There are ways that you can go about avoiding hearing loss in your daily life. Be sure to wear the right protection equipment on the job and take some ear plugs to concerts. Yet another way to preserve your hearing for a long time is to make sure you are making the right medication choices. Namely, you should not take ibuprofen over a long period of time because it has been linked with hearing loss.
Conclusive Findings
The findings of the study were very conclusive in that they found that people who used ibuprofen two or more times a week were at a significantly higher risk for hearing loss than those who did not. The original study was completed by having 60,000 women who use ibuprofen and acetaminophen at the aforementioned rates report their hearing after using them for a 14 year period. Overall, the results found that 25% of the users had significant levels of hearing loss.
Causes
While it is still unclear whether men are affected in the exact same way by the medication, it appears as though it will hold true. After all, the way that these medicines can impact hearing loss is related to physical and chemical damage in the ear. The physical damage comes from the sound being unable to be interpreted because blood flow to the ear is lessened in the presence of these medications in the blood stream. With less blood flow, the structures are not able to survive as well, and over time they are dulled. The chemical problem which occurs is that the medicine binds to places in the cochlea that are usually used for hearing. Since they are bound there over time, fewer and fewer sound binders are able to rest there, and a condition known as ototoxicity begins to arise.
More Research
People that have been studying this hearing loss phenomenon have started a new campaign to figure out the other ways that hearing loss could be a factor in women’s lives. For example, they have completely examined the role that hearing loss has based in hormones as well as with diet.
What to Do
If you are a person that frequently takes these medications, then now is a good time for you to go to a physician to see what options there are for you. You can begin a regiment of a new medication that does not have a history of causing hearing loss. Of course, this requires that you make an appointment with a physician to see if there have been any damages to your hearing as well as what you can do to replace that particular medicine.
