A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has found that ibuprofen or acetaminophen use for 2 or more days per week was associated with an increased risk of hearing loss in women (Curhan, Shargorodsky, Eavey, & Curhan, 2012). The study was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. The researchers did not find an associated risk for aspirin. The research followed 62,291 women during a 14-year period. It should be noted that hearing loss was determined according to self-report, not objective testing. They found that women who used ibuprofen and acetaminophen twice or more per week reported hearing loss, with more frequent use associated with a higher report of hearing loss. A similar study by the same researchers found an associated risk of hearing loss in men who frequently used acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (Curhan, Eavey, Shargorodsky, & Curhan, 2010). The two studies differ in one main conclusion: the study with men did find an increased risk of self-reported hearing loss for frequent aspirin users, while the study with women did not.
References
Curhan, S.G., Shargorodsky, J., Eavey, R., & Curhan, G.C. (2012). Analgesic use and the risk of hearing loss in women. American Journal of Epidemiology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/aje/kws146
Curhan, S.G., Shargorodsky, J., Eavey, R., & Curhan, G.C. (2010). Analgesic use and the risk of hearing loss in men. American Journal of Medicine, 123(3), 231-237.
