Surgery — Can My Tinnitus Get Worse from Painkillers?

I’ll be getting ankle reconstruction done on Monday. Has anyone here had surgery where you are given lots of painkillers with tinnitus? I’m super nervous about the surgery itself, and the possibility of my tinnitus or hearing getting worse is even more unnerving.

 

I've never heard of painkillers affecting tinnitus.

 

If you're worried about the anesthetics that will be employed during surgery, I'd advise you to contact the anesthesiologist. You could do your own research on the anesthetic being used. I presume that opioids/NSAIDs will be used for post-surgery pain, so, again, a question for your anesthesiologist to figure out which one. My experience with opioids (oxycodon in particular): a temporary T spike which subsided as soon as the effect wore off. NSAIDs, on the other hand, can be ototoxic and its use should be avoided, or at the least minimized.

 

Hi, for what it’s worth, I had bunion surgery this past September and the drugs used for the surgery did not affect me at all. I was lucky not to have needed any painkillers after the surgery, but the surgery itself did not affect me. Good luck.

 

I was under for two hours 8 months ago, and one hour 3 years ago, and neither surgery caused any issues with my tinnitus. I never discussed it with the anesthesiologist. But this is my experience.

 

Use of any OTC painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen spikes my tinnitus. As a result I am constantly having to choose between pain (eg. headache, back pain, shoulder pain, every day aches and pains) and elevated noise in my head. This makes surgery - which I probably need - terrifying.

 

I’d be a bit wary of painkillers and antibiotics in general. It pays to do some research or talk to your doctor about your concerns about ototoxicity.

You could always ask Dr Nagler in Doctors' Corner on this site if they give you is safe.

Or just take as few painkillers as possible to cope (obviously you’d have to take the full course of antibiotics).

From my own experience, I managed to avoid taking anything for a broken bone that is considered to be one of the most painful to break. I still got a temporary spike out of it, probably due to inflammation.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will be taking OxyContin for a few days plus a nerve block. There may be other things I may be on. I’ll update this thread if needed.

 

yes but if you take the minimum you need to for the minimum duration you need to, the risks are low.

hearing damage from opioids generally follows either long term use / abuse, or IV use. Damage from IV use may relate to ischemic events

my mom just had her hip replaced and refused ANY post op drugs and just managed it all with low dose marijuana. Me? I'd take the oxy. She also has like 50 years of meditation experience to leverage to navigate pain states, my own practice is not so deep.

 

Little update:

I haven’t noticed any major changes in my tinnitus so far. I’m hurting from the surgery, but am fine otherwise.