Medications KNOWN to cause hearing impairments

These drugs are labeled as "ototoxic" and there's a list a MILE long. Including most common medications that people take on a daily basis! Even drugs for treating tinnitus, are known to cause it..
The Hearing Loss Association of America was at one point called SHHH, or Self Help for the Hard of Hearing. I imagine that the name was changed to reflect a more positive attitude torwards the group. "shhh" to a deaf person is like, silencing.
Anyhow, I have included the web address for you here:
http://www.netprocorp.com/shhh/nys/fall98/art4.htm
Let me know if you can't get through the link.
In addition to this, I have a list of potentially threatning toys on the market this holiday season.
If you would like to research this further:
"Ototoxic Drugs Exposed" 2nd Edition by: Neil Bauman.
Which lists 743 drugs, 30 herbs and 148 chemicals known for ototoxicity!

Editor: It's time for the annual pre-Christmas warnings aboutloud toys. Here's the information from Minnesota's Sight &Hearing Association.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~14 of 18 toys tested pose hearing risk in 15 minutesFourteen of the 18 toys tested this year for Sight & HearingAssociation's annual Noisy Toys List sounded off louder than 100decibels (dBA). The time it takes to risk hearing damage at thatlevel? 15 minutes.For the 11th year, the nonprofit organization and researchersfrom the University of Minnesota tested toys- taken right offretailers' shelves- for potentially dangerous sound levels. Allof the toys measured over 90 dB directly at the speaker of thetoy. And 12 of the 18 are meant for children three years oryounger.The top offender on this year's list, Cars Shake 'N Go Mater byFisher Price, blared at 120.8 dB(A)- loud enough to risk hearingdamage in less than eight seconds. Little People ABC LetterSounds, a puzzle, topped out at 114.5 dB(A); and a smallhand-held musical toy, Disney High School Musical RockerzBoomin' Drums, measured 113.5 dB(A). All of those toys are loudenough to risk hearing damage in less than one minute.Sounds that are 85 dB or louder can permanently damage yourears. The louder the sound, the less time it takes to causedamage. For example, a sound at 85 dB may take as long as eighthours to cause permanent damage, while a sound at 100 dB canstart damaging hair cells after only 15 minutes of listening.According to guidelines by the National Institute forOccupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers forDisease Control, the permissible exposure time (the amount oftime you should listen) is cut in half with every 3 decibelsover 85 dB.Because of a child's shorter arm span, toys are oftenpotentially more dangerous to hearing because children hold themcloser to their ears. In the Sight & Hearing Association study,the toys were repeatedly tested at distances simulating how achild might hold the toy, directly near the ear (0 inches) andat arm's length (10 inches). A sound-proof acoustic chamber wasused to ensure accurate measurements.Until 2004, there were no regulations in the United Statesregarding the loudness of toys. An acoustics standard (ASTMF963), adopted and revised in March 2004 by ASTM International,states that a hand-held, table-top or crib toy cannot exceed 90dB 25 cm (approx. 10 in.) from the surface of the toy.Compliance with the standard is voluntary.Directly at the speaker of the toy, all of the toys tested thisyear measured louder than 90 dB. At 10 inches from the toy'ssurface, four of the toys measured louder than 90 dB: the LittlePeople ABC Letter Sounds puzzle (93.8 dB), Speed Racer MightyMach 5 RacingWheel (93.9 dB), Nano Blaster (92.2 dB), Shake 'NGo Nascar Jimmie Johnson (92.8 dB).Mina Le, M.D., a resident otolaryngologist at the University ofMinnesota, tested the toys, and offers the following advice. "Iwas surprised at how loud these toys were in general," she says."When shopping, buy toys that encourage imagination. Instead ofa toy guitar with five programmed songs, buy a regular guitarand let them sing any songs they want. Instead of a toy car thatmakes noise, buy a silent car and let them expend their energygrowling 'Vroom!'"Unlike with choking hazards and other injuries, there are noinjury statistics on toys and hearing loss. That's becausenoise-induced hearing loss is nearly impossible to track itsorigination.To protect a child's hearing, the Sight & Hearing Associationoffers the following tips:. Listen to a toy before you buy it. If it sounds loud to you,it's too loud for your child.. Report a loud toy. Call the Consumer Product Safety Commissionat 800/638-2772 or the Sight & Hearing Association at800/992-0424, or contact us by e-mail atReportAToy@sightandhearing.org.. Put masking or packing tape over the speaker on the toy. Thiswill help reduce the volume.. Buy toys with volume controls."Noise-induced hearing loss is cumulative," explains JuleeSylvester, Sight & Hearing Association spokesperson. "It doesn'ttypically happen from one event; it gradually happens over time.That's why it's important to start protecting hearing at a youngage."The Minnesota-based Sight & Hearing Association, founded in1939, is dedicated to enabling lifetime learning by identifyingpreventable vision and hearing loss in children.