Ototoxic Drugs

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Revised September 5, 2016 Some drugs can cause “funny” hearing problems. One such drug is Carbamazepine, sometimes sold under the brand name of Tegretol. Doctors frequently prescribe the anti-convulsant drug, Carbamazepine, to treat people who have epilepsy, neuralgia (nerve pain) or psychiatric disorders. Carbamazepine is ototoxic and can result in side […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man wrote, I saw your list of ototoxic drugs on the American Tinnitus Association website. Since I take 8 mg of Atacand daily and have moderate to severe tinnitus I was wondering if there is a non-ototoxic medication comparable to Atacand. The medication works well to control my blood pressure, […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man wrote, I have heard that a toxic load of certain minerals such as manganese can cause ear problems including tinnitus. This is interesting as manganese is also used for treating tinnitus. My multivitamin contains 2 mg of manganese. Is it time to look for another vitamin supplement? There seems […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man asked, Is there anything that is not ototoxic that I can take for pain? A woman queried, What is a good pain-killer alternative to take since all pain-killer drugs are known to be ototoxic to some degree? There are a number of pain-killing drugs available, but as you have […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote, I have been on Lyrica for about 4 years now. I started at 25 mg a day and now I’m up to 1200 mg a day. This drug has done some terrible things to me. I want to come off Lyrica. I have tried and failed due to […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady asked, Please be so kind and help me answer this question. Does the application of Tobramycin on a piece of gauze inserted in the ear canal (in contact with the ear drum) pose risks for the health of the ears? I’ve been prescribed this antibiotic to help a perforated […]