Tinnitus Relief and Medicine – Drugs That May Cause Tinnitus
If you’ve done much research on your tinnitus, you have probably already discovered that there are lots of things that can cause your ringing ears. One of the more surprising potential causes of your tinnitus is the medicine you are taking. That’s right. It is actually possible that or more of the medications your doctor prescribes for you could be the cause (or at least one of the causes of) your tinnitus.
The connection between medications and ringing ears was certainly a surprise to me. The first I heard of it was when my nephew developed ringing ears from the drugs he took during chemotherapy for bone cancer. The doctors were able to completely eliminate the cancer, but part of the price he paid for his cure was long-term, likely permanent ringing ears.
Let me give you this list of the types of medications that have been known to cause ringing ears. According to the Mayo Clinic, here are the types of medicines that have been known to sometimes cause tinnitus or worsen existing cases of tinnitus:
- Antibiotics: Several antibiotics can cause problems, including chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline, vancomycin and bleomycin
- Cancer medications: Some of the powerful cancer medicines that can cause ringing ears include mechlorethamine and vincristine
- Diuretics: Bumetanide, ethacrynic acid, and furosemide
- Quinine medications and others (such as chloroquine) used to treat malaria
- Aspirin: When taken in extremely high doses (12 or more per day)
If you experience tinnitus and are being treated with any one of these medications, you should talk to your doctors right away about a possible connection. It may be possible to change the way they are treating you and provide you with tinnitus relief at the same time.
What could be a more natural cure for tinnitus than stopping taking a medication that cause your ringing ears as a side effect?