u/EducationDesigner557

I didn’t expect the results to be nearly this bad. There are other reports of significant, even permanent hearing loss from similarly small amounts of this drug, but it’s very rare. Just quite sobering to know how quickly you can lose your senses, and how much a seemingly mundane med can fuck you up if you’re particularly susceptible.

Luckily, I have noticed some slight improvement in the second audiogram after oral steroids, with my word recognition jumping back to 100% at 60dB from 60% at 90dB which I was really happy to see. I was a bit upset to see it drop back down to 85% at 65dB on the third one though, a week after my first intra tympanic injection.

FTR, I know I can’t be any type of certain that this is a direct result of the medication, but it’s the closest and most logical connection I can make as an otherwise healthy young man, factoring in timing and other things. Thoughts? Similar experiences? Advice? Thanks.

Additional info:

I was in the hospital for internal bleeding and bilateral aspiration pneumonia about a month ago. I was discharged with a Z-pak - azithromycin. I was completely unaware of the risk of hearing loss from this med. I believe it is real yet extremely rare, and I am just living with the very unlikely cost most nobody will ever have to pay for amazing, life-saving meds. Some risks will nearly always need to be taken for effective medical treatment.

However, if you are aware that you are being given this or similar macrolide antibiotics (most end in -mycin), it may be worth it to ask for an alternative if you’re concerned. But I am not a doctor and that is not medical advice. They switched me to doxycycline, already a first line antibiotic - like why wasn’t I given this in the first place? Anyway I developed this after less than a single Z-pak, right before my 25th birthday. As you can see by the audiograms my right ear is profoundly affected with some slight improvement after starting treatment. I took a nap feeling normal and woke up far from it.

I didn’t expect the results to be nearly this bad. There are some other reports of significant permanent hearing loss from similarly small amounts of this drug, but again it’s very rare. Just quite sobering to know how quickly you can lose your senses, and how much a seemingly mundane med can fuck you up if you’re particularly susceptible.

Luckily, I have noticed some slight improvement in the second audiogram after oral steroids, with my word recognition jumping back to 100% at 60dB from 60% at 90dB which I was really happy to see. I was a bit upset to see it drop back down to 85% at 65dB on the third one though, which was after my first intra tympanic injection.

For the record, I know that I can’t be any type of certain that this is a direct result of the medication, but it’s the closest and most logical connection I can make being an otherwise healthy young man, factoring in timing and other factors. Thoughts? Similar experiences? Advice? Thanks.

Additional information:

I was in the hospital for coffee ground emesis and bilateral aspiration pneumonia about a month ago. I was discharged with a Z-pak - azithromycin. I was completely unaware of the risk of hearing loss from this medication. I believe it is real yet extremely rare, and I am just living with the very unlikely cost most nobody will ever have to pay for amazing, life-saving meds. Some risks will nearly always need to be taken for effective medical treatment.

However, if you are aware that you are being given this drug or similar macrolide antibiotics (most ending in -mycin), it might be worth it to ask for an alternative if you’re concerned. But I am not a doctor and that is not medical advice. They switched me to doxycycline anyway, which is already a first line antibiotic, like why wasn’t I given this first to begin with?! But I digress. I developed this after less than a single Z-pak, right before my 25th birthday. As you can see by the audiograms my right ear is profoundly affected. I simply took a nap feeling normal and woke up far from it.