botox and hearing loss

I am replying to your post. Please tell me about your situation. On May 17th I walked into my kitchen, my left ear gave a slight ring and then went deaf. It has been 14 days. I had an MRI all is fine, no problems with my ears, had my hearing checked within the year and all great.

Interest that on the thursday May 14th I had botox for my forehead and they also did the sides where they do for the creases in your eyes.

I was wondering if the botox is related???

I'mve devastated and hope my hearing returns.

God, I'm so very sorry to the both of you who might have Botox-related hearing loss! You are, unfortunately, not alone -- many people say they started experiencing hearing loss and tinnitus (a ringing of the ears) after receiving Botox injections, especially in the forehead and for crow's feet. 

I am not sure if this phenomenon has been studied scientifically, but it is one of those things that potential Botox clients should absolutely be aware of in advance. You can hardly make an informed decisions if you do not know about all the potential side effects, can you? This is something that raises a fundamental question: Is Botox safe?

same happened to me. do you, or did you have any other symptoms such as sinus pressure or fainting and numbness? hearing in both ears has been affected. how long did it take to recover?

The hearing loss was only in the left ear. It still has not recovered. It has now caused me so much anxiety so I am now dealing with that. No I had no other symptoms. It just happened in seconds. Ear gave a ring and then went deaf. There is bad botox out there. Im still hoping and praying that one day it will return. In May it will be 1 year.

Are you saying that you had botox and it affected both your ears? You can't hear?

I had botox around my eyes and forehead June 2008. All those areas became paralyzed a week later, and I could not open or close my eyes, and they were extremely sensitive. Took 4 months before I was close to normal, but have permanent cornea damage. Also a week after the botox I had a sudden sensation in my left ear, and lost 30% of my hearing, and also the ringing of tinnitus. Went thru MRI's and hearing tests. Could find no other reason for the loss. So it's now almost 2 years....and no doctor will admit to all this being caused by botox...though I have never had any problems before the botox. So many doctors do the botox treatments...and no way will they admit to this being the cause!!!! Go figure......

Hi Divathree: On Monday it will be one year that my hearing in my left ear suddenly went! It has not returned. Dealing with so much anxiety that was brought on from this. I did talk to a woman who lost their hearing suddenly and 3 years later she was eating breakfast and it came back suddenly. Let's hope that will happen to us. It's been a difficult adjustment and lots of crying over it.
I agree no doctor will admit re the botox causing this, but I believe it does. I did have a neurosurgeon tell me that he would never let anyone in his family nor himself use botox, as there are many things that have happened and are not publicized because it's such a multimillion dollar business. Any ways I am working on the anxiety as this has been worse than the hearing loss now, trying to keep hopeful and lots of prayer!

Dear Divathree:

I forgot to say that Im sorry about what happened to you also, that must have been so frightening. I will include you in my prayers. How is your eye doing? I feel so angry about this happening, just have to really try to accept, move on, and keep some hope.
take care.

M.

just saw your post as I have been searching for info about botox and hearing loss. I had botox injections 13 days ago around my eyes and 3 days after the injections have had ringing/ear sensitivity in both ears along with hearing loss since. I am so scared, embarassed, and ashamed , I have not told anyone about the problem except my boyfriend. (he does not know I had the injections) I am disgusted with myself in that I allowed a TOXIN to be injected into my system! I am fearing the worst and am pretty hopeless. I suspect the ear nerves have been damaged or have been paralyzed. Could it b e possible the damage from the botox may dissipate when the botox effect leaves the eye area and the eyes return to normal?

I am sorry this is happening to you as well ,and hope the best for you . All the best for Divathree also.

More people have to be made aware of the side effects of this NEUROTOXIN , Botox!!

flower2

Aprox. 6 weeks ago i had botox in my upper brow (4th time now) and a new site on the jaw area to lift drooping mouth. After two days I developed terrible flu like symptoms with extremely sore throat and ear ache in left ear. After symptoms subsided after a week I still had ear pain for which I had antibiotics but have been deaf in left ear ever since. Very strange

just read your post and was wondering if you feel any better. Has your ear pain dissipated? Did the antibiotics work? How about your hearing loss?
I am hoping your hearing has returned. I still have ear sensitivity/pain, mostly left, and tinnitus. people's voices hurt my ears and have resorted to holding them shut discreetly when sounds are too loud to me. ouch! Believe me, I am not making a joke of this because it is very serious.
My hearing has always been on the more keen side, so this change is huge! Told my doc about it and he wants to put me on a steroid to see if the tube inside the ear, which may be inflamed, will benefit from the treatment . do not want to go there. Am thinking this may do more harm than good.

Am wondering if an antitoxin used to treat botulism , would be effective.

I just wanted to add that I am experiencing the same thing! Botox in the outer eye region on both sides of my face. Several days later I am experiencing hearing loss in my left ear.
Yesterday an EAR NOSE AND THROAT specialist noted, after testing, that I am experiencing significant hearing loss in that ear although the pressure is both ears is normal. He downplayed the possibile association with the botox injection and his put me on a course of Prednisone just in case there is some kind of viral infection at play.
My first thought, too, was that Botox was the culpit. I am even more convinced of the possibility after reading these posts.

It has been 2 years and 9 months since my botox treatment. I made an error on the date, it should have read May 2009.
I am still so positive that the cause of my hearing loss in the left ear was definitely due to botox. 2 1/2 days later after the botox my ear gave a faded in and out ring and then the hearing loss occurred. My hearing was tested aboaut 6 months before this happened and I had absolutely excellent hearing in both ears. All I can say is that I regret the day I did this, I have suffered now from so much anxiety due to this instant shock of hearing loss, it has changed my life and it hasn't been easy to adjust. My ENT also brushed off the botox being the cause of the hearing loss, I really don't think they know for sure themselves so it definitely is downplayed. I had not virus, I had no cold, nothing. Nothing showed on my MRI's, everything looked fine, so they call it Sudden hearing loss with no explanation to it. Obviously something is the cause. I think more stories with the use of botox will come out. All we can do is pray that someday the hearing just comes back as quickly as it went. It certainly has made the natural aging of the eyesight changes a difficult one to handle also, having to deal with hearing loss and at the same time vision changes. Who wouldn't have anxiety, these are our senses! I wanted to mention that I did speak with a top neurologist who told me that he himself would never use botox, nor would he let anyone in his family. This is a multi million dollar business so many things that have happened are just kept quiet. I understand that tons of people are using botox that have had no reactions, and they may never have one. The time of the hearing loss that I used the botox was not my first, I had tried it a few times before, but I honestly believe that it was the cause of my hearing loss 2 1/2 days later.
Praying for everyone out there who has suffered from this, and hopefully one day whatever the botulism did to the cochlear will heal.

Hi, (guest on 2/13/11) your story sounds so much like mine!  It's also amazing that so many on here have mentioned that the tinnitus/hearing loss happened in their left ear.  Mine is also in my left ear.   It has been almost two years that I have had Tinnitus.  I also had many tests and they showed no cause or explanation.  I also had perfect hearing a short time before this.  It was very distressing the first year, as I had to make a career change because I could not hear the children in a classroom.  I am beginning to research on a connection between botox injections and tinnitus.  I get them every three months for a neck problem.  One may have been too close to my left ear, or it was bad botox?  Could it damage the nerve follicles and hairs in the ears? Not sure, but I've had one health problem after another ever since.  I had injections for 9 years before ever having anything bad happen.  Not sure if it's the cause, but my chiropractor thinks that it might have been.  

Hi, I have just been researching regarding a link between Botox & Hearing loss.

My daughter suffers with strabismus in both eyes. The eye surgeon reccommended a proceedure that involves injecting Botox into the rear eye muscles to help straighten them out. She had the proceedure 3 days ago.... when she woke up yesterday she had a paralysed eyelid (we were warned that this may be a side affect and will recover in a few weeks) but also she seems to be having trouble hearing... We do not have an appointment to see the surgeon again for 2 weeks but I am concerned that this has happend straight after the botox.... after reading your stories I am more convinced that there is a link. I am worried that this sudden hearing loss may be permanent! :O(