My friend cannot hear. Can alcohol cause hearing loss?

Question

Hello doctor,

My friend was previously deaf in her left ear, and at present, she is having difficulty with her right ear also. She was drinking, and earlier today, before taking a nap, she was only deaf in the left one.

Does drinking cause this condition?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern.

Alcohol affects every organ in the body. It is known as a central nervous system depressant, and it is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream. Metabolism occurs in the liver.

However, the liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, leaving the excess to circulate throughout the body. The intensity of the effect of alcohol on the body is directly related to the amount consumed.

Individual reactions to alcohol vary and are influenced by many factors, including but not limited to age, gender, race, physical condition, amount of food consumed before drinking, use of medications or drugs, and family history of alcohol problems.

Alcohol consumption and tolerance to loud noise a well-observed phenomena as seen in the Western world, where parties get noisier by the hour as the evening matures.

This leads to an increase in the referrals to the "hearing aid clinic" and the diagnosis of "cocktail party deafness," which may not necessarily be due to presbycusis or noise-induced hearing loss.

The effect of alcohol on hearing was also found to be reversible in the short term.

I hope this information will help you.

Thank you.