If the pregnant woman should refrain from taking non-prescription medications to preserve the health of the fetus, there are some drugs in particular that can affect the hearing ability of the future baby. Is about ototoxic medications, which pregnant women should avoid to prevent hearing pathologies in the baby.
Transient or definitive disturbances of auditory and / or vestibular function induced by substances of therapeutic use are called ototoxicity. Ototoxic medications are those with the ability to damage the structures of the inner ear (especially the cochlea and vestibular cells) or the acoustic nerve.
There are many groups of ototoxic medications: diuretics, analgesics, anesthetics, antiepileptics, antibiotics ... Ototoxicity is shown with symptoms such as tinnitus or tinnitus (ringing in the ears), vertigo, hearing loss and deafness. If these symptoms are noticed by the adult who takes them, the use of these drugs during the gestation period may cause ototoxicity in the fetus.
It is known that exposure of the fetus to streptomycin during pregnancy frequently results (one in six children) with some degree of hearing loss or vestibular function (related to balance and spatial control). The ototoxicity by this component, an antibiotic, can occur in the embryonic period or at any time during pregnancy.
Remember that from birth you can tell if the baby suffers from any hearing impairment, since the newborn (in fact, already before birth) is very sensitive to the sound stimuli that surround it.
At the time of birth, all babies are subjected to auditory screening to rule out any possible hearing deficit, but this could occur later, so you have to pay attention to the warning signs.
In short, as far as possible se should avoid the use of ototoxic medicines and in any case always use them with caution in pregnant women and newborns. Children are also very sensitive to its effects.
