What Are the Drugs That Cause Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is caused mostly by the use of drugs and medications. At the same time, it must be said that tinnitus is a side effect of such medications. The medicines that give relief to tinnitus symptoms are far lesser than the medicines that cause tinnitus. Accidental discovery of drug related tinnitus symptoms are too many to enumerate. In a similar case, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics in 1928.

The first time drug related tinnitus came to light was in 1944.the antibiotic Streptomycin was used to cure tuberculosis, a fatal disease of the times. And it resulted in a strange reaction to the drug most patients reported. It caused dizziness, instability and buzzing of the ears. These reports were investigated and studied. It came to light that some permanent changes had occurred in cochlear and vestibular areas due to the use of Streptomycin. A variety of vertigo related problems and problems of hearing were a result. Ototoxic drugs were the name devised to describe drug families that caused tinnitus by their use. This was a new area in medicinal science that saw the light of day.

List Of Drugs That Cause Tinnitus - There Are Other Culprits Too

Streptomycin was soon found to be not the only medicine which caused tinnitus. Ototoxicity is caused by many other medicines. It includes most of the aminoglycoside family of antibiotics, quininem loop diuretics, platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, and salicylates that are common homely medicines for treating slight fevers or headache, and some more medicines. The high level of toxicity in these medicines affects the human cochleo/vestibular structure. This in turn causes the partial loss of hearing and ringing noise in the ear.

There is a humungous list of drugs that cause tinnitus. The list of names will cover many pages. Thus, they have been arranged in groups with major subheads for each group. See the list below:

Antibiotics include Erithromycin, Aminoglycosides and also Vancomycin. In most cases they belong to the medications in the 'mycin' group. Examples of these are kanamycin, streptomycin, gantamycine, neomycin as well as fresh derivatives of erythromycin. This includes EES, E-mycin, Pediazol, Eryc, Zithromax, Biazine, Ilosone and a more which are ototoxic when used intravenously in doses of 2 to 4 grams every 24 hours. But low oral doses are far less toxic in nature. Vancomycin (Vincocin), when administered in single doses or with aminoglycosides, is mostly ototoxic when administered in an intravenous way.