone.
Click to expand...
So opiates in itself don't directly cause deafness but opioids that contain acetaminophen like hydrocodone or oxycodone can? I guess that would mean it would be best to avoid taking anything regularly that contains it. Kinda hard to avoid when hydros and percs/oxy is all i can find though. I'd personally rather take morphine but i haven't been able to find any in over a year. :/
 
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