Is Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) Ototoxic?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A person asked: “Is Cipro ototoxic?”
Cipro is one of the brand names of the generic antibiotic Ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin belongs to the Quinolone class of drugs, all of which can be quite ototoxic.
Ciprofloxacin can cause severe hearing loss, loud tinnitus, ataxia, dizziness, nystagmus, vertigo and ear pain. Thus, it is a drug to be taken with caution. Since I’ve had a number of people tell me of their woes after taking Ciprofloxacin, the ototoxic side effects must be relatively common.
For example, one lady explained,
I only took Ciprofloxacin for three days which resulted in profound bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus and inner ear damage that affects my balance.
Here’s another example. A man lost a lot of his hearing after taking Ciprofloxacin. His hearing problems started with “weird” tinnitus. The tinnitus eventually stopped, but his hearing did not improve.
You can check out the ototoxic side effects of any drugs before you take them in “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed“. This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 763 drugs known to damage ears, including Ciprofloxacin.
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Part of the moral of this story is that anytime you start taking a new medication and you suddenly have bouts of tinnitus, stop the drug!! Tinnitus is usually an early warning sign.
April 26th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Any manifestation of tinnitus is a critical warning sign of possible cochlear damage due to ototoxicity. Almost every drug has “tinnitus” as a side effect, however, some are known ototoxic agent while most doctors when referring to most medications like Depekote (which gave me permanent bilateral tinnitus) will frequently claim the there is no known risk. You must be self vigilant and highly self aware when taking any new medication to safe-gaurd your hearing!
-Stewart Graham, MPH, PA
August 13th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
I took within six months (prescription from ENT) 2 times daily Ofloxacin 200mg for 3 days and Ciprofloxacin 2 times daily 500mg for 5 days. Both times for almost ridiculous, minor infections, which could have been cured with any other med, I’m sure, even an antibiotic was not needed. After having suffered Meningitis in 2001, very hard, I’m disabled, bilateral severe hearing loss, bilateral damage of my vestibular system. In June 2010 I was given Cipro. I had a distinct reaction to the drug after one week, having fever and pain in my whole body. The worsening of balance with Oscillopsia and hearing loss started at this time. I’m desperate. Other symptoms of CNS are showing up now. My age is 67! What to do, referring to the clueless doctor, that gave me a steroid injection as a” help” for the symptoms. He did not see it as an adverse reaction to the drug.
Ria