Friday, October 26, 2007

Viagra: Come again?

Viagra, the famed impotence drug, can cause sudden hearing loss. So far around 29 users have reported the problem to America’s drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is now adding the warning to the drug’s packaging.
The problem seems to be related to all of the impotence drugs, and the warning will also apply to Cialis and Levitra, and to the hypertension drug Revatio, which contains the same ingredient as Viagra.
All the reported incidents of hearing loss occurred within hours, and up to two days, of taking the drug for the first time.
Hearing loss usually affected just one ear, and in a third of the reported cases it was temporary.
The FDA urges users to call their doctors immediately if they suffer sudden hearing loss or ringing in their ears, and to stop taking the drug.