by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man explained,
I have pica. I found that Aspirin filled my pica cravings. So I started chewing up 5 or 6 Aspirin (325 mg each) a day. I was also temporarily taking Hydrocodone (10 mg). That’s when the ringing and buzzing started.
I’m not surprised that your ears ring and buzz now. The medical term for this is tinnitus. Aspirin is well-known for causing tinnitus, especially at higher doses, although some people are sensitive to aspirin at much lower doses, and if they have salicylate intolerance—at minute doses. The conventional wisdom is that 5 or 6 adult Aspirin a day typically will cause your ears to ring and buzz. This is exactly what you have found. That amount of Aspirin can also cause hearing loss and other side effects.
The good news is that for most people, when they stop taking Aspirin, within a couple of days their tinnitus begins to fade away, and over the course of two weeks or so, their hearing starts coming back.
In rarer cases, this does not happen and these unfortunate people are left with both permanent tinnitus and hearing loss.
If you value your ears (and the rest of your body—your stomach for one—as Aspirin causes your stomach to bleed) you will stop taking the Aspirin and work to get your pica (cravings for dirt, clay, sand, etc.) under control. As you may know, in a number of cases, pica has been linked to a deficiency in zinc or iron in your natural diet so you may want to get that checked out.
(Note: in this case, this man subsequently found that his pica cravings were caused by low iron levels due to his dialysis treatments.)
If you want to look up all the ototoxic side effects of Aspirin or other drugs, see my book “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed” 3rd edition. This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 877 drugs, 35 herbs and 148 chemicals.
I developed a craving to chew aspirin, sometimes 6 and occasionally 8 a day. A couple of months later I developed iron deficiency, anemia and an ulcer. What was the cause and what was the effect? Will the craving go away now that I am taking iron? I know this is a dangerous habit. I fight the craving every single day
Hi Mary:
Pica can be the result of deficiencies in your diet. If you are low on iron and other minerals, are pregnant, or have ADD-like symptoms you may feel the urge to eat non-food substances. This can also be a result of not having your social/emotional needs met.
If any of these apply to you, then you know the likely cause. Obviously, if you are low on iron and other minerals, you need to improve your diet and eat mostly natural, organic foods so your body can extract the various minerals it needs. It may also help to take certain dietary supplements.
Don’t assume that iron is your only deficiency. Have a blood work-up to see if there are any other minerals that you are low on.
Hopefully, when you meet your body’s requirements for whatever is missing, your cravings will go away. In the meantime, resist your cravings for taking Aspirin as it it definitely wrecking your health. You may find it helpful to enlist the help of family and friends to keep you accountable and give you the emotional support you need to stop this dangerous practice.
Cordially,
Neil
I do the same thing.
I have the same asprin addiction. I can complete up to about three bottles of 500 a day. My addiction is getting worse with my breathing and energy level due from the asprins
Hi Nikki:
You need professional help for your Aspirin addiction before you permanently wreck your body and your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
omg i thought i was really losing it because I craved chewing aspirin, not all the time, but obviously when I am anemic, my PA thought that was weird, sometimes people crave red meat, no I said I crave eating aspirin, it goes away when i take iron, but I am anemic due to this , I was so happy to hear I wasnt losing it completely, I could probably take at least 10 at a time, please keep me informed as I will to you guys,, so happy Im not totall nuts
You can complete a whole bottle. Wowwww. I use to eat 3 aspirins every other day but I stopped. Then i began to crush an aspirin in baking soda a tsp at least 3 xs a week.
Why baking soda?
Two years ago I started feeling weak. And had headaches daily.
Tylenol did not help so started taking aspirin . Soon the craving started for aspirin as well as ice chewing.Then as strange as this sounds I was bitten by one of my pets and was admitted to the hospital for surgery. During normal pre-op blood work my blood count was 5 normal for me should be 17 had to have 4 units of blood before surgery as well as a colonoscopy to find out why my count was do low but I had my surgery to repair animal bite, 4 units of blood NOT DUE TO BLOOD LOSS FROM BITE. And was released now I’m feeling weak and have the aspirin and ice chewing cravings. Have to resist. So people get your blood count checked.
P.S
Didn’t effect my hearing .But have stomach pain and headache daily . Usually only chew6-8 low dose a day but eat LOTS of ice.
Why has this craving started again?
Hi Linda:
Probably because you body chemistry is out of whack again. Maybe you need to get a blood test to see what you are low on.
Cordially,
Neil
I am so glad I found this site. I too crave aspirin, I chew about 6 aspirin a day, I also crave ice, I will have to see my Doctor about this, thank you for the info.
STOP eating aspirin!!it is a blood thinner and like any medicine you can overdose and die . your liver has to filter this!! it builds up in your system. please go to a doctor asap! i craved aspirin for years but i would only bite off a small piece roughly equally 50-80 milligrams once a week at most because i knew the danger. i still ended up with ringing in my ears and i stopped touching it entirely and fortunately it went away. probably due to how little i consumed. blood work found i was deficient of calcium, vit d and iron
My aspirin addiction is way out control. I am 60 and consume at least 20 aspirin a day not baby aspirin . My red blood is low I am weak but I need help my doctor laughed when I told her but I am serious I have lost my hearing before to. Please help me
Hi Vanda:
Taking a lot of aspirin can definitely affect your hearing. But the good news is that when you quit taking Aspirin, your hearing typically will come back in a few days.
Your problem is your addiction to Aspirin. The simple answer is to stop taking Aspirin. But that is not simple to carry out when you have this addiction. You need to see a counselor that specializes in pica addictions to help you get your life in order again. Sorry, but this is not one of my areas of expertise. I don’t know how to help you with this.
Cordially,
Neil
I started experiencing pica post pregnancy , which pregnancy prior to pregnancy I had the gastric bypass. I have always been slightly anemic I have the sickle cell trait but never experienced pica until after I gave birth. I had a headache at work one day and a coworker gave me two aspirin and I didn’t have water so I just chewed them omg that was it! And that was 10 yrs ago . For me it could only be the un coated dollar tree brand I would chew them and spit them out and rinse my mouth out. Not knowing I was severely anemic which was causing the craving. Long story shot I get iron infusions at least once a year after the first infusion the craving stops and it’s like I never think about it at all. Once my iron levels drop again the craving comes back. My body do not absorb iron properly so I will be getting these infusions probably for the rest of my life