When you experience pain, you may grab some aspirin or ibuprofen without thinking much about it, but new research has shown risks you should recognize.
You’ll want to look at the risks to your hearing that many over-the-counter and prescription pain medication pose before you decide to use them. Surprisingly, younger men may be at higher risk.
What The Research Says About Hearing Loss And Pain Relievers
Esteemed universities, like Vanderbilt, Harvard, and Brigham Young, performed a comprehensive 30 year study. The researchers asked 27,000 people ages 40 to 74, to fill out a biyearly survey that included numerous health and lifestyle questions.
Because the questionnaire was so diverse, researchers were unsure of what they would find. But the data demonstrated that over-the-counter pain relievers and loss of hearing had a solid link.
The data also showed something even more surprising. Men who are 50 or under who frequently use acetaminophen were almost two times as likely to have loss of hearing. Those who frequently used aspirin had a 50% chance of suffering from hearing loss. And there’s a 61% chance that hearing loss will develop in those who use NSAIDs (ibuprofen and naproxen).
It was also striking that consuming low doses frequently seemed to be worse for their hearing than taking higher doses occasionally.
We can’t be sure that the pain reliever actually was the cause of this loss of hearing even though we can see a definite correlation. More studies are needed to prove causation. But these findings are persuasive enough that we should reconsider how we’re using pain relievers.
Pain Relievers And Hearing Loss – Present Theories
Researchers have numerous possible theories as to why pain relievers could cause hearing impairment.
Your nerves communicate the feeling of pain to your brain. Blood flow to a particular nerve is blocked by over-the-counter pain relievers. This disrupts nerve signals that normally communicate with the brain, so you feel less pain.
Scientists suspect this process also decreases the flow of blood in the inner ear. Less blood flow means less oxygen and nutrients. When the flow is reduced for prolonged periods of time, cells end up malnourished and die.
Also, there’s a specific protein that guards the inner ear from loud noises and it seems like acetaminophen, in particular, might block this.
What You Can do?
The most noteworthy revelation was that men under 50 were more likely to be affected. This is a solemn reminder that hearing loss can happen at any age. The steps you take when you’re younger can help preserve your hearing as you age.
While we aren’t suggesting you completely stop taking pain relievers, you should acknowledge that there could be negative repercussions. Use pain medication only when you absolutely need to and when using prescription medication, only as prescribed.
Try to find other pain relief options, including gentle exercise. You should also decrease the consumption of inflammation-producing foods and boost Omega-3 fat in your diet. These approaches have been shown to naturally reduce inflammation and pain while improving blood flow.
Lastly, is an appointment to see us every year to get your hearing checked. Don’t forget, hearing tests are for people of all ages. The best time to start talking to us about preventing further hearing loss is when you under 50.
