Daily use of UK painkillers can hike your risk of tinnitus by up to a fifth warns study

Chronic pain: Expert discusses 'conflict' with using painkillers

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Painkillers can provide some much needed respite from bodily aches and pains, but moderation is key. A growing body of evidence points to the harmful effects of long-term painkiller use. The latest study to raise alarm bells is published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The study found that regularly using painkillers could hike your risk of developing tinnitus by almost a fifth.

Long-term use of over the counter drugs such as aspirin, paracetamol, and ibuprofen could lead to an increased risk of developing the common hearing problem.

Tinnitus is the name for hearing noises that are not caused by sounds coming from the outside world. Over seven million Britons are thought to be living with the health complaint.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston sifted through data from nearly 70,000 women who were recruited in their 30s and 40s and followed for two decades.

Taking a daily dose of paracetamol — called acetaminophen in the US — was linked to an 18 percent increased risk of tinnitus.

Regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a class of painkillers that are widely used to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and bring down a high temperature – raised the risk by around 17 percent.

What’s more, there was a 16 percent increased risk for moderate doses of aspirin, around 100mg a day.

However, a daily dose of aspirin that was less than 100mg was not associated with any increased chance of developing tinnitus, the team said.

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Taking painkillers in moderation may seem easy enough, but researchers warned that many people could be accidentally exceeding recommended dosages due to the number of sinus and cold medications that contain them.

Lead author of the study Doctor Sharon Curhan said the findings should make people more vigilant about their painkiller use.

“For anyone who is considering taking these types of medications regularly, it is advisable to consult with a healthcare professional to discuss the risks and benefits and to explore whether there are alternatives to using medication,” she said.

There are some limitations to the findings.

Researchers relied on self-reported data from the women in the study regarding both tinnitus and painkiller usage, so there are potential reliability issues in the data.

However, as the authors noted, tinnitus is a condition that can only be perceived by the individual so they needed to rely on self-reporting for data gathering.

Exact dosage of the painkillers taken per day by participants was not noted in the study.

The study was also observational, meaning that the exact cause of participant’s tinnitus cannot be determined.

The research comes on the heels of another study published in the journal Circulation, which found long-term paracetamol use could increase the risk of heart disease and stroke in people with high blood pressure.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh said that patients who have a long-term prescription for the painkiller, usually used for the treatment of chronic pain, should opt for the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.

In the study, 110 patients with a history of high blood pressure were prescribed one gram of paracetamol four times a day – a routinely prescribed dose in patients with chronic pain – or a matched placebo for two weeks. All patients received both treatments, with the order randomised and blinded.

Those prescribed paracetamol saw a significant increase in their blood pressure, compared with those taking the placebo.

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