Ototoxicity and Vestibular Disorder👂🏻💊⚠️

Ototoxicity and the drug sensitivity that comes with it.

 Ototoxicity literally stands for Poison To The Ear, specifically the cochlea or auditory nerve and sometimes the vestibular system. Poisoning results from drugs and chemicals that cause damage to these nerves. Damage of ototoxicity can be reversible (temporary) or irreversible (permanent).

• I suffer from Ototoxicity on a whole other level, and because of this treatment protocols get complicated for me.

• I am extremely limited on medications that I can take. Thankfully I have been able to find medications that I can handle. It took years.

• I usually micro-dose most of my medications before reaching a full dose.

My personal reaction to Ototoxicity is both reversible and non-reversible.

Meaning I have had irreversible damage caused by medications have taken in the past.

But I also suffer from acute Ototoxicity when I start a new medication. The negative effects usually last for a few days to a few weeks. Washout periods for me can take up to 6 weeks to fully recover from trying a new medication. I pretty much go into a full vestibular migraine loop.

This is why I have to be VERY careful about what I take and try.

JUST BECAUSE A DOCTOR PRESCRIBES YOU MEDICATION DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD TAKE IT!!!!

I’ve learned this the hard way and have caused so much more damage to my inner ear by overloading on prescription meds that I thought were going to help me.

It was extremely difficult when I was in the depths of my pelvic pain and I was unable to take pain medications and muscle relaxers.

It would take days for me to recover from just one dose of pain meds. It became not worth taking. The lowest points for me are when I am dealing with a vestibular migraine during a bad pelvic pain flare.

It really is a rock in a hard place in that I can’t take pain medication during a pelvic pain flare because of my vestibular disorder.