THE THINGS ADDICTS DO:

Misuse of Pain Drug Linked to Hearing Loss: Doctors in L.A. and elsewhere have identified at least 48 cases of deafness tied to prolonged misuse of Vicodin and other comparable prescription medicines. (LINDA MARSA, September 10, 2001, LA Times)

A powerful and potentially addictive painkiller used by millions of Americans is causing rapid hearing loss, even deafness, in some patients who are misusing the drug, according to hearing researchers in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

So far, at least 48 patients have been identified by doctors at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles and several other medical centers who have treated patients with sudden hearing loss. The hearing problems appear to be limited to people who abuse Vicodin and other chemically comparable prescription drugs by taking exceptionally high dosages for several months or more, doctors said.

Vicodin, one of the most commonly prescribed painkillers, is frequently used improperly.

"This has become such a popular drug of abuse," says Dr. John W. House, president of the House Institute in Los Angeles, one of the nation's leading centers of hearing-related research.

The one thing Rush had going for him with even folks on the Left was his hearing loss. Now it looks like he may possibly have caused that himself. One day at a time, big fella.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 10, 2003 7:17 PM