Longer use of some common painkillers associated with hearing loss in women

Using certain pain relievers for lengthy periods of time could affect women’s hearing, experts highlight in the American Journal of Epidemiology.Over 11 million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, that’s one in six of the population. And now a team of researchers has found evidence that the duration of use of over-the-counter medications for pain relief, including ibuprofen or acetaminophen, is associated with higher risk of hearing loss. The new study, adds to a growing body of evidence linking the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) or acetaminophen with loss of hearing.

More than 54,000 women aged 48 years to 73 years were asked if they had hearing loss, and experts looked at their use of aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Longer duration of ibuprofen or acetaminophen use was associated with higher risk of hearing loss. The team did not find a significant association between hearing loss and duration of usual-dose aspirin use.

“Although the magnitude of higher risk of hearing loss with analgesic use was modest, given how commonly these medications are used, even a small increase in risk could have important health implications,” says Dr Gary Curhan, who led the work. “Assuming causality, this would mean that approximately 16.2% of hearing loss occurring in these women could be due to ibuprofen or acetaminophen use.”

Click here to read the original research.

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