by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady explained,
I have an ear infection, tinnitus, and a history of hearing loss in my family. My MD has prescribed a medication that I can not find any information about, ‘Augmomyn’. He says it is a “type of Amoxicillin”. Do you have any information about that? I could not find it in Ototoxic Drugs Exposed, or in searching the Internet.
I’m not surprised you can’t find a reference to “Augmomyn” since the name of this drug is actually Augmentin. Trying to interpret the doctor’s hieroglyphics is a bit of a challenge, isn’t it?
Augmentin is actually a combination of two drugs—Amoxicillin and Clavulanate potassium.
The reason Augmentin is not listed in my drug book is that it is not known to be ototoxic. It is actually one of the very few antibiotics of which I know that is not reported to be ototoxic.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I recently and most unfortunately have learned about ototoxic drugs. In December 09, I was prescribed Levaquin for an Urinary Tract Infection. Levaquin destroyed all the cillia in my cochlea and I have suffered from hyperacusis and unbearable tinnitus ever since. It has taken away the joy of the sounds of life from me. I suffer sever anxiety and depression from it also. It has ruined my life. Dr. Bauman if you have any advice, please submit to my e-mail address. Thank you
August 18th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Does Benadryl have ototoxic effects? I have been taking it for years as a sleeping aid and recently read some bad news about it. I am not going to be taking it anymore but I am very curious if it is ototoxic since I had been taking it for almost a decade. Thank you, Florence
August 18th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Hi Florence:
Yes, Benadryl can be ototoxic. I have it listed as causing tinnitus, ataxia, dizziness, labyrinthitis and vertigo in some people. I’ve never seen it linked to hearing loss though.
If you’ve not been experiencing any of the above side effects over the years, then Benadryl is not likely negatively affecting your ears.
Regards
Neil
February 28th, 2011 at 7:44 am
Hi Dr. Neil,
I did stop taking Benadryl last year and have had sleeping problems ever since. I do have Hyperacusis and Tinnitus from Levaquin that I had to take for a UTI in December’09. It has been terribly awful to cope with. I have soundgenerators for my ears that will hopefully help me with the h&t in the future.
Unfortunately, I have just gotten another UTI. I am petrified to take an antibiotic, even one listed safe such as Augmentin. Women my age are prone to UTI’s due to a decrease of estrogen levels. I am anticipating future infections since I am just approching menopause. Could I sustain further damage to my ears from Augmentin or another antibiotic?
Thank you for your help and support.
Florence
March 1st, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Hi Florence:
As I said in my article above, Augmentin isn’t known to be ototoxic so you shouldn’t have any ear problems from taking it.
With other antibiotics all bets are off. Almost all of them can be ototoxic, some more than others. The trick is to find one that does the job and yet does not damage your ears.
If you send me a list of the possible antibiotics your doctor thinks will do the job, I can list them in order of ototoxicity for you. Then start with the least ototoxic one and see if it works but does not damage your ears.
Regards
Neil
March 30th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Hi Dr. Neil,
I have been on Augmentin twice so far to get rid of a recurring UTI since my last letter. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be clearing up the infection this second time either. I will be getting another urinalysis in 2 weeks and if necessary I’ll be grateful for your advice on antibiotics. My acupuncurists told me there is a Chinese Herb that gets rid of UTI’s but I’m not sure if I would trust it’s effectiveness. Have you had any experience with that type of medicine and would that be a good alternative to antibiotics?
Thank you again for your help.
Florence
March 30th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Dr. Neil,
One more question if you would be so kind. Could you give me the list of the least ototoxic antibiotics that you are aware of? I will be calling my doctor tomorrow and let her know I am still having UTI symptoms and it would be so helpful if I knew which antibiotics would be ok for me to take besides Augmentin.
Thank you so much
Sincerely,
Florence
March 30th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Hi Florence:
I’ve not heard of this Chinese cure–but I have no reason to doubt its effectiveness. I’d sure think it is worth while giving it a try if the Augmentin isn’t working. At least it won’t be ototoxic.
As far as making a list of the least ototoxic antibiotics, that is the backwards way of going about it. You see, I don’t even know what class of antibiotics might be effective against your UTI.
It’s lways better to ask your doctor for a list of those specific drugs he thinks will work on this infection. THEN I can put them in order by their degree of ototoxicity.
Regards
Neil