by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: I have a serious problem. I need to have a renal scan that uses Lasix (Furosemide) intravenously. I just read in your book “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed” how toxic Furosemide can be, and hearing loss can result from intravenous injection. I am extremely nervous as to what to do. […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Here’s an alarming statistic. “The number of people hospitalized for conditions related to GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) doubled between 1998 and 2005.” At the present time, “more than 20 million Americans have GERD”. (1) This has important repercussions for our ears. Let me explain. “When you eat or drink, food and […]

  by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © June, 2010   Olmesartan is moderately ototoxic—it causes hearing loss, tinnitus, balance problems including vertigo in numbers of people, but that appears to be the least of your worries if you take this drug. Our drug watchdog, the FDA, in their latest email bulletin (1), reports: The “FDA is […]

  by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © June, 2010, (revised May, 2019)   A lady asked: Can Amlodipine cause roaring in the ears? I have only been taking it for 6 weeks. Can I stop without a problem? My doctor doesn’t think that is the cause of the roaring. I would like to stop for a […]

  by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. May 8, 2010 Millions of people take anti-inflammatory drugs (typically Non- Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs [NSAIDS]) to reduce pain and inflammation in their bodies. Unfortunately, these drugs can also damage their ears. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include drugs in the following drug classes. Note: in order to give you an idea of […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Today it seems that more and more people have allergies, sinus infections and middle ear infections than ever before. Typically doctors prescribe antibiotics and other drugs to treat these conditions. Unfortunately, these drugs often can be ototoxic. To make matters worse, these conditions tend to recur so these drugs are prescribed […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Until the mid 1990s, Acetaminophen (known as Paracetamol in Europe) was not thought to be ototoxic at all. Thus in the second edition of my book, “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed” I do not even mention Acetaminophen. All that has changed. New research has revealed that rather than not being ototoxic at all, […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man asked: Could you tell me if my sleeping pills, Amitriptyline, are ototoxic? I’ve become very concerned because my hearing loss was caused by prescription medicines after treatment for prostate cancer. The otolaryngologist kept on insisting it was coincidence, but then I did find out that the medicines, in fact, […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man asked: I take Glyburide and Glucophage for Diabetes Type II. Is there any evidence that prolonged use of Glyburide or Glucophage XL is ototoxic? I have no information indicating that Glucophage is ototoxic, so you shouldn’t have to worry about that drug. Glyburide can be mildly ototoxic. It has […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: I came across your extremely informative articles on the Internet, and I wanted to ask you a question. I was recently prescribed Aleve 220 mg and Soma 250 mg for a neck injury. I was instructed to take the two pills together in the evening for 7 days. […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A firefighter wrote: I am a 42 year old man. I was driving today at 10:00 AM and all of a sudden I felt like I was in a plane changing altitudes. I waited for my ears to pop like they usually do, but they didn’t, and I realized quickly that […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. As prescription drugs proliferate, so do their weird and seemingly unpronounceable names. New drug brand names are bad enough, but some of the newer generic drug names are real enigmas to pronounce. For example, how do you pronounce drug names such as “Abciximab” or “Ixabepilone” or “Pioglitazone” or “Zafirlukast”? Is “Abciximab” […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man wrote: I started taking Adalimumab (Humira) 40 mg in April 2007. Approximately 4 weeks after the first shot, I started having severe vertigo and dizziness along with tinnitus. My balance has been an issue ever since. I have visited and asked several doctors including my primary care physicians, my […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: Would you explore the question of medications that affect hearing loss. My hearing gets noticeably worse every year. I’ve asked my doctor about which of my many medications (I’m 81) might cause deterioration of my hearing. He doesn’t seem to know. Here is the list of what I […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Americans take a lot of prescription drugs. Doctors in the USA in 2008 prescribed a total of 1,505,200,000 prescriptions for just the 50 top prescription drugs. (And they prescribed untold millions more prescriptions for the hundreds of other drugs.) The retail value of these 1.5 billion prescriptions was a whopping $53,186,000,000.00 […]

  by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: One thing I am concerned about is the new swine flu and flu vaccines in general. I’ve heard that they contain a lot of mercury. Do these vaccines have a negative effect on hearing? I have not ever had any kind of flu shot and will not […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady asked: Have you heard about potassium gluconate having ototoxic effects? I have been diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. My ENT put me on a diuretic and a daily dose of 550 mg of potassium gluconate, Almost as soon as I started on it, my tinnitus started to roar and I […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © Sep, 2009 A lady explained: Because of high blood pressure, some previous mini-strokes and a family history of high cholesterol, I have been taking Lipitor [Atorvastatin]. My doctor feels my cholesterol needs to be under better control and has switched me to Crestor. I cannot find Crestor in your Ototoxic […]

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A concerned daughter wrote: My dad is 74 years old, in great physical condition, slim and active. Within the past 5 months he has developed a loss of hearing, ringing in his ears and balance impairment. He has been taking Prozac for the past 20 years. He adjusts the dose to […]