"Safer Alternatives to Tranquilizers and Antidepressants"

"Safer Alternatives to Tranquilizers and Antidepressants"

 

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/safer-alternatives-to-tranquilizers-and-antidepressants/

 

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

 

As many of you know, I am not a fan of taking prescription drugs, especially when there are safer alternatives, and almost always, there are safer alternatives. These safer alternatives will not only save your ears from the ototoxic side effects of the drugs, but they can also save your life.

 

“A recently published study in the United Kingdom has found a more than threefold increase in risk of death in those using tranquilizers or sleeping pills compared with people not using these drugs. The results were similar to those of a study published two years ago examining sleeping pill use in people in the United States, which found a more than threefold greater risk of dying in people using these drugs compared with a control group not using them.” (1)

 

In this study of approximately 35,000 people who used tranquilizers, 47% used benzodiazepines and 14% used the “Z” drugs.

 

Benzodiazepines include drugs such alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clonazepam (Klonopin), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), estazolam (ProSom), flurazepam (Dalmane), lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam (Versed), oxazepam (Serax), temazepam (Restoril) and triazolam (Halcion) among others.

 

Z-drugs include zopiclone (Imovane), and its close derivative eszopiclone (Lunesta), zoleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien).

 

Researchers found that in the first year after the study began, “the overall risk of death for those using these drugs was 3.3 times greater than the risk for non-users. Increased doses of drugs further increased the risk of death.” (1)

 

The benzodiazepines increased the risk of death 3.7 times while the “Z” drugs 3.2 times. (1) Did you get that? According to this study, taking benzodiazepines increases your risk of death 370%, not to mention all the ototoxic (and other) side effects you will have to deal with.

 

This is a pretty serious side effect, considering that an effective alternative in dealing with your anxiety is by talking to someone about it.

 

I’m not the only one that says this. “British doctors who have written about nondrug alternatives for the treatment of mild to moderate anxiety (and similar problems) say that:

 

‘The best treatment is likely to be brief counseling provided by a general practitioner or another professional. Such counseling need not be intensive or specially skilled. It should always include careful assessment of the causes of the patient’s distress. Once these have been identified, anxiety may often be reduced to tolerable levels by means of explanation, exploration of feelings, reassurance, and encouragement.’

 

What else can be done? Talking to non-medical people—a friend, a spouse, a relative, a member of the clergy—may help to identify causes of anxiety and potential solutions. Gathering the courage to talk about difficult concerns would generally be a better solution than taking pills.” (1)

 

So there you have it. Start looking for effective, natural alternatives to drug use. Then you’ll never have to worry about the ototoxic side effects of drugs, and in the process, you may even save your life, and that is definitely worth it!

 

If you want to look up the ototoxic side effects of the benzodiazepines or the Z-drugs if you are considering taking them, see my book Ototoxic Drugs Exposed 3rd edition. This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 877 drugs, 35 herbs and 148 chemicals.

_____________

 

(1) New Study Shows Increased Risk of Death with Sleeping Pills and Tranquilizers. Worst Pills, Best Pills News. July, 2014, Vol. 20. No. 7.

You keeping mentioning Ototoxic issues with benzo use.  What?  That is the least of problems people have to deal with.  Why are you mentioning this several times in your letter.  If you think that is the main problem which it seems you do, then you are very clueless.  That is the problem 99 percent of drs are so clueless.  The med schools must be atrocious. 

The author isn't an MD. He's a PhD. Also, drugs that are ototoxic can affect your balance very badly and interfere with your ability to walk. It's serious and debilitating. These meds can cause falls and fractures, which, in some populations, can be deadly. Hip fractures caused by falls can cause people to be bedbound, which can then lead to pneumonia and death. I've come across many studies on falls and fractures caused by the dizziness-inducing effects of benzos and Z-drugs, especially in seniors.

 

And I, too, fractured my foot as a result of being dizzy from these meds. No joke at all. It took a really long time to heal and destroyed my ability to do very basic things.

 

For more info on ototoxicity, there's this link and excerpt:

 

https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/ototoxic-medications/ 

 

 

 

What Is Ototoxicity?

 

Certain medications can damage the ear, resulting in hearing loss, ringing in the ear, or balance disorders. These drugs are considered ototoxic.

 

There are more than 200 known ototoxic medications (prescription and over-the-counter) on the market today. These include medicines used to treat serious infections, cancer, and heart disease.

 

Hearing and balance problems caused by these drugs can sometimes be reversed when the drug therapy is discontinued. Sometimes, however, the damage is permanent.

 

When a decision is made to treat a serious illness or medical condition with an ototoxic drug, your health care team will consider the effects of the medications on your hearing and balance systems. The team will discuss with you how these side effects will affect your quality of life.

 

What are the effects I may notice from ototoxic medications?

 

Usually the first sign of ototoxicity is ringing in the ears (tinnitus). Over time, you may also develop hearing loss. This hearing loss may go unnoticed until your ability to understand speech is affected.

 

Balance problems can also occur as a result of ototoxic medications. You may experience a loss of balance and feeling unsteady on your feet.. Sometimes these problems are temporary because the human body can learn to adapt to reduced balance control.

 

The effects of ototoxic medications can affect your quality of life. Not being able to hear conversations or feeling a little dizzy may cause you to stop participating in usual activities.

 

What is happening inside my ear to cause these effects?

 

Ototoxic medications cause damage to the sensory cells used in hearing and balance. These sensory cells are located in the inner ear.

 

Which medications are ototoxic?

 

There are more than 200 medications and chemicals that are known to cause hearing and balance problems. It is important to discuss with your doctor the potential for hearing or balance damage of any drug you are taking. Sometimes there is little choice. Treatment with a particular medication may provide the best hope for curing a life-threatening disease or stopping a life-threatening infection.

 

Ototoxic medications known to cause permanent damage include certain aminoglycoside antibiotics, such as gentamicin (family history may increase susceptibility), and cancer chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin.

 

Drugs known to cause temporary damage include salicylate pain relievers (aspirin, used for pain relief and to treat heart conditions), quinine (to treat malaria), and loop diuretics (to treat certain heart and kidney conditions).

 

In some instances, exposure to loud noise while taking certain drugs will increase their damaging effects.

 

Can I protect myself from ototoxicity?

 

Research is being done to develop ways of protecting people from ototoxicity. At this time, there is no approved protective strategy.

 

What should I do before I begin treatment with ototoxic medications?

 

You should monitor your hearing and balance systems before and during treatment. Before starting the treatment, a baseline record of your hearing and balance should be recorded by an audiologist. The baseline record should include an audiologic hearing test that uses high-pitched testing, word recognition, and other tests when possible. This information can help you and your doctor make any important decisions to stop or change the drug therapy before your hearing is damaged.

 

For cases in which the drugs cannot be stopped or changed, the patient and the audiologist can take steps to manage the effects of the hearing loss that results.

 

During the course of your treatment, you should have periodic hearing tests as part of the monitoring process. This will help enable you to report any hearing changes, ringing in the ears, or balance problems that you may notice.