The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[wendybeth]

When he first lost his hearing it was assumed that it was probably due to auto-immune disease, but I am unaware that any definitive proof was made that established it for a fact. Since the news of his drug abuse was released, there have been many reports linking his drug of choice to sudden hearing loss: Palm Beach Post
Salon
Rx List
TalkRadio
USA Today
Miller Med Uni

....and there are about a zillion more, but these cover it pretty well. No article, including the most recent in Newsweek, states that his diagnosis was definitive. My daughter lost her hearing to an infection, and it took three years to establish that was the cause, largely because no biopsies could be obtained without destroying residual hearing. (And we had excellent documentation). She is friends with several children who lost their hearing, none of which have a specific diagnosis- just the usual 'probably viral or autoimmune'.

From the Salon article:

"Three days later, doctors at House told reporters that they were treating Limbaugh for "hearing loss resulting from autoimmune inner ear disease," or AIED. The doctors said that they based their diagnosis on Limbaugh's "medical history and hearing tests." However, they noted at the time that "Mr. Limbaugh does not display most of the symptoms associated with AIED."
House physicians issued a statement late last week in which they stuck with their diagnosis of AIED, despite the surfacing of allegations that Limbaugh had abused one of the drugs House previously identified as causing hearing loss. "The AIED diagnosis has not changed, and the House Ear Clinic continues to consult Mr. Limbaugh regarding his treatment for this disorder, and to follow up with him regarding his cochlear implant," they said.
In the statement, the House doctors said that hearing loss caused by an overdose of Vicodin-type drugs "usually occurs over a period of days," while hearing loss caused by AIED typically occurs "over a period of several weeks to months." Limbaugh's hearing loss reportedly took several months, from May through September 2001.
But Dr. Gail Ishiyama, a UCLA neurotologist studying the mechanism that triggers hearing loss in Vicodin users, said that there is no real way to tell the difference between AIED and Vicodin-induced hearing loss -- unless the patient confesses to drug abuse. "It can present very similarly," she told Salon Monday, "and unless the patient tells you that they're abusing the Vicodin or other pain medication, you wouldn't know the difference."