Article from October 2001 about Rush's hearing loss, mentions Vicodin risk

Sudden Hearing Loss Can Have Several Causes


Oct 10, 2001 (Sacramento Bee) - In rapidly losing his hearing, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh joins the ranks of about 5,000 Americans who experience the disabling phenomenon every year.

Limbaugh, who announced Monday that he has gone almost completely deaf since May, did not disclose what his doctors believe to be the cause of the loss. The conservative radio personality began his career at KFBK in Sacramento 17 years ago and now hosts a nationally syndicated show.

Dr. Karen Doyle, an otolaryngologist at UC Davis Medical Center, said she frequently sees patients who have had sudden hearing loss, adding that when properly diagnosed and treated early, the condition can be reversed.

"It sounds as though what he first had was a sudden sensorineural hearing loss and it has progressed," said Doyle, who is also a frequent spokeswoman for the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

http://www.personalmd.com/news/n1010104306.shtml

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"Certain drugs also can cause hearing loss, including some chemotherapy treatments for cancer, large doses of aspirin and quinine. The House Ear Institute in Los Angeles also recently found a possible correlation between permanent hearing loss and excessive use of a commonly prescribed painkiller called Vicodin."