Skip to main content
. 2013 Jul 29;2013:242730. doi: 10.1155/2013/242730

Table 1.

Review of published cases of methadone induced hearing loss.

Year
Authors Age Sex Presentation Naloxone given? Substances
Ingested
Associated
conditions
Methadone withheld? Followup
2009 Van Gaalen et al. [1] 37 M Nausea, confusion. Deafness upon awakening Yes Methadone Tinnitus, bradypnea Yes Complete resolution by day 10
2010 Christenson et al. [2] 30 M Unresponsive and apneic. Deafness upon awakening in ED following naloxone Yes Methadone (large amount), cannabis, alprazolam and oxycodone (small amount) Respiratory failure, ARDS, bradycardia, and Hypotension Unknown Resolution of hearing loss after 24 hours
2010 Christenson et al. [2] 25 F Unresponsive. Deafness upon awakening Yes Methadone, citalopram, cannabis (all large amount), and oxymorphone (moderate amount) Tachycardia, hypoxia Yes Mild improvement of hearing by 4 hours with complete resolution by 24 hours
2011 Shaw et al. [3] 20 M Stupor following overdose. Deafness upon wakening Yes Methadone, alcohol, cannabis Respiratory failure, leukocytosis, hypernatremia, AKI, and rhabdomyolysis Yes Complete resolution by day 4
2012 Vorasubin et al. [4] 23 M Respiratory arrest. Deafness upon awakening Unknown Naltrexone, methadone Respiratory failure Unknown Severe sensorineural hearing loss above 500 Hz persistent after at least 9 months
2013 Saifan et al. (this paper) 31 M Apnea. Deafness upon awakening Yes Methadone, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates Leukocytosis, fever, AKI, UTI, cellulitis, and aspiration pneumonia No Severe sensorineural hearing loss above 250 Hz persistent after at least 2 months