Analgesic use and potential hearing loss: a pharmacovigilance study

Abstract

Background: Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans today. In India, as per WHO there are approximately 63 million people, who are suffering from significant auditory impairment and estimated prevalence at 6.3% in Indian population. The objective of the study was to determine the potential hearing loss in patients on analgesics.Methods: Prospective, observational study examined the association between analgesic use and potential hearing loss in 30 patients receiving NSAIDS. Data was collected using specialized designed case record form. The clinical signs like onset of tinnitus, appearance of another sound that didn't exist before, sinus infection or a respiratory illness, development of vertigo or spinning sensation were looked for. Audiometry test was advised for all the patients receiving analgesics.Results: Total of 30 patients were included in the study. Male predominance was noted Maximum patients were in the age group between 35-45 years (33.33%). The socioeconomic status was analyzed using revised kuppuswamy scale. 30% (n=09) of patients were in lower class. Majority of the patients were reported with road traffic accidents (n=19; 63.33%) and received analgesics for more than 2 weeks. Patients received different combination of NSAIDs among which aceclofenac was most commonly prescribed. 11 (36.66%) patients had hearing loss received either diclofenac or aceclofenac for more than 25 days.Conclusions: Regular usage of NSAIDS may increase the risk of hearing loss and the impact could be larger on younger individuals. Hence, extra precaution to be taken while prescribing NSAIDS.