[SunniD]

I just wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced any hearing problems?

When I was Humalog my lymph nodes on the back of my head swelled and there seemed to be more fluid on that side around my ear. My hearing was being affected. Docs were of little help
and never came up with a diagnosis.

My hearing was important to me to retain my job so I decided to switch insulins, as we can do that in Canada, without a docs prescription. A pharmacist told me that.

Anyhow, my hearing came back and since then I've been contacted by 5 or 6 with the same problem. All were on Humalog insulin. All said no doc was able to provide a diagnosis too.

Was just wondering if any others noticed anything like this?

SunniD

[Lorna]

I've never heard of it, but could it be an alergic reaction to something in that particular type of insulin?

[Shalyndria]

I've never used Humalog so unfortunately I can't help you with that SunniD. I'm glad your not having anymore hearing problems

You might consider contacting Health Canada and informing them of this issue. Under the Food and Drugs Act, they monitor health and safety risks related to the sale and use of drugs, food, chemicals, pesticides, medical devices and certain consumer products. They should be aware of any non-documented side effects of a drug.

Shy

[SunniD]

Thanks Shy and your suggestion to report it is a good one.

Our university pharmacy dept. takes care of that and knows me by now for all the reporting I've made on human synthetic insulins.<smile>

The following is similar to things I reported and is listed at the IDDT:

Our first task was to collect information from people with diabetes and their family carers about their experiences with genetically modified, synthetic ‘human’ insulin and we did this by sending questionnaires to the people who contacted us. From the first 100 people to contact us we received the following information about their symptoms with most people complaining of 3 or 4 of them:

41% - loss of warnings of hypos or ‘I seem to function on automatic pilot’
34% - extreme tiredness or lethargy
9% - ‘sleeping all the time’
32% - weight increase of 1.5 stones or more
24% - depression including referrals to psychologists or being prescribed anti-depressants
28% - feeling unwell all the time
24% - memory loss/confusion
9% - blood glucose levels dip and peak wildly
8% - ‘not the same person’
5% - mood changes – difficult to live with
7% - pains, especially in the leg
4% - late or irregular periods
24% - told us that their doctor was unwilling or reluctant to change their insulin to natural animal insulin
3% - told us their doctor did not listen, ‘it’s all in the mind’
8% - wanted more information


Of equal concern, we frequently received the following comments:

‘I didn’t know there was such a thing as animal insulin.’
‘I was never told there were alternatives.’
‘I didn’t realise ‘human’ insulin was not derived from human beings.’
FACTS

No large scale, long-term trials comparing ‘human’ and animal insulins have ever been carried out.
The first research in 1980 using ‘human’ insulin, by Professor Harry Keen, involved 17 healthy non-diabetic men and in 1982 ‘human’ insulin was given a licence for general use. This is a remarkably short time for a new drug, especially as ‘human’ insulin was the first ever genetically engineered drug to be used on people.
The research that has been carried out has largely been in the laboratory situation and/or using small numbers of people, so the relevance of this research is questionable.
There is no evidence to show that synthetic ‘human’ insulin has any advantages over natural animal insulins.
‘Human’ insulin has been shown to be more aggressive with a faster action and a higher peak of action than the equivalent porcine or bovine insulins.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aparently, these symptoms can occur in anyone on any insulin
so it's hard to judge if one is better than the other -each person is
very unique and does the best job judging for themselves.

SunniD

[mariwood]

My ears ring like crazy from high doses of insulin, any kind, and I would be careful about animal insulin. What about mad cow disease?

[rzrbks]

mariwood

My ears ring like crazy from high doses of insulin....

Yup, me too. I noticed that the sounds started shortly after I started the regimen I'm currently on------Lantus and Novolog/Novorapid--just assumed that it came with the territory

[Shalyndria]

rzr and mariwood,
Are your sugars high when your ears are ringing? I mean I'm assuming so since you say high dosages, correct me if I'm wrong...

Shy

[rzrbks]

It's funny, actually, the better my B/G #s, the louder the ringing.

When I was having trouble with high post-prandial readings (155/8.6-190/10.5) for about 3 weeks, I had almost no ringing, but now that I'm back under control again----the Cicadas are back---all the time---even had sonogram of arteries in my neck---I think that's where the little buggers are living

[mariwood]

You made me laugh! Cicadas....that's what it sounds like. Interestingly , my ears will ring when my bs are low too. Almost like a warning sound for hypo!

[rzrbks]

Actually, I'd bet that if you have constant noise then it is the sound of the bllod rushing through the blood vessels.

When I had the sonogram, the noise I heard in my ears was the Exacty Same noise that was being picked up on the machine---and I Do Mean Exact.

[Shalyndria]

I was having the same thought rzr, that it maybe has something to do with arterial/venous pressure. Linked to adrenaline maybe?

Shy

[rzrbks]

Drs. didn't know, and sonce we were moving into the "Not Covered By Ins." area-----my curiosity seemed to grow less---mostly wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything life-threatening

[Harold]

Couple of hundred rock concerts, worked around an inclosed locomotive diesel off and on for a year, and twenty years around jet engines. Ever stand under the belly of a 747 with all four engines running? Been told I'm def at several frequencies. Yea, I have hearing loss.

[vgray77]

I was dx'ed 11/5/03 but have had ringing in my ears for several years. Makes me question how long I had high bs that was undetected. The ringing is pretty much constant with some variance in volume. If I am very busy at times I can ignore it. At other times it is so loud that it is distracting and can not be ignored. When I clench my jaw the ringing gets louder. Sounds like I am sending morse code when I chew. Until I read this thread I had not connected the ringing with the diabetes.

[rzrbks]

vgray77
Until I read this thread I had not connected the ringing with the diabetes.

I'm not completely sure that the "Noise" is connected to the Diabetes, that's just my working hypothesis since nobody in the Medical Arena gave me any better explanation.

But then Medicine is an Art as much as it is a Science so